A Texas-based company has withdrawn its proposal to mine pozzolan at Mt. Pagan, according to the Marianas Public Lands Authority yesterday.<\/p>\n
MPLA board chair Ana Demapan-Castro disclosed that the Consolidated American Energy Resources Inc. had notified the MPLA about its decision to pull out and refund its application fee of $5,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned yesterday that CAER pulled out and it wants to get its money back. I\u2019m not very sure if they can do that,\u201d said Demapan-Castro.<\/p>\n
The MPLA earlier said that it received a proposal from CAER, reportedly a break-away group of another applicant, Azmar International.<\/p>\n
MPLA, which met with both Azmar and CAER\u2019s representatives in the U.S. in early April, had declined to reveal the amount involved in CAER\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Demapan-Castro maintained yesterday that Azmar, which promises to infuse some $46 million for the project, has not shown any solid proof of its financial capacity to carry out its proposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have not established that they\u2019ve got what it takes. We still need financial information from them,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
The chair said that Azmar merely presented projections based on \u201can irrevocable line of credit\u201d and purported Swiss bank accounts.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive us something that is solid. We can\u2019t verify those\u2014Swiss account, lines of credit, job orders,\u201d she said, adding that MPLA is after capital and security. This means MPLA wants to see Azmar having accounts in any local bank in the CNMI. It also wants to check Azmar\u2019s type of association or business.<\/p>\n
Above all, she said that MPLA wants to get security especially when it begins taking pozzolan away from Pagan. <\/p>\n
She said Azmar should make a deposit at least $5 million in the name of MPLA in connection with the pozzolan project.<\/p>\n
\u201cIssuing them permit is so easy but what\u2019s our guarantee if they begin taking away our pozzolan? We don\u2019t know what would happen out there in the sea. Can we ever recover pozzolan once we lose it?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
Azmar earlier expressed confidence that it could prove to MPLA that it has money to undertake the project. Azmar insisted that it has actually shown \u201cconfidential\u201d documents to prove its financial soundness to MPLA representatives during a recent visit to Phoenix.<\/p>\n
It said it submitted those documents again recently to MPLA to show it has access to vast sums of money. <\/p>\n
But as of yesterday, the board remained unsatisfied with Azmar\u2019s presentation. <\/p>\n
Based on Azmar\u2019s plan, it would spend some $15 million to build roads, a harbor, and other basic infrastructure on Pagan. <\/p>\n
It projects to mine and sell 4.55 million metric tons of pozzolan per annum by the third year, and remit required annual taxes and royalty fees to the government.<\/p>\n
Azmar said that Pagan has 200 million metric tons of pozzolan deposit, which guarantee continuous mining revenues for the CNMI for nearly 50 years.<\/p>\n
This claim has not been confirmed by the CNMI government with a study.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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