QUETTA   -   Country Manager of Reko Diq Mining Company (RDMC) on Thursday inau­gurated Mashki Chah Pri­mary School in Chagai, said a statement issued by RDMC. 

This education project at Mashki Chah was financed by RDMC at the recommen­dation of the project’s Par-e-Koh Community Develop­ment Committee (CDC). 

The Par-e-Koh CDC com­prises stakeholders from nearby villages such as Hu­mai, Mashki Chah, Nok Chah and Durban Chah.

By constituting and for­malising CDCs in its area of operations, the RDMC team has initiated the institu­tionalisation of consensus-building among diverse stakeholders in local com­munities. 

The newly inaugurated primary school with an enrollment of 32 children, of which 14 are girls, will serve the entire popula­tion of Mashki Chah, a small village in tehsil Nok­kundi. Earlier this year, the primary school at Humai, also part of the RDMC so­cial development portfolio, started functioning with an enrollment of 69 students.

The Mashki Chah school was constructed by RDMC and will be run by a third party with oversight from the RDMC management. RDMC operates in Pakistan as a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation and shares Barrick’s commitment to sustainable development.

RDMC Country Manager Ali Ehsan Rind said, “Being the second primary school inaugurated by the compa­ny in district Chagai, this is another example of how the new Reko Diq agreement ensures that benefits from the project start accruing to the people of Chagai well in advance of commercial operations starting. We are all proud to play our role as part of the Par-e-Koh CDC and invest in projects that can deliver benefit to our lo­cal communities.”

Reko Diq will be a multi-generational mine with a life of at least 40 years. During peak construction, the project is expected to employ 7,500 people and once in production it will create 4,000 long-term jobs. Barrick’s policy of pri­oritising local employment and suppliers will have a positive impact on the lo­cal economy. The company plans to finish the Reko Diq feasibility study update by the end of 2024, with 2028 targeted for first produc­tion from the giant copper-gold mine in the country’s Balochistan province.