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$260 billion gold mines going for a song, behind closed doors

The price increases everyday :rofl:

Wah ray Pakistani,
har news main 50-100 billion dollars increase kar letay hain par is baar to seedha 500 dollars ka jump mara hai :rofl:

1 Trillion dollars :woot:

lol lol lol

Zaki, that's a national obsession. I've been expecting the Thar reserves to grow to around 1 zillion tons shortly.
 
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Evaluation of Reko Diq project: Tethyan Copper Company offers to appoint auditor
ZAFAR BHUTTA
ISLAMABAD (November 05, 2010) : Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) Pakistan Gerhard Von Borries has offered to appoint international auditor to evaluate the availability of copper and gold mines and their financial value under Reko Diq project. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, he hoped that Balochistan government would respect the legal obligation made in joint venture agreement on Reko Diq project.

He said "we are open to recruiting of an international auditor to check the availability of resources and their financial value". "Despite security concerns, many investors have walked out from Balochistan but we are here due to our firm commitment with the project," he said adding that under the project Balochistan government would get 25 percent shares as an "exceptional case".

"Balochistan Mineral Rules (BMR) promise 100 percent ownership to those companies which get mining licence but we have offered 25 percent ownership which enters Balochistan government into best deal," he said, adding that in international practice 100 percent ownership is held by mining companies.

Replying to a question regarding the fact that more shares are still held by TCC, he said that company investment had to be on risk and therefore more shares were to be owned by TCC. "Of the free cash flow, more than 50 percent will go to the governments of Balochistan and Pakistan in the form of royalties, taxes and proportionally distributed profits," he added.

TCC has carried out a comprehensive exploration programme, and financed a bankable feasibility study and an Environmental Social Impact Assessment at no cost to the government of Balochistan. He said that a feasibility study had been carried out by one of the world's top three engineering firms and submitted to government of Balochistan on August 26, 2010. TCC has duly fulfilled all the requirements of the Balochistan Mineral Rules (BMR).

"The next steps will be for Balochistan to consider TCC detailed proposal, creation of mining venture, mining lease application, and project and mineral agreements," he said, adding that the value of the project will be realised in a time period of 56 years.

During this time, the project will produce 22 billion pounds (10 million tones) of copper and 13.5 million ounces of gold. After the life of the mine more than 60% of the initial resources will remain in the ground, which are not technically and economically extractable.

"Prices of copper and gold are highly volatile and for the evaluation of such a project, average long term prices are determined by independent analyses," he said, adding that in the case of Reko Diq their prices have been assumed at 2.2 US$/ pound for copper and 925 US$/ oz for gold. If prices go up, or new technology enables to extract more, both parties will proportionally share the benefits.

The Balochistan government as a member of the Board will have full access to all operational and financial details which will allow them to know how much is being sold and at what price. "An upfront investment of 3.3 billion dollars will be made and a 4 year construction is required for the project to be up and running," he maintained.

There is a partnership agreement in place since 1993 between TCC and the Government of Balochistan (GoB) called Chagai Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement (CHEJVA). This is a binding agreement which provides the Balochistan government with 25% ownership of the Reko Diq Project under CHEJVA.

Top Stories - Evaluation of Reko Diq project: Tethyan Copper Company offers to appoint auditor





can anyone find the international best practice? that will be really helpful
 
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13.5 million ounces of Gold at todays price of $1394/ounce will be 13,500,000*1394= $18,819,000,000


22 billion pounds of copper and TCC's price of $2.2/pound will be 22,000,000,000*2.2= $48,400,000,000

together total worth of extractable minerals = $48.4 billion + $18.8 billion = $67.2 billion.

this is only 40% of total minerals which can be extracted given todays technology.

total worth of all mineral deposits (copper + gold) = $168 billion.

assumptions:
1) quantity of gold and copper deposits taken from the report;
2) price of Gold/ounce taken at today's price
3) price of copper/pound taken from the report
 
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Financial viability of Rekodiq deal for Balochistan government: ownership formula gives birth to some serious questions
RECORDER REPORT
ISLAMABAD (November 06, 2010) : The ownership sharing formula granted to Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) with respect to the multibillion dollar copper and gold mine Rekodiq project raises some serious questions about the financial viability of the deal for Balochistan, experts said.

According to joint venture agreement, Balochistan government holds 25 percent shares whereas TCC owns 75 percent shares. TCC argues that the two shareholders must invest the percentage amount of their shares or in other words Balochistan government must invest 25 percent of the total cost of the project.

"It means that TCC will be receiving 75 percent shares after paying only royalty and taxes to the government," expert said, adding that no cost of gold and copper will be paid by TCC. Balochistan government remains reluctant to invest as per its share in the project, which has created the deadlock between the two parties.

According to Chairman Board of Investment (BoI) Salim Mandviwala, Government of Balochistan has agreed to bear the financial responsibility of the project. But sources claimed that Balochistan government is still not ready to invest in the project.

TCC has justified the 75 percent ownership by stating that its investments will be at risk. But, experts state that all investors bear the financial risk in projects that require exploration of natural resources and therefore the justification has no merit.

Government follows production sharing formula in offshore drilling activities in oil and gas sector with higher shares for the government of Pakistan and less for exploration companies. Experts suggest that the formula for offshore drilling activities may be followed in the award of contract in gold and copper mines projects.

When asked, TCC claimed that Balochistan Mineral Rules (BMRs), in fact, provide guarantee of 100 percent ownership in mining sector. Experts suggest that BMRs require an urgent revisit to ensure greater share for the government of Balochistan. Chief Secretary Balochistan Ahmad Bakhsh Lehri could not be reached for his comments.

The other aspect of the project is financial cost which amounts to $3.2 billion and construction of the project will be completed in four years. "If government is ready to invest $15 billion on Diamer Basha dam, why can't it arrange $3.3 billion for Rekodiq project which will earn billions of dollars of foreign exchange for years to come," sources said, adding that Pakistan will become the fifth largest exporter of gold and copper in the world after the becomes operational.

Balochistan's Parliamentarians have urged that Balochistan government should carry out the multibillion dollar 'Rekodiq' project without involving any foreign company. While talking to Business Recorder, Member National Assembly (MNA) Mir Ahmadan Khan Bugti said that Balochistan government had shown its desire to execute the project.

"The federal government should take Balochistan government on board while moving ahead on this project," Bugti said. Another parliamentarian from Balochistan, Maulvi Asmatullah, gave one point solution saying, "Pakistan should not hand over its precious assets to foreign companies". Mir Hymaun Aziz Kurd said that natural resources belong to the provinces where they are located after the passage of 18th Amendment in the Constitution.

Business and Economy - Pakistan - Financial viability of Rekodiq deal for Balochistan government: ownership formula gives birth to some serious questions
 
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Regardless of the real value... what needs to be understood that our riches are being sold off by these leaders for peanuts...
 
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13.5 million ounces of Gold at todays price of $1394/ounce will be 13,500,000*1394= $18,819,000,000


22 billion pounds of copper and TCC's price of $2.2/pound will be 22,000,000,000*2.2= $48,400,000,000

together total worth of extractable minerals = $48.4 billion + $18.8 billion = $67.2 billion.

this is only 40% of total minerals which can be extracted given todays technology.

total worth of all mineral deposits (copper + gold) = $168 billion.

assumptions:
1) quantity of gold and copper deposits taken from the report;
2) price of Gold/ounce taken at today's price
3) price of copper/pound taken from the report

very well calculated

According one initial reports, Gold reserves were calculated at 600 dollars per ounce and the total reserves as per that news worth 65 billion dollars. Now since the Gold price has been increased more than twice and was standing at 1394 dollars per ounce. So I was hoping the total price to be somewhere between 160 - 170 billion dollars. Samething I was discussing with someone (from PDF) on MSN :)

Copper price also usually increases looking at the same Gold, Silver trend so 168 billion dollars is very aptly calculated.
 
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Sehbai seems only concerned with making readers angry about mining and corruption so that they will assume that any Reko Diq agreement is also tainted with corruption, even if there is no evidence of such. Sehbai pulls another sleight of hand later by saying that a company that owns some shares of Tethyan is “being accused on the web of some strange activities”. "The Canadian ompany, Barrick Gold, with 29 mines all over the world, is already being accused on the web of some strange activities. These include spills of cyanide, mercury and other heavy metals, police and legalistic repression of critics, threats to water resources on four continents and even food poisoning, as well as ****." And this should tell the reader everything he needs to know about Shaheen Sehbai’s journalistic ethics. How can someone who claims to be a professional journalist write such slander? Surely Sehbai is aware that any living person can write anything on the web with no oversight and virtually no consequences. That he would include such as his evidence shows that he is willing to stoop to any lows to write a sensational tabloid article, not serious investigative news.
 
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Sehbai seems only concerned with making readers angry about mining and corruption so that they will assume that any Reko Diq agreement is also tainted with corruption, even if there is no evidence of such. Sehbai pulls another sleight of hand later by saying that a company that owns some shares of Tethyan is “being accused on the web of some strange activities”. "The Canadian ompany, Barrick Gold, with 29 mines all over the world, is already being accused on the web of some strange activities. These include spills of cyanide, mercury and other heavy metals, police and legalistic repression of critics, threats to water resources on four continents and even food poisoning, as well as ****." And this should tell the reader everything he needs to know about Shaheen Sehbai’s journalistic ethics. How can someone who claims to be a professional journalist write such slander? Surely Sehbai is aware that any living person can write anything on the web with no oversight and virtually no consequences. That he would include such as his evidence shows that he is willing to stoop to any lows to write a sensational tabloid article, not serious investigative news.

Sehbai is a journalist and journos all over the world sensationalise their stories (its their job...readership) ,But the potential this project has and looking at the size of zeros involved anybody will raise eye brows over the transperancy of the project. A slight fudging of figures (looking at the potential this project has ) will mean enormous discrepencies for national exchequer.
 
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Evaluation of Reko Diq project: Tethyan Copper Company offers to appoint auditor
ZAFAR BHUTTA
ISLAMABAD (November 05, 2010) : Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) Pakistan Gerhard Von Borries has offered to appoint international auditor to evaluate the availability of copper and gold mines and their financial value under Reko Diq project. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, he hoped that Balochistan government would respect the legal obligation made in joint venture agreement on Reko Diq project.

He said "we are open to recruiting of an international auditor to check the availability of resources and their financial value". "Despite security concerns, many investors have walked out from Balochistan but we are here due to our firm commitment with the project," he said adding that under the project Balochistan government would get 25 percent shares as an "exceptional case".

"Balochistan Mineral Rules (BMR) promise 100 percent ownership to those companies which get mining licence but we have offered 25 percent ownership which enters Balochistan government into best deal," he said, adding that in international practice 100 percent ownership is held by mining companies.

Replying to a question regarding the fact that more shares are still held by TCC, he said that company investment had to be on risk and therefore more shares were to be owned by TCC. "Of the free cash flow, more than 50 percent will go to the governments of Balochistan and Pakistan in the form of royalties, taxes and proportionally distributed profits," he added.

TCC has carried out a comprehensive exploration programme, and financed a bankable feasibility study and an Environmental Social Impact Assessment at no cost to the government of Balochistan. He said that a feasibility study had been carried out by one of the world's top three engineering firms and submitted to government of Balochistan on August 26, 2010. TCC has duly fulfilled all the requirements of the Balochistan Mineral Rules (BMR).

"The next steps will be for Balochistan to consider TCC detailed proposal, creation of mining venture, mining lease application, and project and mineral agreements," he said, adding that the value of the project will be realised in a time period of 56 years.

During this time, the project will produce 22 billion pounds (10 million tones) of copper and 13.5 million ounces of gold. After the life of the mine more than 60% of the initial resources will remain in the ground, which are not technically and economically extractable.

"Prices of copper and gold are highly volatile and for the evaluation of such a project, average long term prices are determined by independent analyses," he said, adding that in the case of Reko Diq their prices have been assumed at 2.2 US$/ pound for copper and 925 US$/ oz for gold. If prices go up, or new technology enables to extract more, both parties will proportionally share the benefits.

The Balochistan government as a member of the Board will have full access to all operational and financial details which will allow them to know how much is being sold and at what price. "An upfront investment of 3.3 billion dollars will be made and a 4 year construction is required for the project to be up and running," he maintained.

There is a partnership agreement in place since 1993 between TCC and the Government of Balochistan (GoB) called Chagai Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement (CHEJVA). This is a binding agreement which provides the Balochistan government with 25% ownership of the Reko Diq Project under CHEJVA.

Top Stories - Evaluation of Reko Diq project: Tethyan Copper Company offers to appoint auditor




The Balochistan Provincial government needs to change the BMR Rules and practices. These Riches cant be granted a gifts .. not fair
 
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These riches are of no use if we do not have the human and technical resources to bring it to use.

What do you expect; that companies should make risky investments in exploration and then hand over all benefits to pakistani people on a platter.

Khud kuch na karna, bas shor machaatay rehna.

Only a company, whose directors and CEO are dead drunk, would offer such an arrangement where they bring these resources to economic use while we reap all the benefits.

People, have you ever conducted or observed a business enterprise?
 
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Sehbai even says that CM Balochistan was asked if he is being pressurized by Zardari, only to have the CM reply that the answer is no! Why does Sehbai report the CM’s reply “as an afterthought”? Is it because he is trying to influence readers not to believe the CM’s own word? Shaheen Sehbai may not believe the word of the CM Balochistan, but he is certainly willing to believe the word of his fellow “reporter” of The News, Ahmad Noorani even though this very site has proven before that Mr Noorani includes incorrect statements in his articles. The Reko Diq mine is a project worth billions in investment for Pakistan. Certainly such an important venture must be taken with public discussion and transparent process so that we can be sure that Pakistan gets the best possible result and the most benefit for the people of this country. But public discussion and transparent process does not include sensationalism and fictions. The people deserve the facts, not Shaheen Sehbai’s drama screenplays.
 
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Reko Diqheads
Remember this story in The News on November 3 by its Group Editor, Shaheen Sehbai? The front page 'expose' of an allegedly massive corruption scandal around the Reko Diq copper and gold mining project in Balochistan set tongues wagging all over Pakistan and among Pakistani expatriates abroad. The scale of the scandal was said to dwarf all previous scandals. The headline screamed:

"$260 billion gold mines going for a song, behind closed doors"

Now, in case you didn't follow the story or do not remember the exact words Mr. Sehbai used in his typically convoluted but bombastic style, let me briefly remind you what the investigative story said. Mr Sehbai begins by building conspiratorial suspense, clearly implying that President Zardari and his partymen are on the take to sell national wealth down the river to line their own pockets:

"Quietly, and below the media radar, some 20 top corporate bosses and lobbyists of two of the world’s largest gold mining groups have been meeting President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani, Governor State Bank and others in Islamabad throughout last week, pressing them to quickly hand over one of the world’s biggest gold and copper treasures found in Balochistan at Reko Diq, worth over $260 billion, to their companies, and for peanuts. Before these highly enticing visits of the mining tycoons to clinch the deals, which followed intense behind-the-scene negotiations and bargaining through middle men, some highly bizarre developments have been taking place, leaving experts and the rest of the mining world stunned, amazed and confused."

He expands on this tone:

"There is a plethora of documents, which prove that almost everybody involved is trying to deceive everybody else, the real picture is never presented, misleading statements and even contradictory claims have been made in the media, the issue has been kept confused as the real mega deal is maturing fast behind closed doors."
Citing the New York Times story that posited that Afghanistan was sitting on reserves of lithium worth up to a trillion US dollars (a story, it should be pointed out, that has itself been seriously questioned as a Pentagon attempt to sway public opinion in the US), Mr. Sehbai adds:

"Pakistan, it is estimated in mining circles, has more deposits than Afghanistan, so the enormity of the riches and the cost of the backdoor deals can easily be guessed. “It would be the mother of all the deals and grandfather of all the corruption cases in Pakistan, put together,” according to one expert. Reading the piles of documents, statements, interviews and legal papers available with The News, the picture that emerges is one of a grand deception, loot and plunder that never happened before on such a scale and the facts, untruths, half-truths, attempts to sabotage, frauds and backdoor bribes, are all documented. It all started in the Musharraf era but once the massive scale of the stakes involved became apparent to the PPP government, the Raisani/Zardari camp quickly jumped into the fray to renegotiate the deal, behind closed doors."
So far so good. I was hooked. Imagine my surprise then, when in an 'appearance' on tonight's Kehnay Mein Kya Harj Hai programme on Geo, Sehbai seemed to backtrack from the thrust of his story. You can see his opening salvo in the first few minutes of the following clip:

Part 1:

YouTube - Kehne mein kia harj hai - 9th november 2010 part 2

Basically, Sehbai says this is an old story, that he didn't really break the story and that all he did was raise questions about the murkiness of the deals being made so that someone could investigate it properly. Say what? I thought he had already worked it all out for us! In fact, I was so shocked at the weak defence of his sensational story (the host, Mohammad Mallick, then helps him out by saying that Sehbai's actually not accusing anyone directly of anything, he just wants things that are shrouded in mystery to be made clear) that I actually sat up and began to watch the programme with interest.

Sehbai really had me intrigued when he subsequently added that he had over 1,000 documents lying with him but that it is impossible to make sense of them by reading them in two to four days (so that's how long Sehbai worked on his investigative piece!), claiming that his story was actually a plea for someone to "go deeply into this and find out what is going on." I was intrigued, you see, because I kind of remembered Sehbai referring to a "deep study" of the documents in his possession, after which he had made the following declaration (as quoted above):

"Reading the piles of documents, statements, interviews and legal papers available with The News, the picture that emerges is one of a grand deception, loot and plunder that never happened before on such a scale and the facts, untruths, half-truths, attempts to sabotage, frauds and backdoor bribes, are all documented."
I am only reiterating that quote to drive home the point that Mr Sehbai has just shown himself to be either a coward or one of the most intellectually dishonest reporters to grace journalism in Pakistan. I also decided to go back and re-read his story and lo and behold certain other things began to stand out for me. For one, his source seems to be a representative of an American mining company with ties to the US establishment (keep in mind that the mining company being attacked in his piece is a Canadian-Chilean joint venture):

"“Because there is no effective investigating agency like NAB operating in the country, it is just the right case for the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of Pakistan to pick up the issue, put a hold on whatever is going on before any binding contracts and deals are signed, which may cause losses of billions of dollars, yes billions of dollars to Pakistan,” according to a corporate executive involved in the mining industry, based in New York. His company chairman is a reputed former three-term Congressman."
Vested interests, anyone?

Look, I am not so naiive as to think that a multi-billion dollar business deal such as this could take place in contemporary Pakistan without a huge amount of kickbacks and commissions (there is enough evidence that indicates every major deal involves corruption at various levels). But surely, one must also consider the motivations of corporations (and governments) that make such allegations about business rivals only so that they may perhaps themselves get a piece of the pie.

But even more interesting is that the entire basis of Sehbai's report is called into question by the representative of the company targeted, Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), on the Geo programme, which also brings in Balochistan politicians Lt. General (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch (former Governor Balochistan and MNA of the PMLN) and Senator Dr Abdul Malik, President of the National Party for comments. Even the US$260 Billion figure seems, from the programme, to have been a product of Sehbai's flawed understanding of mining concepts. Samia Ali Shah, the Manager Corporate Communications for TTC more or less reduces the entire distinguished panel and the host, Mallick, to grasping at rhetoric and anecdotal hearsay. For those of you interested, I would strongly urge you to watch the whole programme, the remainder of which (following on from above) is provided below. It really is an eye-opener for all the wrong reasons:

Part 2:
YouTube - Kehne mein kia harj hai - 9th november 2010 part 3


Part 3:
YouTube - Kehne mein kia harj hai - 9th november 2010 part 4

Part 4:
YouTube - Kehne mein kia harj hai - 9th november 2010 part 5



I should probably reiterate that I am in no way arguing that everything about the Reko Diq deal is above board, that TCC is a model company or that there are no issues with the fairness of what Balochistan and Pakistan stand to actually gain from the exploitation of its mineral wealth. (I have heard enough rumours in Balochistan and elsewhere not to make any such judgement, especially without all the information.) And of course the media manager of a multinational is going to do what she is paid to do, i.e. defend her company. But irrespective of the undoubtedly exploitative nature of trans-national companies, what this programme clearly shows is the absolute and cringe-worthy understanding of economic issues across the board among most journalists and politicians. I have yet to understand why some journalists insist on writing on issues they don't even understand themselves.

You want to take on the big bad wolf of international extractive capitalism? At least get not only your facts but also your concepts right. To try and take them on with such half-baked knowledge is suicide.

Cafe Pyala: Reko Diqheads
 
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These riches are of no use if we do not have the human and technical resources to bring it to use.
We have enough human resources to comision mills to crush stones and separation of gold from dust.
Pakistan has been building mines from decades.
Contract should have been awarded only to local engineering firms.

What do you expect; that companies should make risky investments in exploration and then hand over all benefits to pakistani people on a platter.
We do not expect deals behind the curtains...
We don't even know who will decide the profit.. which will be than divided among the share holders.
Do you know Musharaf govt. made all the exploration.

Khud kuch na karna, bas shor machaatay rehna.

Only a company, whose directors and CEO are dead drunk, would offer such an arrangement where they bring these resources to economic use while we reap all the benefits
5% profit on investment, is quite fair.

People, have you ever conducted or observed a business enterprise?
Yes.. and i can tell you how they are going to rip you off with every thing in front of your eyes.
1-They will make agreement on percentage not on absolute value.
2-With kick back to politicians they will maximize their %age share.
3-Eventually the will declare the profit and you have to believe on it and so will be the distribution of profits.
4- They will never show you any gold.
5-They will finance all coming elections of Baluchistan making sure the man they paid kick back remain in position.

My dear Baluchistan is been given away.
Did you notice present govt. is cancelling all contracts made by previous govt. incl. Gawadar port.

There had been no Gawadar port and no Reko Dig if their was no Musharraf.
 
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Reko Diq Company accepts probe by independent commission

Updated at Wednesday, November 10, 2010


Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: The Tethyan Copper Company Pakistan (Private) Limited, a joint venture between two major Canadian and Chilean mining companies, working on the multi-billion dollar controversial gold and copper mines project at Reko Diq in Balochistan agreed on Tuesday to set up an independent commission of experts to examine the numerous confusing aspects of the huge mining deal to the satisfaction of both the public and official stakeholders including the Balochistan government.
The spokesperson of the Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), Samia Shah conceded in the TV show “Kehnay Mein Kia Harj Hai?”, hosted by Mohammed Malick on Tuesday night, that her company will welcome such an independent commission. Other participants of the programme while welcoming this development however insisted that such an expert commission must be chosen and paid for by the government of Balochistan to exclude any possibility of the company influencing the commission’s findings.
Former Governor Balochistan, Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch, President National Party, Senator Dr Abdul Malik and Group Editor The News, Shaheen Sehbai also participated in the programme.
Dozens of questions were raised including the questioning of TCC’s capacity to explore and effectively exploit the mines, the role of the previous government of Balochistan in helping TCC by going out of the way to make or bend rules, the contradictions in the officially declared size of the gold and copper mines and the real worth of these minerals, the complexities and so called games played by these mining companies in naming and renaming their companies and re-structuring their corporate structures besides the feelings in Balochistan on how they were being robbed of their wealth as had been the case of them being robbed in Sui Gas and Saindak copper projects.
The TCC spokesperson Samia, for her part explained the minute details of their agreements and claimed that the company had not violated any rule. She also stated that whatever agreements had been signed were done by previous companies with the previous Balochistan Government whereas TCC had taken over from the earlier project managers in 2006 and had simply “inherited” all these agreements.
Senator Dr Malik said his province has been looted in the past but this time this huge resource will not be allowed to be snatched away from the people of Balochistan. “There will be huge resistance, including demonstrations and public mobilization on this issue, if it was not demonstrably done to ensure the protection of the interests of the Balochi people,” was his categorical warning.
Gen (R) Qadir Baloch also raised some very pertinent questions about the official declarations of the “real potential and worth” of the Reko Diq mines, arguing that the people were still unsure about unquestionable authentic facts of the project and the deal.
Shaheen Sehbai said that he had, in his news report, which started the whole controversy and spurred the federal and provincial governments into adopting stances, albeit conflicting at times, raised the issue because a huge cloud of conspiracy was hanging on it and scores of critical questions had remained unanswered with nothing being told to the people of Pakistan about the secret meetings being held by the TCC executives and the present PPP government.
It is pertinent to point out that even in the clarification issued by the federal government, such meetings were not denied and the official explanation had only talked about a committee which had already been formed to look afresh at the deal. This committee, however, never had its first meeting.
Shaheen Sehbai suggested that an independent commission of credible experts should be set up so that they could go into the details of the project and verify whether the claims of the mining companies were right or whether they were trying to make money by using the one-sided agreements that had been signed by previous Balochistan government officials to favour the mining giants.
Mohammd Malick also recalled that a top official of the previous government, directly involved with the award of the original contract in 1993, was at present living a life of extreme luxury in Dubai. The fact was also corroborated by a smiling Gen Qadir.
Senator Dr Malik claimed that he had convincing evidence about another ongoing covert move to throw out the present Canadian and Chilean companies out of Reko Diq and give the mining project to a third party by top PPP leaders. Chief Minister of Balochistan Aslam Raisani had cancelled the agreement of TCC in December 2009 but after that announcement no explanation has been given why it was done and what will happen now, further raising the cloud of mystery about the whole project.
All participants, including the representatives of the TCC agreed at the end that an independent commission of experts should be set up so that the unanswered questions are addressed and rights of all the parties are protected. It was, however, stressed that the commission should not be like the Steering Committee formed by the government which had never held even one meeting and two of its key members had no information who had been included in that committee which never met even once.

Reko Diq Company accepts probe by independent commission
 
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International example


Congo Mining Contract Proposes 35 percent Share State

KINSHASA – The mines ministry in the Democratic Republic of Congo says it wants the State to a 35 percent stake in all future mining joint ventures to keep, as opposed to a wide range of holdings in existing companies.
A proposed new contract, written in May and pending government approval, will serve as a basis for negotiations, said Valery Mukasa, interim chief of staff of the Ministry of Mines.
“The idea is that this model for partners in the future,” Mukasa told Reuters in an interview at the weekend.
“We have the rules we would like, but all contracts will remain open for negotiations.”
Mukasa said the proposed agreement, drafted with input from civil society groups in the country, which in the past a major producer of copper, would not retroactively apply to the joint ventures already negotiated. The state’s share in this tendency to range from 12.5 percent to 40 percent.
After a lengthy review of more than 60 contracts that began in 2007, several companies fell fault the efforts of the Central African government to stimulate production and sales, and state enterprises were increased.
The final contract will be discussed is that of the $ 2,000,000,000 Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mines, which says companies Gecamines mining company has a share of 17.5 percent and Freeport McMoRan (FCX.N) has a 57.75 per cent.
Congolese Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu Gecamines has previously said the shares should be hiked to 45 percent.
The proposed contract also requires companies to pay a signing-on bonus of 1 percent of the total value of the deposit has been established in the feasibility study and a 2.5 percent royalty on gross sales.
Other provisions require businesses a deadline to start production within two years after founding my site.
Companies must also comply with the rules of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative – a scheme which Congo is still a candidate – that requires companies to publish what they pay to the government.
All my business will still be subject to the Mining Act, a more general law dates from 2002, which regulates business practices and taxation. Mining officials are reviewing this code, but no date has yet been established.
source:reuters

Congo Mining Contract Proposes 35 percent Share State - News - Mining News and Journal
 
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