Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said on Friday that Pakistan’s exploration efforts were increasingly focused on minerals that were of strategic importance to global investors.

He was addressing the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum 2026 (PMIF26) in Islamabad, where delegations, exhibitors and attendees have arrived from across the world to attend the event.

As the two-day event opened on Thursday, Pakistan showcased its vast mineral resources, ranging from coal and salt to gold and critical minerals, to attract international investment, promising predictable, investor-friendly policies, institutional support and security.

In continuation of the pitch, Malik told the investors that Pakistan’s exploration efforts were being complemented with “modern geochemical and geophysical surveys, exploratory drilling, and upgrading of our geoscience advanced research laboratories with sophisticated analytical technologies”.

Here, he particularly mentioned the exploration of copper and gold in Chagai and western Balochistan to lithium, tin and tungsten in Gilgit-Baltistan and antimony and base metals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said Pakistan had been exporting raw ore and importing the finished products to meet its requirements for a long time.

“We are now advancing copper smelting to capture more of the value chain from the mine to the finished metal,” he added.

The minister said Pakistan was also strengthening the scientific foundation of its mineral sector through the Geological Survey of Pakistan.

“The government’s accelerated geological mapping programme, including detailed surveys at a scale of 1:50,000, is helping identify mineral prospects across the country.”

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