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Manhattan Minerals plunges 55 per cent after mine blocked
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Friday, December 12, 2003
Toronto — Shares in Vancouver-based Manhattan Minerals plunged 55 per cent Thursday after the Peruvian government withdrew approval of the company's plan to partly relocate a rural town for a mining project.
On the Toronto stock market, Manhattan Minerals shares (TSX:MAN) fell 48 cents to 40 cents, with heavy trading volume of 3.3 million shares.
The government decision was confirmed Thursday by a spokesman at mining agency Centromin who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was seen as a victory for residents of Tambogrande, where the project had been met with overwhelming disapproval.
Manhattan Minerals said in a release it will appeal the decision.
“We are very surprised by this decision,” CEO Lawrence Glaser said in the release. “Manhattan presented a carefully prepared and thorough submission that would ensure, subject to community approval, the responsible development of the Tambogrande project. In light of this decision, we will have to consider all our options and take whatever action we think is in the best interest of our shareholders.”
The government said it withdrew approval because the company — which has no operating mines — had been unable to show that it had $100-million (U.S.) in net worth and a mineral treatment capacity of 10,000 tons a day.
Manhattan began exploring the area in 1997 and believe the claim — much of it under the town — contains 900,000 ounces (25,200 kilograms) of gold, 10 million ounces (280,000 kilograms) of silver, 1.5 billion pounds (0.65 billion kilograms) of copper and 900 million pounds (405 million kilograms) of zinc.
The project called for the relocation of about half of the town's 16,000 residents to more modern housing that the company planned to provide. But many in Tambogrande had opposed the plan over concerns that mining waste would pollute ground and surface water and destroy one of the most productive agricultural valleys in Peru.
The arid region surrounding Tambogrande on Peru's northern coastal plain was largely barren until the World Bank helped finance a big irrigation project in the 1950s, turning the San Lorenzo valley into a fertile oasis.
Today, motorcycle rickshaws and mule-drawn carts carry farmers along dirt roads to fields of rice, marigold flowers and other crops. According to one study, the valley produces 40 per cent of Peru's limes and mangos. Most of the mangos are exported to the United States and elsewhere
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Does anyone find it suspicious that there was this run up before the bad news came out? Pump and Dump?
Al |
