Pakistan's $8 trillion mineral wealth fuels a deadly battle for control
Pakistan sits on an estimated $8 trillion worth of untapped minerals, including copper, lithium, and rare earths. These resources have drawn global attention, particularly from the US and China. Yet, the same border regions holding this wealth are now battlegrounds for insurgents armed with abandoned American weapons.
In 2021, the US withdrew from Afghanistan, leaving behind a stockpile of military hardware. Since then, militant groups in Pakistan—such as the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and Baloch separatists—have acquired M16s, M4 rifles, and explosives. A CNN investigation found hundreds of these weapons seized from jihadists near the Afghan border, now fuelling insurgencies in mineral-rich areas like Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The violence has surged in regions where Pakistan's most valuable deposits lie. The Muhammad Khel Copper Mine, nestled in the Hindu Kush, already produces 22,000 tons of copper annually, worth hundreds of millions. A neighbouring site could yield nearly ten times that amount—enough to cover a fifth of US copper demand each year. Meanwhile, China controls over 90% of the world's refined rare earths, giving it a near-monopoly on materials critical for smartphones, electric vehicles, and defence tech.
Pakistan has tried to leverage its mineral wealth for stronger ties with the US. In one high-profile move, its prime minister and a field marshal presented President Trump with a chest of rare earth samples. The gesture worked: Trump's administration later pledged over $1 billion to develop the Reko Diq mine in Balochistan, home to the world's largest untapped copper reserves. But the instability—driven by well-armed insurgents—threatens to derail these plans.
The US and Pakistan both see the country's mineral deposits as a strategic prize. American funding aims to break China's grip on critical minerals, while Pakistan hopes to turn its underground riches into economic power. Yet the spread of US-made weapons among militants complicates extraction efforts, turning resource-rich borderlands into volatile conflict zones.
