ISLAMABAD, April 9 -- US companies are seeking to invest in Pakistan's largely untapped minerals sector that boasts one of the world's largest copper and gold deposits, the Pakistani government said Wednesday.

Eric Meyer, Senior Bureau Official for the State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, conveyed that interest directly to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during meeting in Islamabad, according to a government statement.

The meeting came a day after Meyer attended the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum-an international summit aimed at attracting foreign investment in the country's mining sector. Apart from gold and copper, Pakistan is also rich in lithium used to make batteries, as well as other minerals....