ISLAMABAD: The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday announced Pakistan's first ever ‘Mineral Policy 2014'.

Addressing the participants, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan said that the main objective of the provincial government was to utilise all its resources for the human development adding that the purpose of the mineral policy was also to attract local and foreign investors in the mineral sector of the province.

“It is our prime target to activate the mineral sector to enhance and sustain its contribution to government revenues, foreign exchange earnings, employment creation, and the improvement of social and physical infrastructure,” the PTI chief said.

Khan said that the provincial government had already increased the budget of health and education sectors while the mineral policy will be a long term policy of the provincial government.

He claimed that the government was also determined to plant one billion trees within the next four years while the government will also utilise the money of timber mafia in plantation of trees in the province.

Earlier, KP Chief Minister, Pervez Khattak said that the province was endowed with vast mineral resources which included precious and base metals, non-metallic minerals and precious and semi–precious stones.

He said that the purpose of mineral policy to further develop the mineral industry of the KP by creating a business environment that would benefit the people of the province adding that “This policy intends to send a clear signal to both the national and foreign investment community that KP is open for business.”

Provincial Minister for Mineral Development, Ziaullah Afridi said that the ministry had already prepared a draft for the legislation regarding the minerals acts of 1948 while the draft will be present soon in the provincial assembly for the approval in this regard.

He said that the government will ensure that the mining operations will start in the province after the approval of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA).

According to the geologists, the KP province is full of resources of metallic and non-metallic minerals including antimony, chromium, copper, gold, iron, lead, manganese, silver, barite, coal, dolomite, fluorite, gemstones, gypsum, limestone, magnetite, marble, granite, soapstone, salt and pyrite.