A Pakistani company developing a greenfield copper mine in Balochistan — touted as the world’s fifth largest — has applied for a loan exceeding $100 million from the US Export-Import (EXIM) Bank. Reko Diq Mining Company’s loan application follows a recent financing haul of over $400 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and at least $450 million from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).The Reko Diq copper and gold mine, owned 50 per cent by the Canada-headquartered mining giant Barrick Gold Corporation, and 25 per cent each by the Government of Balochistan and state-owned firms, is set to position Pakistan as a key player in the global critical minerals supply chain.At a time when copper demand is racing ahead of ore production, the project is likely to catch the attention of the Donald Trump administration, which is scrambling to secure supplies of the critical mineral with broad industrial applications, including EV batteries and renewable energy technologies.Loan to finance equipment imports from USReko Diq Mining Company has applied for “long-term loans or financial guarantees in excess of $100 million”, the US EXIM Bank revealed in a document published on Wednesday. The bank has called for comments on the application within 26 days, following which its board of directors will take the final call.The loan will be used to finance the import of equipment for the mine’s development, such as mining trucks, crushers, solar panels, and other machinery, along with consultancy services from the US. The application has identified seven suppliers with facilities across the US, including Caterpillar, First Solar, Komatsu, and Wabtec.The loan application by the Pakistani company comes as domestic copper projects in the US have struggled to take off. On August 18, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked a land transfer required to start work on an Arizona copper project, which could become one of the US’ largest. Trump hit back at the order, claiming that those who oppose the mine represent “other copper competitive Countries” in a social media post.Multilateral lenders rally behind the projectAlready, the Reko Diq project has seen notable success in securing funding from multilateral development banks. In June, the IFC’s board approved $450 million in loans, as part of a proposed financing package totalling $700 million for the Reko Diq mine’s development. The estimated project cost is $6.6 billion, which will be met by a combination of debt and equity, according to the IFC.Story continues below this adThen, on August 22, the ADB’s board of directors authorised $300 million in loans to Reko Diq Mining Company, and a $150 million partial credit guarantee to cover the Balochistan government’s equity component. “Financing for the project will be the largest foreign direct investment in Pakistan’s history,” the ADB said in a press release.In addition to an open-pit mine, the project also involves the creation of a processing plant together with storage, power generation, and transportation infrastructure.‘Reko Diq mine key to easing global copper shortfall’“When fully complete, Reko Diq is expected to be the world’s fifth-largest copper mine. In the first phase, the mine will produce on average 800,000 tons of copper concentrate per annum and play a key role in addressing the projected global copper shortfall,” the ADB said.The ADB expects the Reko Diq mine to start production in late 2028. As per the US Geological Survey, Chile (23 per cent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (14), and Peru (11) together accounted for nearly half of global copper output in 2025. Refining, however, is concentrated elsewhere — China alone produced 44 per cent of the world’s refined copper in the same year.Story continues below this adIndia mined just 30,000 metric tons of copper in 2025 — around 0.1 per cent of global output — and accounted for only 2 per cent of global refined copper production. Hindustan Copper Ltd, a central PSU under the Ministry of Mines, is the only company that mines copper in India.