Tethyan Copper Company lashes out at Balochistan Mining Committee for refusing their grant.

Tethyan Copper Company lashes out at Balochistan Mining Committee for refusing their grant.

Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), who applied for a mining lease in Chagai, Balochistan, were furious with Balochistan Mining Committee refusal. TCC has lashed out at the provincial licensing authority and claimed that they have breached
mineral rules.

Apart from that, TCC has also accused the committee of denying TCC their rights under a joint venture agreement and Pakistani laws.

The provincial licensing authority, on Thursday, November 17, 2011 refuted TCC’s mining lease application for the Reko Diq project by saying that their feasibility report was incomplete.

Tethyan Copper Company argued that Balochistan Mining Committee did not make any attempt to resolve the issue through discussions.  

TCC in a press release have argued, “The licensing authority’s summary refusal to grant the mining licence, to which TCC is entitled, breaches not only the Balochistan Mineral Rules (2002), but also TCC’s rights under the Chagai
Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement and Pakistani law.”

Prior to the refusal TCC were confident that they would secure the licence. Tim Livesey, CEO of TCC reckons that his company could have contributed significantly to the development of a Balochistan. The licence would have amicable
effect on Pakistani economy through foreign investment and through revenue generation during the mine’s expected life of 56 years.

Livesey said, “We firmly believe that our activities to date have been fully in line with the Balochistan Mineral Rules (2002) and we will welcome the opportunity to discuss this with the provincial regulator and the government.”

Livesey further said, “Tethyan is committed to developing its mine at Reko Diq in line with international best practice with respect to environment, labour, health and safety.”

TTC is a joint venture between Antofagasta and Barrick Gold. Antofagasta is a Chilean company that produces copper while Barrick’s is from Canadian background. The company had submitted feasibility study in August 2010 whereas
they applied for minning licence in February 2011. The company claims to have invested about $ 200 million on the project.

Chagai a district of Balochistan has the fourth largest copper reserves in the world. According to an estimate, the mining project has a life 56 years and can produce 200,000 tons of copper and 250,000 ounces of gold on annual
basis.

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Posted by Wajahat Javed on Nov 18 2011. Filed under Business, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry