For decades, the global discourse on Pakistan’s economy has been dominated by textiles, agriculture, and the recurring cycle of external debt. However, as the world pivots towards a green energy transition and high-tech industrialisation, the ground beneath our feet is shifting, literally. In the rugged terrains of Balochistan and the northern reaches of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lies a strategic treasure that could fundamentally rewrite Pakistan’s economic future: critical minerals.

While much of the international analysis focuses on how these resources fit into the Great Power Competition between the United States and China, Pakistan must view its mineral wealth through a more urgent, domestic lens. For Islamabad, the extraction and processing of copper, lithium, rare earth elements, and gold are not just about geopolitical leverage; they are about national economic survival.

The global economy is currently undergoing the most significant shift since the Industrial Revolution. The move from fossil fuels to renewable energy requires an exponential increase in minerals. For instance, an electric vehicle (EV) requires six times the mineral inputs of a conventional internal combustion engine car. Wind farms and solar arrays are equally........

© The Nation