COPPER-GOLD: Court awards $5.8B to Barrick, Antofagasta JV for Reko Diq

PAKISTAN – The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has awarded US$5.84 billion in damages to Tethyan Copper Co. following what was deemed an unlawful denial of a mining lease for the Reko Diq copper project. Tethyan is a 50:50 joint venture of Toronto’s Barrick Gold and Antofagasta plc of London, U.K. In a news release, Barrick said damages include approximately US$4.09 billion in relation to the fair market value of the Reko Diq project at the time the mining lease was denied (2011). Interest on the amount was calculated to be about $1.75 billion. Prior to the denial of the mining lease, Tethyan had completed a feasibility study for Redo Diq, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits. The mine would have had a minimum life of 50 years after an initial capital investment of more than US$3.30 billion. Annual production could have been about 265,000 oz. of gold and 400 million to 425 million lb. of copper. Tethyan currently has several projects in eastern Europe. Visit www.Tethyan-Resources.com.