Mining projects: Chinese firm threatens to withdraw investment

Claims minerals minister illegally delaying issuance of licences.

PESHAWAR:

Owing to delays in issuing mining licences for an exploration project in Chitral, a Chinese company has said it will withdraw its investment from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and move it to Balochistan.

Chairman of Pak-China Investors Joint Venture and Tuny-Pak Mineral Private Limited, Jhon Fu Qiufeng, expressed their grievances while addressing a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday.

Officials of the company and the provincial president and general secretary of the Frontier Mine Owners Association (FMOA) were also present at the briefing.

Qiufeng said the Chinese have made huge investments in various mine and mineral projects in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). “We are unable to continue with mining in K-P because the licence is not being issued by Minister for Mineral Development Ziaulllah Afridi,” said the chairman. He added on July 23, 2013 the minister issued directives to place a ban on granting exploration licences till a new mining policy is devised.



Qiufeng explained that according to government rules, it was mandatory to issue licences within two months but the company’s applications had been pending for the past three months and the concerned department was resorting to delaying tactics.

He said they had conveyed their concerns to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and held meetings with the chief minister (CM) and governor to inform them about the entire situation. He added that CM Pervez Khattak had asked his adviser Rafatullah Babar to resolve the issue as Afridi refused to meet them and even threatened to cancel their previous project lease.

FMOA’s provincial president Sherbandi Marwat said the minerals department had completely banned the issuance of licences to mine owners for the past nine months due to which mine discoveries were being monopolised in the province.

He further said the government-formed mines committees have cancelled 80% of the leases, while cases were registered against legal mine owners who were also harassed by authorities.

Marwat said Chinese investors’ apprehensions had led to the Chinese government’s refusal to allow their companies to invest in K-P.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2014.