Exclusive talk with Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow regarding Reko Diq project

ARY NEWS

#AiterazHai #RekoDiq #Balochistan #MarkBristow   Follow the ARY News channel on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/46e5HzY  Subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon for latest news updates: http://bit.ly/3e0SwKP  ARY News is a leading Pakistani news channel that promises to bring you factual and timely international stories and stories about Pakistan, sports, entertainment, and business, amid others.  Official Facebook: https://www.fb.com/arynewsasia  Official Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/arynewsofficial  Official Instagram: https://instagram.com/arynewstv  Website: https://arynews.tv  Watch ARY NEWS LIVE: http://live.arynews.tv    Listen Live: http://live.arynews.tv/audio  Listen Top of the hour Headlines, Bulletins & Programs: https://soundcloud.com/arynewsofficial #ARYNews  ARY News Official YouTube Channel. For more videos, subscribe to our channel and for suggestions please use the comment section.

Transcript

00:00 We were talking about security situation, but if we want to improve it, we need to look at the economic situation.

00:08 And this is very clear in Balochistan.

00:12 And one thing that Balochistan is looking at, if we want to spread happiness economically,

00:18 is the mining sector.

00:20 And in that mining sector, the Recodec project will start production in 2028.

00:26 Before that, a lot of work is being done that we don't see.

00:30 And obviously, a lot of questions arise that what happened in Recodec before this?

00:34 Now, there should be no problem.

00:36 There was involvement of Adliya or whatever, but the matter was a mess.

00:39 Will this stay on track or not?

00:41 This is an important question that we all ask.

00:43 And along with this, how Recodec will help the people in Balochistan and overall Pakistan?

00:51 I really wanted to know that.

00:53 So, I went to Mark Bistro, who is the CEO of Barrick Gold.

00:57 Let's hear what we talked about.

00:58 Mark, it's a pleasure having you in the program today.

01:01 We are going to talk about a very important topic,

01:03 because obviously Balochistan is something that is very important to every person in Pakistan.

01:08 It's very close to our heart as well.

01:10 And we are quite concerned about what is going on there.

01:13 And we want the economic development of that province as well so dearly and so much

01:18 that at this point in time, our hopes are pinned with the Recodec project.

01:24 2028 is the cut-off date when the first production will start, as we know.

01:30 Is it on track or are we looking at delays or could it be done earlier?

01:36 So, it's great to speak to you again, Anika.

01:39 Thank you for your time.

01:42 Absolutely, it's on track.

01:45 The team is working really well.

01:47 We appreciate the interest in this project.

01:54 And it's a pioneering project.

01:56 We are opening up a new frontier on mining.

02:00 We are delivering something that should have been delivered in Balochistan a long time ago.

02:08 And it's a privilege to be part of it.

02:10 I'm glad to hear that.

02:12 The biggest concern for any person who lives in Balochistan or in Pakistan is

02:18 how is this going to create a sustainable development in the province?

02:23 Because we've seen a lot of people or investments coming in

02:27 and then they either back out or something happens.

02:31 How is this going to give Balochistan sustainable growth,

02:34 the hope to the youth of Balochistan,

02:36 and at the same time, employment opportunities?

02:39 So, it's an enormous project.

02:42 Ultimately, it's around $10 billion that are going to be invested in that part of Balochistan.

02:49 But let me explain it differently.

02:52 We're going to build a mine that will last, on what we know today, at least 45 years.

03:02 What we believe the potential is past 100 years.

03:07 So, this is a big engine.

03:10 It's going to process, to try and put it in perspective,

03:15 it's going to process about 45 million tonnes of copper and gold bearing material every year.

03:26 And that's the phase one.

03:28 Phase two, it will be 90 million tonnes.

03:33 And then to get those 90 million tonnes, you've got to mine another 50% of waste material

03:41 to actually build this big open pit.

03:46 And so, to the question around people, I'll try and explain to you what we've done already.

03:53 So, today, as I shared with you, I think last time we spoke,

03:58 is the focus is making sure we get the designs and the best advisors and engineers in the world

04:07 to help us design this project so that when we put it all together,

04:13 we'll be able to make it work and therefore get our first production in 2028.

04:20 At the same time, when we switch it on, we've got to have people to operate it.

04:26 And we want those people to be, first of all, all Pakistanis, or as much as we can,

04:33 and every bit Balochistan that we can find wanting to work on the mine.

04:40 But you can't do that without investing in it.

04:44 So, our strategy is to start in, so when we go into a place like Balochistan,

04:52 it's about three primary issues, potable water, primary education, and basic health provisions.

05:04 And we've already rolled those out.

05:06 Right. And I'm sorry I'm getting it wrong, but there's also a fourth perspective to it.

05:11 You said you want to hire locals, you want to give employment opportunities to locals, basically,

05:15 and that's how Balochistan is going to thrive because of this.

05:18 For that, you need to train the people. And as far as I know, with SIFC, Huna Foundation, and Barak Gold,

05:27 there's a training institute in Chakay that has been formed.

05:31 How is that going to impact the youth over there, their potential to actually be of use to this project,

05:39 and this project to be of use to the youth over there?

05:42 So, I was getting there. So, first of all, we've got to start training, educating the young people,

05:49 because that's the future. This is a multi-generation investment.

05:54 So, multiple generations of people will work on this mine.

05:59 And so, we've started at junior school.

06:01 So, we want to have all the children under 10 years old within the Rikidek region to be at school.

06:11 All those children under 10 years old to be at school by the end of this year.

06:16 We are already way down the road on that.

06:19 At the same time, we need to start developing the management structure to be able to lead this big organization.

06:27 So, we went out and we interviewed some, we got over 3,000 applicants from all the universities in Pakistan,

06:36 and we selected nine people, Baloch citizens.

06:41 Four girls and five boys.

06:45 And they are now working on our mines in Argentina.

06:49 And they will go through a program of development and gaining experience from all our different operations around the world.

06:59 And we're busy with another cadre of 20.

07:03 And we're already getting the applications in.

07:07 So, we will have by the end of this year 30-odd students or graduates.

07:15 These are graduates, engineers, geologists, accountants, so on, as part of this program.

07:21 So, there's the bottom end and the top end.

07:25 Now, we've got to get, we've started employing and by January, February next year, we'll have employed 1,200 people.

07:37 And we've got this technical training program in Nokkundi, in partnership with the Hunur Foundation.

07:47 And that is originally just designed to give everyone the skill to be able to get a job in the mine.

07:54 I'll just pick one of your words.

07:56 You said everyone, right?

07:58 And you already mentioned men and women.

08:01 So, there is an image in Pakistan that, you know, generally women are put aside.

08:06 I, being a woman over here, I'm very concerned.

08:10 How is this woman engagement over there going to be sustainable as well, considering the culture over there?

08:15 At the same time, the environment.

08:17 We've seen a lot of places change in Pakistan.

08:20 We have places where women are actually truck drivers and heavy vehicle drivers.

08:26 How are you working on that?

08:28 That the change that you're creating in that society is sustainable with regards to women?

08:34 So, we have CDCs, Community Development Committees, that are represented by a broad spectrum of the community around Rikidek.

08:43 You know, nationalist parties, the main political parties, traditional leaders, and appointed authorities.

08:52 And our schools today, all three of them that we've now got functioning, and we've got more and more coming,

08:59 are about 50/50, male/female.

09:05 Right.

09:06 And we've just taken on the first group of what we call vocational students.

09:15 So, the first jobs that we're going to have in Rikidek are the pipelines and the construction relating to water.

09:26 To pump the water and bring it into the mine.

09:30 And so, we're training people around fitting and turning, and pipe manufacturing and foundations.

09:38 And we're also building the cap to house those immigrant workers coming into Rikidek.

09:47 So, we are training plumbing, bricklaying, concrete laying, and all those early construction skills in our Technicon in Nokundi.

10:01 And the objective here is to give every Baloch person who wants to work an opportunity.

10:09 But we need to give them the skill, otherwise their job will be taken by somebody outside that area.

10:16 So, the idea is to give people the skill and they will get the preferred jobs.

10:22 Right.

10:23 To your point, these are very early stage, very manual jobs.

10:29 And we've got about 34% of those first 120 odd students that we've now signed up are women.

10:41 Right.

10:42 So, even at that level, on a menial basis, we've got a large percentage of women, surprisingly large.

10:49 That is brilliant.

10:50 That is actually very encouraging.

10:52 Entrepreneurship is of utmost importance.

10:54 You're talking about jobs.

10:56 How is your training program going to help with entrepreneurial skills?

11:01 Because it's not only important for the youngsters to just have that job oriented mindset.

11:06 They should be able to have their own business and be the employers.

11:10 Sure.

11:11 And so, that's an equal part of it.

11:14 As we grow, first of all, it's construction.

11:18 Secondly, it's infrastructure.

11:21 And then, it's procurement.

11:23 And so, what we've been doing the last three days here is with the core team that's leading this project,

11:33 is mapping out how we get from here to our destination in 2028.

11:40 Right.

11:41 And part of that is on-boarding entrepreneurs.

11:45 Because again, what we're looking for is the real entrepreneur or the one that has the ability to be it.

11:54 Not necessarily the person who's got connections.

11:58 As you know, in Pakistan and many emerging market economies,

12:03 there's a lot of authority given to people because of who you know, not what you know.

12:09 We're after the people who really have ability.

12:14 And so, we have what we call an incubation program and an acceleration program.

12:22 To take as we build this mind and as we expose ourselves to the community,

12:28 we will pick up people that are talented.

12:32 Not necessarily educated, but talented.

12:35 And we'll develop those.

12:37 And when I say this, I've done this before.

12:41 I've been in this business for 40 years.

12:43 Do you see the potential over there?

12:44 Obviously.

12:45 But do you see the potential over there?

12:46 Absolutely.

12:47 Do you see doers there?

12:49 Absolutely.

12:50 And we're already, I mean, we're at about 120 by January, February next year, we'll be at 1200 people employed.

12:59 Terrific.

13:00 By the time we get to 2026, we'll have 6000.

13:04 And by the time we peak production, we'll be employed 10,000 people.

13:10 And then we'll settle down at about 5,500.

13:15 So, some of those skills we will import because they're temporary.

13:21 They're doing specific jobs.

13:23 But the ones that are long-lasting, the people that we want to operate.

13:28 So, my ambition is when we turn that switch on in 2028, it's Balochistan operators that are operating the mine.

13:40 That's the objective.

13:41 That is exactly what we're looking at as well.

13:43 Thank you very much, Mark, for joining me in the program.

13:45 It was a pleasure having you.

Category

Transcript

Recommended