*

ADB to provide $410 million package for copper-gold mine

*

Package includes a $300 million in loans to Barrick Gold ( B )

(Updates throughout)

By Saeed Shah and Ariba Shahid

ISLAMABAD, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The Asian Development Bank

will provide a $410 million financing package to help develop

Pakistan's Reko Diq copper mine, one of the world's largest

untapped deposits, which will be operated by Barrick Gold ( B )

, two sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Islamabad hopes the project will serve as a springboard to

draw more foreign interest to its mineral sector, particularly

to exploit rare earth deposits. Pakistan has already attracted

interest from the Trump administration and offered future

concessions to U.S. companies.

The loans and a financing guarantee will support development

of Reko Diq, which is expected to produce copper and gold from

2028 and generate about $70 billion in free cash flow over its

lifespan.

The financing is composed of two loans totalling $300

million to Barrick and a $110 million financing guarantee for

the government of Pakistan, both sources said ahead of the

official announcement.

The $6.6 billion project in Balochistan is 50% owned by

Barrick with the other half held by the federal and provincial

governments.

ADB, the petroleum ministry and Barrick did not immediately

respond to requests for comment.

The project aims to raise upwards of $2 billion and has a

previous agreement for $700 million in financing from the

International Finance Corporation, the World Bank's private

investment arm.

The project's developers are in talks with other prospective

financiers, including the U.S. Export-Import Bank, Export

Development Canada and Japan's JBIC and expect to sign term

sheets this quarter, project director Tim Cribb told Reuters in

April.

Reko Diq, delayed for years by a legal dispute that was

settled in 2022, will produce 200,000 metric tons of copper

annually in its first phase, rising to 400,000 tons after an

expansion.

Barrick says the mine could operate beyond its 37-year life

through upgrades and further exploration.