Ivanhoe Mines enters Pakistan copper search with Mari Energies

Canada's Ivanhoe Mines has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan's Mari Energies to pursue copper and gold exploration, its first move into South Asia, with no financial terms disclosed.

Why it matters: Ivanhoe built its name on the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in Congo and Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia; a Pakistan entry puts a major discovery house into a largely unexplored belt that also hosts Barrick's Reko Diq, at a forum where Islamabad is courting foreign mining capital.

Data as of Mining.com report of November 12, 2026, read in full; Reuters report of the same day, read in full in its Devdiscourse carrying, corroborates the signing, the local office and the further agreement expected on Friday. Neither company has disclosed financial terms, exploration commitments or a timetable for a definitive agreement. Developing item.

Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan’s Mari Energies (PSX: MARI) to pursue mineral exploration opportunities, chairman Robert Friedland announced on Thursday on the sidelines of the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum in Islamabad, marking the Canadian miner’s entry into South Asia beyond its major operations in southern Africa. Friedland said Ivanhoe is in the early stages of establishing a local office, expects to sign another agreement on Friday, and is forming equal partnerships in Pakistan, though he did not confirm that this agreement follows a 50-50 ownership structure, and neither company has disclosed financial terms or specific exploration commitments. Mari Energies’ mining subsidiary Mari Minerals holds several exploration projects targeting copper and gold in Pakistan, and Pakistani reporting on the forum put the joint work in Chagai, Balochistan, the district that hosts the Reko Diq copper and gold project.

Ivanhoe Mines enters Pakistan copper search with Mari Energies

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