Tethyan Halts $3.4 Billion Project as Pakistan Rejects Lease
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Tethyan Copper Co., a venture between Antofagasta Plc and Barrick Gold Corp. to build a $3.4 billion Pakistan copper and gold mine, mothballed operations that will cost 150 jobs after its mining lease was rejected.
The company filed arbitration against the government of Baluchistan province, which refused the mining lease, and the federal government of Pakistan in Washington and Paris, Tim Livesey, chief executive officer of Tethyan, said today in a telephone interview. The company has invested about $500 million, including $214 million of expenses until the end of the feasibility study in August 2010, he said.