Reko Diq
TCC is an Australian Barrick Gold Corporation and Chilean Antofagasta PLC joint venture of 50-50. Reko Diq is known for its mineral richness of gold and cotton in the south-west of Balochistan.
ICSID Tribunal
In 2011, the ICSID tribunal took up a dispute with Pakistan after it claimed $8.5 billion, when the Balochistan Mining Authority rejected its application in the Province to lease multi-million dollars.
The Reko Diq Mining Project was intended to build and run a world-class open-pit Copper- Gold mine for around $3.3 billion, based on the details available from Tethyan's website. The company states that its 1998 agreement with the Government of Balochistan gives it the right to the mining rental, subject to routine government requirements.
After the request was rejected, the project stopped in November 2011. The government ended the mining lease because Pakistani officials say it was secured in an open-ended manner.
At that time, $220 million had been invested in Reko Diq. The company sought support from the Arbitration Tribunal of the World Bank in 2012, and in 2017 decided against Pakistan, refusing the Supreme Court's earlier ruling.
The tribunal then decided to make use of a formula to calculate the damages for the cancelled lease based on Tethyan's assumed profits over 56 years. In July 2019, the Court oversaw the Pakistan mining lease for a $5.97 billion award.
The fine of around two per cent of Pakistan's GDP, including its damages award and interest.
The TCC began the process for enforcing the award immediately thereafter. Pakistan challenged the award in November 2019 and initiated an application to cancel the award.
The office of the AGP announced in March 2020 that it submitted a request for cancellation of the award issued by the ICSID on 12 July 2019 on 8 November 2019.
In addition to the annulment pleading, Pakis-tan also requested that the award granted against the nation on 18 November 2019 be granted a provisional stay.
After Pakistan had begun the annulment proceedings, a hearing was held in April last year to confirm the residence order on the "video link." The Court finally ruled in favour of Pakistan on 16 September 2020, confirming that the award was still enforced.On 20 November 2020, however, the company moved a separate case for enforcement of its award in the High Court of BVI which included attachment to the assets of Pakistan International Airlines Investment Ltd.
In the light of its decision to annul Reko Diq mining lease for the TTC, the ICSID is still considering Pakistan's appeal against its penalty.
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