Barrick agrees deal with Pakistan to waive $11 billion penalty and restart Reko Diq

(Corrects day in first paragraph to Sunday from Friday)

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – An $11 billion penalty against Pakistan will be waived under a deal with Barrick Gold to restart the Reko Diq gold and copper mining project, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said on Sunday.

He said the out-of-court deal with the Canadian mining company will bring in $10 billion in investment in Pakistan.

A World Bank arbitration court had ruled in favour of Tethyan Copper, a joint venture between Chile’s Antofagasta Plc and Canada’s Barrick Gold over a lease to the mine, located in a remote area of southwestern Pakistan.

“A $11 billion award on us has been nullified,” Tarin told a news conference, adding that, “Barrick and its partners will invest $10 billion in the mining”.

(Corrects day in first paragraph to Sunday from Friday)

(Reporting by Syed Raza Hasan in Karachi and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad; Editing by David Clarke)