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Azmar on probe: Bring it on
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Posted on Sep 16 2004
Azmar International, the company that wants to mine pozzolan deposits on Pagan, yesterday expressed its support for an investigation on allegations that the company intended to secretly take possession of historical artifacts that might be discovered on the island.
“I wish any legitimate source would look into this allegation. I encourage it. They will quickly find out that these allegations are malicious and completely false,” said Azmar chair and chief executive officer Kenneth Moore.
The allegations stemmed from an unsigned draft employment contract allegedly belonging to Azmar. The draft contract seeks to strictly prohibit any employee from disclosing any information on artifacts that may be discovered at the mining site, with the company claiming sole ownership of any find.
Upon being raised by House Rep. Joseph DeLeon Guerrero during a session Monday, Speaker Benigno Fitial tasked the legal counsel to look into the matter. Fitial also asked the Marianas Public Lands Authority to suspend or revoke any mining permit that might have been granted to Azmar.
Earlier news reports said the MPLA board granted Azmar a conditional approval, subject to the company’s submission of certain requirements to prove its financial capability within a 60-day period. If Azmar meets the MPLA requirements, it may receive a two-year permit to mine pozzolan on the island.
Moore, however, denied receiving any notification from the MPLA on any permit.
“We have not received any document that could be described in any way as a permit, nor have our telephone calls to MPLA’s [acting commissioner] Frankie Eliptico or [board chair] Ana Demapan-Castro been returned, and none of our written communications have been answered to date since June 15, 2004,” Moore said.
“We have, however, been bombarded with rumors. One such rumor is that we will be receiving from MPLA a list of further conditions to be met, nothing more. That alone without a permit is unacceptable to us,” he said.
