Minerals and power Field Marshal Asim Munir, addressing the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum in Islamabad, has delivered a message that goes beyond minerals. It is about national power, economic security and Pakistan’s place in a changing global economy. In the twentieth century, geopolitics revolved around oil. In the twenty-first century, geopolitics is increasingly revolving around minerals. Five minerals will help power the global economy over the next decade: copper, lithium, graphite, nickel and rare earths. Pakistan has geological indications of all five. In copper, Pakistan already has world-class reserves. In lithium and rare earths, Pakistan has emerging opportunities. In graphite and nickel, Pakistan has exploration potential. The ground reality: Pakistan has mineral wealth underground and poverty above ground. Nature may have given Pakistan $6 to $7 trillion in mineral potential but governance has failed to convert that underground wealth into above-ground prosperity. Nature has delivered – governance has not. The world is undergoing four revolutions simultaneously: an energy revolution, an electric vehicle revolution, a defence technology revolution and an artificial intelligence revolution. Consider the numbers. A 600-watt solar panel contains around 300 grams of copper; a one-gigawatt solar farm requires some 2,500 tonnes. A six-megawatt direct-drive wind turbine needs around 1,200 kg of rare earths. A 65-kWh electric vehicle battery needs some seven kg of lithium. An F-35 fighter jet contains an estimated 417 kg of rare earth materials. A 100-MW data centre can require up to 4,000 tonnes of copper. The world is moving from a fuel-intensive economy to a mineral-intensive economy. By 2035, the International Energy Agency projects a potential 25 percent supply gap in copper and a 32 percent gap in lithium. Demand for graphite, nickel and rare earths is also projected to rise sharply. The world needs new mines, new processing facilities and new suppliers. For Pakistan, the emerging global supply gap represents a multi-billion-dollar export opportunity. Here is the challenge that Pakistan is up against. Mining is a 20-to-40-year investment. A mining company invests billions today, begins production years later and recovers its investment over decades. In Pakistan, governments change. Policies change. Tax regimes change. Security conditions change. A mining company investing in Pakistan is not investing for the tenure of a prime minister. It is investing for the next four decades. The investor needs policy continuity, regulatory certainty, contract enforcement and security. The world needs Pakistan’s minerals. Pakistan needs the world’s capital and technology. Here is the test: Reko Diq has an estimated 15 million tonnes of copper and 26 million ounces of gold in probable reserves. On April 2, Barrick Mining announced a slowdown in development activity, citing security risks. The mineral deposits had not changed. The investment environment had. That, in a nutshell, is Pakistan’s mineral challenge. Minerals are becoming a source of national power. Pakistan has the minerals. What Pakistan needs are institutions that can turn minerals into economic power. Geology has given Pakistan an opportunity. Governance will determine its value.

— farrukh saleem (@SaleemFarrukh) November 14, 2026