The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition Barrick Gold and Chile's Antofagasta have given up hope of mining Reko Diq, a disputed but promising copper and gold project in Pakistan's poorest region of Baluchistan, and will demand compensation instead. A Reuters dispatch to the Post says Reko Diq was meant to be the biggest foreign investment in Pakistan's mining sector. Development, however, has been frozen since 2011 after the provincial government refused a mining license for the venture jointly owned by Barrick and Antofagasta -- Tethyan Copper Company -- months after a request was submitted. Tethyan began international arbitration proceedings in November, 2011. After years of inaction, Wednesday's decision is unlikely to come as a significant surprise. Prices have weakened and miners have been retreating from greenfield projects in tough locations. It is instead likely to add fuel to the argument of many investors who want major mining companies to steer clear of riskier destinations. Barrick and Antofagasta have invested more than $220-million in the Reko Diq project, in which the two companies jointly owned a 75-per-cent stake; the provincial government held the remaining 25 per cent.