Project Vault: America has announced an investment of $ 1.3 billion in Pakistan’s Reco Deeq Khan. This investment is part of America’s new plan Project Vault. The objective of this scheme is to reshape the market of essential minerals and rare metals across the world.

The US State Department gave this information on Wednesday. Reko Diq, which is located in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, is considered to be one of the largest gold and copper deposits in the world. According to the State Department, under Project Vault, America has invested only in this place outside the country.

Donald Trump had announced in February

Project Vault was announced by Donald Trump on February 2, 2026. This initiative is being run under the leadership of the President of the American Export-Import Bank (EXIM). Under this scheme, EXIM has approved a loan of 10 billion dollars for this project, which is one of the largest loans in the history of this federal agency. In the last one year, EXIM has issued letters of interest worth $14.8 billion for important mineral projects. Many deals have been made under this, which also includes an investment of 1.3 billion dollars in Pakistan.

Other investments in America

Several other investments have also been made in the US under Project Vault:

• A $10 billion plan, which will serve as the US Strategic Critical Mineral Reserve.
• $27.4 million for titanium, nickel and advanced metal powders in Pennsylvania.
• $23.5 million for advanced materials and critical metals processing in Tennessee.
• $15.9 million for zinc mining and production in New York.
• $11.1 million for titanium processing and manufacturing in Virginia.

Of all these, Pakistan is the only country where America has invested outside its country.

About Reko Deek Khan

Reko Diq Mine, located in Balochistan, Pakistan, is one of the world’s largest copper and gold reserves. According to the report, there are about 5.9 billion tons of ore in this area, which contains 0.41% copper and about 41.5 million ounces of gold. The Reko Diq area is part of the Chagai mountain range of Balochistan, which extends between the Quetta-Taftan railway line and the border with Afghanistan. This area is considered to be one of the old volcanic areas.

History of legal dispute

In 2011, Reco Diq Khan became the center of a major legal dispute. This dispute took place between Pakistan and Thethyan Copper Company (TCC). TCC was a partnership between Chile’s Antofagasta and Canada’s Barrick Gold. The allegation in this case was that the Australia-Pakistan investment agreement was violated and mining rights were wrongly given to TCC.

The world’s power will now be determined not just by oil but by critical minerals. A big change has emerged in this direction. America has started forming a new international mineral group with 54 countries including India. Its purpose is to break the hold of China, which currently controls almost 90 percent of the supply of rare earths and essential minerals.

This announcement was made at the 2026 Critical Minerals Ministerial Meeting held in Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Finance Minister Scott Besant attended this meeting. From the Indian side, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar’s presence made it clear that India is going to be an important center of this new mineral alliance.

America will invest 30 billion dollars

Under this initiative, two big platforms have been created. The first is FORGE, which will replace the previous Minerals Security Partnership. Its objective is to make the price and supply of minerals secure and stable. At present its responsibility has been given to South Korea. The second platform is Pax Silica, which will work on diverting the supply of minerals required for semiconductor, artificial intelligence and high-tech industries from China to trusted countries. In this, India has been considered a strong pillar.

What is the big opportunity for India?

This is a big opportunity for India. Now India will not just be a country that buys minerals, but will also become a global center for cleaning and processing them. America has clearly said that it will invest about 30 billion dollars for mineral mining and refining in reliable partners like India instead of China.

America reduced tariffs

Before this, America reduced the tax on Indian products from 25 percent to 18 percent. With this, the export of products related to batteries, electronics and semiconductors made in India will increase rapidly. Apart from this, America has announced Project Vault, under which a strategic mineral reserve will be created so that the work of factories does not stop in case of any emergency. Experts believe that in the coming time, only that country will be a superpower, which will have a strong hold on minerals like lithium, cobalt and rare earth.

India US Relations: India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar began his high-profile visit to America on Tuesday (February 4). On the very first day of the tour, he held two important meetings with US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio. In these meetings, discussions were held to further strengthen the partnership between India and America in areas like trade, energy, nuclear cooperation, defence, critical minerals and technology.

This three-day visit of Jaishankar is taking place at a time when, just a day before, US President Donald Trump had announced a big trade deal with India after talking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Under this agreement, the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods has been reduced from 25 percent to 18 percent, which is effective immediately.

Jaishankar meets Scott Besant

Foreign Minister Jaishankar started his tour with a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant. According to officials, this conversation is considered very important for putting the new economic agreement between India and America on the ground.

These discussions were described as an important step towards finalizing the finer points of the big trade deal announced on Sunday. Posting on social media platform Officials believe that this conversation with the Treasury Department will help translate decisions taken at the political level into concrete policies, especially on issues like ease of doing business, market access and coordination of rules.

Talks on strategic partnership between Jaishankar and Rubio

In the second part of the day, Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In this meeting, many major issues of cooperation between the two countries were discussed. Jaishankar said on social media that bilateral cooperation, regional and global issues as well as many important pillars of India-US strategic partnership were discussed in the talks. These include trade, energy, nuclear cooperation, defence, critical minerals and technology. He also said that both sides have agreed to hold separate institutional meetings soon to advance common interests.

At the same time, Marco Rubio said in his post that the meeting especially focused on the discovery of critical minerals and opening new economic opportunities. He also welcomed the trade agreement between India and America and called it an important step for the relations between the two countries.

America’s big initiative on critical minerals

The US State Department has already indicated that Rubio wants to work with international partners to strengthen the supply chain of critical minerals. These minerals are considered very important for areas like defence, technology manufacturing and clean energy.

America will host the Critical Minerals Ministerial for the first time in Washington DC on Wednesday. Officials from more than 50 countries will participate in it. The purpose of this meeting is to increase cooperation on securing and diversifying the supply of essential minerals around the world, the US State Department has said.

US State Department issued statement

The US State Department said that Foreign Minister Marco Rubio and India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar welcomed the trade deal between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi. At the end of the meeting, both the leaders said that they will further advance cooperation with India and America as well as other partner countries through Quad. He also believed that a strong and prosperous Indo-Pacific region is essential to advance the common interests of both the countries.

Tommy Pigott said this in his statement

Foreign Minister Dr. S. in Washington DC. Regarding Jaishankar’s meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Piggott said that in this meeting, both the leaders talked about formalizing cooperation between India and America on exploration, mining and processing of critical minerals.

Both welcomed the trade deal between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the conversation, it was emphasized that both the democratic countries should work together, so that new economic opportunities can open up and common goals related to energy security can be progressed.

At the end of the meeting, Jaishankar and Rubio reiterated their commitment to further strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation through the Quad. He also believed that a prosperous Indo-Pacific region is essential to advance the common interests of both the countries.

External Affairs Minister S. to attend the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting to be held in America. Jaishankar may go to US next week. This meeting on important minerals will be held in Washington DC. This will be the first high level meeting to be hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Apart from the meeting, S Jaishankar and Rubio may also discuss other issues.

In fact, the purpose of the Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting is to bring many countries around the world on one platform, so that cooperation can be increased to secure the supply chain of critical minerals. These include essential materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel, which are the foundation of everything from electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure to defense systems.

Tension between India and America regarding trade deal
This high level meeting is taking place at a time when there is a lot of tension between India and America regarding the trade deal. In such a situation, it is believed that if Jaishankar goes to America, then an effort can be made to reduce the tension in the relations between the two countries. Along with this, the possibilities of meeting between PM Modi and Donald Trump can also be discussed. According to sources, if S Jaishankar goes to America, it will be a clear indication that the rift between the two countries has gone away.

Agreement has been signed with the European Union
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to America is taking place at a time when India has recently signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union. This agreement is considered very important amid American pressure. Let us tell you that with this agreement, Indian companies will get priority access to specific markets. This will reduce the tariff on ‘Made in India’ medical equipment. Apart from this, there will be rapid development in sectors like chemicals, fertilizers, medicines, cosmetics, soaps and detergents and will also help a lot in increasing production capacity and developing MSME clusters.

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An important agreement was reached between America and Australia on Monday (20 October). US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed this agreement. This deal is related to rare earth minerals and critical minerals, which are necessary in making electric vehicles, jet engines and defense equipment.

Trump told in the White House that this agreement was completed after four-five months of negotiations. The two leaders also discussed trade, defense equipment and submarine projects. Albanese said the total value of this agreement was 8.5 billion dollars (about Rs 71,000 crore). Under this deal, both the countries will invest in mining and processing projects in the next six months. Also, a minimum price floor has been fixed for critical minerals, which was a demand of western companies for a long time.

America is increasing trust in Australia

China has the world’s largest rare earth reserves, but Australia is also an important player in this field. America is now increasing its trust in its QUAD partner Australia so that its dependence on China is reduced.

This agreement also has geopolitical importance. Western countries now want to reduce dependence on China. In recent months, China has tightened rare earth export controls, increasing pressure on the global supply chain. America and its allies consider it a threat to global industries.

What is the challenge for India?

This news is special for India. America is taking minerals from its QUAD ally Australia, while India is still dependent on China in many areas. The question arises that if India also deals with China in its own interest, then why should it be considered a ‘strategic risk’, whereas America is doing the same thing. This deal will strengthen US-Australia economic and defense ties and could change the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region. The challenge for India is whether it should go along with global politics or take steps in the interest of its resources.

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