By Katie Worth
Pacific Daily News; kworth@guampdn.com
Photo courtesy of Chamorro.com
Potential wealth:
Part of Pagan's terrain is captured during an excursion to Pagan
organized by the Northern Islands Mayor's Office in October last year.
In a win for a company that wants to mine the tiny
island of Pagan for its wealth of valuable volcanic ash, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' public land commission
yesterday voted to negotiate a draft permit with the company.
Arizona-based Azmar International
Trading Company will have 15 days for the confidential negotiation of
the draft, at which time the draft will be considered for approval by
the Marianas Public Lands Authority's commission, said Azmar's
spokesman Don Farrell.
However, those opposing Azmar's bid
for the mining permit decried the decision, saying the proposed
contract is a terrible deal for the CNMI and Pagan residents and that
the entire process -- including the latest development -- has been done
behind closed doors without opportunity for public input.
The island Pagan is about 300 miles
north of Guam and is rich with the volcanic ash pozzolan, which is used
to strengthen concrete. Some estimates peg the value of the mineral at
$10 billion.
For more than two years, Azmar has
been trying to acquire the permit to mine the island, but some members
of the public have said Azmar's proposal -- to give CNMI 7 percent of
its profits, plus tax -- is not fair. Other concerns have been raised
about Azmar's alleged lack of experience in the mining business.
However, Farrell has argued the deal is in fact generous, considering
the commonwealth will not have to invest any money and stands to
receive potentially tens of millions of dollars.
Yesterday, the MPLA commission met
and then announced its decision to negotiate the contract with Azmar.
Attorney and former Pagan resident Cinta Kaipat, who has campaigned
against the contract, said only one of the five commissioners voted
against the negotiations.
"The thing that really bothers me is
they've agreed to conduct secret negotiations on this, and that leaves
everyone else out," she said.
Farrell said the company is looking
forward to moving on in the process. The next step will be securing a
permit from Coastal Resources Management, which he believes will be a
smooth process.
"We're very excited about working
with the MPLA staff and legal council to quickly negotiate the final
terms and conditions of the permit agreement, so it can be approved by
the board as soon as possible, hopefully within a few days," he said.
