Faiza Tehseen

Systemic exploitation of lead and zinc deposits in Pakistan is vital to strengthen the local industry and cut the import bill.

This was stated by Abdul Bashir, chief geologist with Koh-e-Daleel Private Limited, a mining company based in Balochistan. Talking to WealthPK, he said, “Globally, lead and zinc are high in demand for the industrial sector. Lead is a widely used ingredient to produce pigments, car batteries, cable sheathing, ammunition, and lead crystal glass. It is used in manufacturing the lifting weights and diving belt weights. Lead is also used in some solders, radiation protection, and storing corrosive liquids.” Bashir said that zinc is largely used to galvanise other metals to prevent rusting. “Galvanised metals are further used to manufacture different products, including safety barriers, car bodies, suspension bridges and street lampposts. Die-castings made from zinc are largely used in hardware, automobile and electrical industries.”

He said, “In Pakistan, if the government pays attention to exploration, many more areas can be discovered having other profitable minerals, including lead and zinc. Duddar mine in Balochsitan is Pakistan’s largest lead and zine mine. There are more areas where sizeable lead-zinc deposits can be expected. But in such areas a proper and systematic exploration has not been carried out as yet.” Bashir said Lasbela, Khuzdar, Wad, Muslim Bagh, Qilla Saifullah and Zhob in Balochistan and Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were rich in lead-zinc deposits. He said the government should devise a proper mechanism to tap this potential. The geologist said the government of Balochistan and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) had completed a feasibility study of lead-zinc deposits near Khuzdar.

“It will be an open-pit mining operation, which is expected to start soon.” Bashir said the private sector should be involved in exploiting the true potential of lead and zinc in Pakistan. “In this way, more investment will be injected into the mining sector and new opportunities will emerge.” Sharing his views with WealthPK regarding the exploration of lead and zinc deposits in Balochistan, Imran Babar, a geologist and miner, said, “Systematic exploration of lead and zinc deposits in Pakistan can lead the mining sector towards more sustainability. In this regard, the government needs to incentivise the mining exploration and encourage the private sector’s involvement in the mining operations.”

Credit: INP-WealthPk