Mr. Rashid Hasan President and CEO of TITC (centre) and Syed Asif Shah, Chairman SDA are signing the MoU while Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan, Chief Minister NWFP and Mr. Saeed Ullah Jan , Chief Secretary NWFP are also seen in the picture

TITC signs agreement for gold exploration

TORONTO: Toronto International Trade Corporation (TITC), a Toronto based Canadian company, has signed an agreement with the state-owned Sarhad Development Authority for the exploration and mining of gold and base metals in Chitral district of Pakistan.

This agreement gives TITC exclusive rights for the exploration and mining of gold and base metals in the area of 7500 sq. kilometres in northern Pakistan. Earlier, government's exploration agencies identified presence of gold deposits in the area after conducting a series of geological surveys of the region.

Later, a team of Australian geologists, working on a project sponsored and supervised by Australian Aid Agency (Ausaid) also confirmed the presence of gold and base metals deposits in the area. The second phase of this exploratory project is in progress.

Rashid Hasan, president and chief executive officer of TITC described this agreement as a milestone in growing business relationship between the two countries. He said that TITC would accord a high priority to the exploration of gold in Chitral, and hoped that its geologists will launch advanced survey of the area soon. He said that TITC is in contact with some leading mining companies of Canada to constitute a joint venture for this project.

Syed Asif Shah, chairman SDA and Rashid Hasan, president TITC signed this agreement in Peshawar, capital of NWFP province of Pakistan in the presence of Chief Minister NWFP Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan.