Pakistan’s top court may rule in a month on a probe which is key for the development of a $3,3-billion copper and gold project owned by Antofagasta and Barrick Gold, a Chilean newspaper reported on Friday, citing a Pakistani diplomat.

The supreme court has barred the local Baluchistan government from deciding on the approval of the Reko Diq mining lease until it rules on an investigation over the awarding of the concession in the past.

Pakistan’s ambassador in Chile, Burhanul Islam, told Diario Financiero that “the court’s decision is expected in about a month, approximately.”

Islam’s office in Santiago declined further comment.

Antofagasta and Barrick joint venture Tethyan Copper Co (TCC) denied a report by Diario Financiero that the court had frozen its exploration concession.

TCC spokeswoman Samia Ali Shah told Reuters that the court has to rule on the concession case before a decision is made on a lease application.

Antofagasta and Barrick declined to comment on the report about the deposit, which has turned into a headache for both companies at times when gold and copper prices hover near all-time highs.

Barrick’s Chief Executive Aaron Regent said on Thursday it was too early to include Reko Diq in its reserves.

“Until we have clarity about that, that would be premature for us to include anything in our reserves,” Regent told investors in an earnings call. “There is a lot of support for the project, so I would be cautiously optimistic, but I don’t want to over-promise anything.”

Baluchistan officials warned last year that the province wanted to cancel the project amid growing anger over outsiders exploiting natural resources in Pakistan’s poorest region. [ID:nSGE60B07R]

Reko Diq, located in southwest Pakistan, holds an estimated mineral resource of 5.9 billion tonnes with an average copper grade of 0.41 percent and an average gold grade of 0.22 grams a tonne, according to data released by Antofagasta.

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