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Gold/Mining/Energy : St. Jude Resources......V.SJD -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bill718 who wrote (2770)	12/31/1999 10:29:00 AM
From: rdww	Respond to of 3065

the key pt that seems to have been excerpted to either the NP, TNM or Metropole ( can't remeber which) is that Ghana is concerned about surface mining and environmental concerns if these are shut down quickly. What I read elsewhere sounded more like a warning to companies about their environmental responsibilities. But I agree, as do the Ghanaian gov't - a curtailing of mining would seriuosly hurt Ghana - but then look at BC - 14 mines closed - 7 mines opened and 3/4 of the rail use in BC is metal related. But the BC goiv't continues to make it damn near impossible to operate any mine. So it's worth noting Ghana's concerns when SJD talks about it's future. THE GHANA CHAMBER OF MINES Chat here Please sign our Guest Book Message Board Site Created by AfricaExpress JOINT PRESS RELEASE The Minister of Mines and Energy of Ghana and the Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy of South Africa, met in Accra, Ghana on 16 July, 1999 to discuss the current crisis in the gold mining industry. The crisis has been precipitated by the dramatic fall in the gold price following the announcements by the UK treasury and the IMF of their intention to sell significant portions of their gold reserves. Arising out of the sale by the U.K., the price of gold dropped by US$35 an ounce. On an annual basis this drop in gold price represents a loss of African export earnings of about US$750 million. A notable feature of the meeting was the strong and immediate agreement between the two Ministers. In particular, they agreed that the UK and IMF gold sales announcements are harming Africa. In Ghana 2,500 workers in two mines are in the process of being laid off with several more jobs being threatened should the present low price be sustained. In South Africa 11,700 jobs involving six mines are similarly threatened, and should the price persist at present levels, the number of jobs at risk could reach 80,000. These figures indicate that in both countries millions may lose their daily living subsistence, as they are directly dependent on these mine workers. The social consequences of job losses are huge. Also should the problem extend to sudden closures of mines, subsequent informal mining of residual mineral pockets have the potential to severely damage the environment. In the light of the experience with the UK gold sales, the Ministers agreed that the IMF gold sales to fund the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative will harm these countries more than help them. This is particularly true when the full multiplier and social effects are also taken into account. Of the 41 identified HIPCs, 34 are in Africa with 30 of the 41 being gold producers. Whilst the parties strongly support the IMF initiative, they agreed that other alternatives to fund the initiative should be sought. The meeting agreed that there is the need to work together and that a strong collective approach to the IMF, the UK and other Central Banks was necessary. The Ministers resolved to participate in a broad Africa delegation to the U.K., Europe and the U.S.A. to discuss the issue of Central Bank and IMF sales and to seek a moratorium to be placed on such sales until the present problem has been satisfactorily resolved. In this regard it is expected that the logistics will be worked out within the next week. It was felt that the on-going discussions should be extended to other Africa gold producing countries. Present at the meeting were The Minerals Commission of Ghana, The Ghana Chamber of Mines, The Ghana Mine Workers Union, The Chamber of Mines of South Africa, and The National Union of Mines Workers, South Africa. While it was agreed that the situation is precarious, the meeting was nonetheless held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. Dated this Friday the 16th day of July, 1999 Fred Ohene-KenaMs. Susan Shabangu Minister of Mines & Energy Deputy Minister of Minerals & Energy Republic of Ghana Republic of South Africa

To: bill718 who wrote (2770)	1/2/2000 12:32:00 PM
From: Fishfinder	Respond to of 3065

Thanks Wayne That is a very informative site. Here's a short paste on galamsey activity in the environmental concerns arena. <<<<<One area that is of great concern, however, is the activities of galamsey operators. They operate in an unprofessional manner with no concern whatsoever for the environment and cause the greatest havoc to the ecology. It is our hope that they would take cognizance of the numerous appeals we have made to them to regularize their operations by obtaining licences from the Minerals Commission.>>>>>> Most everything else I read was dealing with new regs. and mitigating measures for mine site disturbances. Scott