Washington: The US State Department has listed Pakistan’s Reco Dick mine as one of America’s most important foreign mineral investments aimed at securing Washington’s supply chain.
US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senior Director of Global Supply Chain David Copley attended the Critical Minerals Ministerial at the State Department in Washington, DC on Wednesday. (Reuters)A $1.25 billion U.S. Export-Import Bank loan to finance copper and gold mining in Pakistan’s restive Baluchistan province is listed alongside the newly announced $10 billion Project Vault — which will create a domestic strategic critical mineral reserve — in a fact sheet released Wednesday after Washington hosted a critical conference of minerals ministers. A delegation from Pakistan along with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also attended the 55-nation summit.
Washington announced in December that the US Exim Bank had approved $1.25 billion in financing to support critical minerals mining in Reco D.
“In the coming years, EXIM’s project financing will create approximately 6,000 jobs in the United States and 7,500 jobs in Balochistan, Pakistan, as well as bring in up to $2 billion in high-quality U.S. mining equipment and services needed to build and operate the Reco Dick mine,” said Natalie Baker, a diplomat who works at Pakistan Air Force Base, in a Time Air statement. Baker added that the project could serve as a model for similar mining projects that could benefit U.S. exporters.
“The Trump administration has made agreements such a centerpiece of American diplomacy. We look forward to seeing more agreements between US companies and their Pakistani partners in the critical minerals and mining sector,” Baker added.
Earlier in September 2025, Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organization signed a memorandum of understanding with a US delegation led by US Strategic Metals on critical minerals. Pakistan’s political leadership has also positioned itself as a major partner of the US in this sector. Notably, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir presented Trump with a wooden box containing rare earth minerals during their meeting in Washington in September.
