Pakistan is blessed with the richest treasures of natural resources. All this hidden wealth has to be explored for making the best possible use of what Nature has bestowed on us. Saindak Copper-Gold Project is the first major venture of its kind in the country in the metal mining sector based on indigenous mineral resources. Located at Saindak in district Chaghai of Balochistan province, the project envisaged mining, milling and smelting of Copper Ore for yielding an annual production of 15810 tones of Blister Copper, 1.46 tones of Gold and 2.76 tones of Silver for an estimated period of 19 years. It is a unique project in the sense that "Resources Development Corporation" was established way back in 1974 for the project planning and execution and initial work in terms of planning started in 1978. It has been constructed with technical and financial assistance of Messrs Metallurgical Construction Corporation (MCC) of China.
The Saindak project was based on estimated ore reserves of 412 million tones containing on average 0.5 gram of gold per tone and 1.5 grams of silver per tone. The mine is reported to have produced about 50,000 tones since October 2003. According to official estimates, the project has the capacity to produce 15,800 tones of blister copper annually, containing 1.5 tones of gold and 2.8 tones of silver. The reported production results, however, have generally remained on average more than 2,000 tones per month, which means that more than production of 24,000 tones per year has been taking place
Saindak is derived from the Balochi language's 'siyahain dik' or black cluster - the name Baloch nomads gave to the area which lies along the ancient routes linking Central Asia to India. Driving from Quetta. just 110 kilometers short of Sainda, some literary people say it is from Say-dag (3-ways) a Blaochi word meaning (3-ways).
Copper mineralization at Saindak was known since 1901 but exploration work was initiated by GSP in 1964. Resource Development Corporation (RDC) was established in 1974 to explore, evaluate and develop copper deposits located in Saindak Chagai District Balochistan. The Saindak project envisages mining, milling and producing blister copper together with gold and silver as associated metals in Phase I to be followed by production of mild steel billets and sulphuric acid in Phase II. The Saindak project would yield for 19 years an average annual production of copper, 15810 tones, gold, 1.47 tones and silver, 2.76 tones. The contract between RDC and Metallurgical Construction Corporation (MCC) of China for implementation of the project was approved in Beijing on September 23, 1990, at a ceremony attended by the Presidents of Pakistan and China.
Pakistan is also bearing the environmental costs of the projects, as the production of copper is a long and dangerous process. The smelting of the copper ore emits arsenic and carbon monoxide, which pollutes the air and water near the mines. The copper is heated at high temperatures several times before the metal is ready for export. The impact of copper production on the country's environment is bound to grow at an alarming rate in the next seven years of the lease contract. Most threatened is the atmosphere in the immediate vicinity of the copper mine.
The local population, however, is not happy and they term it as exploitation of their recourses. The government and the mining company can easily divert resources for the uplift of local people. There value addition in the form of establishing small industrial units for preparation of the copper based electric goods can be a good venture to address the grievance of local people.
The Saindak project was based on estimated ore reserves of 412 million tones containing on average 0.5 gram of gold per tone and 1.5 grams of silver per tone. The mine is reported to have produced about 50,000 tones since October 2003. According to official estimates, the project has the capacity to produce 15,800 tones of blister copper annually, containing 1.5 tones of gold and 2.8 tones of silver. The reported production results, however, have generally remained on average more than 2,000 tones per month, which means that more than production of 24,000 tones per year has been taking place
Saindak is derived from the Balochi language's 'siyahain dik' or black cluster - the name Baloch nomads gave to the area which lies along the ancient routes linking Central Asia to India. Driving from Quetta. just 110 kilometers short of Sainda, some literary people say it is from Say-dag (3-ways) a Blaochi word meaning (3-ways).
Copper mineralization at Saindak was known since 1901 but exploration work was initiated by GSP in 1964. Resource Development Corporation (RDC) was established in 1974 to explore, evaluate and develop copper deposits located in Saindak Chagai District Balochistan. The Saindak project envisages mining, milling and producing blister copper together with gold and silver as associated metals in Phase I to be followed by production of mild steel billets and sulphuric acid in Phase II. The Saindak project would yield for 19 years an average annual production of copper, 15810 tones, gold, 1.47 tones and silver, 2.76 tones. The contract between RDC and Metallurgical Construction Corporation (MCC) of China for implementation of the project was approved in Beijing on September 23, 1990, at a ceremony attended by the Presidents of Pakistan and China.
Pakistan is also bearing the environmental costs of the projects, as the production of copper is a long and dangerous process. The smelting of the copper ore emits arsenic and carbon monoxide, which pollutes the air and water near the mines. The copper is heated at high temperatures several times before the metal is ready for export. The impact of copper production on the country's environment is bound to grow at an alarming rate in the next seven years of the lease contract. Most threatened is the atmosphere in the immediate vicinity of the copper mine.
The local population, however, is not happy and they term it as exploitation of their recourses. The government and the mining company can easily divert resources for the uplift of local people. There value addition in the form of establishing small industrial units for preparation of the copper based electric goods can be a good venture to address the grievance of local people.
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