In 2024, Pakistan was the seventh-ranked producer of industrial garnet, accounting for an estimated 0.3% of world production; the ninth-ranked producer of talc and related materials, accounting for an estimated 3.1% of world production; and the ninth-ranked (tied with Canada) producer of nitrogen (fixed, ammonia), accounting for an estimated 2.4% of world production. The mining and quarrying sector contributed 1.5% to Pakistan’s gross domestic product in fiscal year 2024, beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024. Mineral commodities produced in Pakistan included antimony, barite, bauxite, cement, chromite, clays, copper, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, emerald, iron and steel, iron ore, iron oxide pigments, lead, magnesite, phosphate rock, pumice, sand and gravel, soda ash, stone, sulfur, and zinc.
The legislative framework for the mineral sector in Pakistan is provided by the Regulation of Mines and Oilfields and Mineral Development (Government Control) Act (enacted in 1948 and last amended in 1976) for the Federal level, the Mining Concession Rules for Four Provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh Provinces; enacted between 2002 and 2019) for the Provincial level, and the National Mineral Policy (enacted in 1995 and amended in 2013) for the Federal and Provincial levels. The Geological Survey of Pakistan oversees the mineral sector and provides services such as geologic mapping, geoscientific surveys, and minerals exploration. Most mineral commodities were produced by domestic private companies.
