THE Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources has hit out at the Fiji Labour Party (FLP) for alleging that some 20 containers of gold ore had been shipped out to China without the knowledge of authorities.
In a statement, the ministry said those allegations were “ridiculously false, libelous, misleading, and mischievous”.
Last week, FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry claimed a Chinese company engaged in a joint venture operation at the Vatukoula Gold Mines had removed thousands of tonnes of gold ore from the mine since last December.
He said this was intended to be shipped to China for final processing and that Director Mines Apete Soro had told the party, the company in question had applied for permission to ship the ore to China for final processing.
Mr Chaudhry said after initial processing on the mine site, the ore was packed in huge, specially manufactured bags, put in containers and taken to Lautoka at night, where they were stored in containers at Lautoka awaiting approval to be shipped to China.
The FLP leader said there were concerns around transparency of the process and questioned how much raw material was taken out of the country and how many metals and minerals were completely lost.
He urged the government to step in and put a stop to this.
Responding to the claims in a lengthy five-page statement, the ministry said ores were not globally exported as they were uneconomical in business and in mining practice and that FLP failed to distinguish minerals in its processed forms.
“The process of acquiring a permit to export any earth-based mineral only requires the statutory approval of the Director Mines and not of anybody else,” the ministry said.
It clarified that gold concentrates were the refined product of raw ore, whilst gold ore was the refined product of gold concentrates.
“The assertion by the FLP that the 20 containers exported unlawfully would not have happened without the approval by the Minister for Lands and the Minister for Finance, is a cheap political shot.”
The ministry said the two Cabinet ministers had no power, statutory or otherwise, to approve or not approve any mineral export permit.
“Regulation 80 of the Mining Regulations 1966 outlines the procedure for exporting minerals from Fiji. It requires exporters to notify the Director of Mines with specific details about the minerals intended for export.
“Upon verification that all due royalties have been settled or appropriately secured, the director issues a mineral export licence and forwards a copy to the relevant customs authorities for verification and 2 calculation of export tax.
“This process ensures compliance with Fiji’s mining and export regulations. As of today (yesterday), FRCS has not received any application for export from the Director of Mines.”
The ministry said exporting gold concentrates were allowable by law and was a commonly recognisable practice of the mining industry globally, which usually yielded more revenue for exporting businesses during favourable global market conditions.
“Those conditions exist now. These result in more export tax, royalty and foreign exchange for the country.
“In addition, it is usually a business decision that is environmentally friendly for the exporting country because it does not involve the smelting process (involving hazardous acids) and tailings accumulation.
“Whilst the Ministry has been informed of VGML’s intention to export gold concentrates (not ores), the application with its supporting documentation is yet to be submitted to Director of Mines.
“Presently, the consignment of gold concentrates earmarked for export are in Lautoka and they will be jointly inspected by our qualified personnel, biosecurity, and customs officers.”
The ministry, through the Mineral Resources Department (MRD), has maintained its departments are staffed by capable, qualified and competent personnel.
