CNMI to export pozzolan in 2006

The CNMI will begin exporting pozzolan in 2006, a development that is expected to generate additional revenue for the government amid tough economic times.

Pozzolan deposits, which are found in Pagan and in only a few places in the world, are minerals that make a good component in manufacturing high-grade cement. The volcanic eruption on Pagan in the 1990s deposited tons of pozzolan on the island’s grounds.

In a media statement, JG Sablan Rock Quarry, Inc. president John T. Sablan said Tuesday that his company has entered into a joint venture with Bridgecreek International Corp., a real estate company with over $400 million in projects in the United States.

Sablan said the joint venture expects to begin export operations in the latter part of 2006. He said the export of pozzolan would generate government revenue in the form of rentals, royalties, business gross revenue taxes, excise taxes, and income taxes. Sablan said a special trust account would also be opened on behalf of the Northern Islands municipality.

“The project will also create employment opportunities for the Northern Islanders and will provide a venue for the local residents to market their goods and services,” Sablan said.

“It is further anticipated that this project will provide the impetus necessary to jump start the socio-economic development of the Northern Islands and will enable the CNMI’s Northern frontier to be an even more active, vibrant, and contributing member of the CNMI family,” the businessman added.

The joint venture assured that it has organized a legal, marketing, and compliance team that would provide the design and environmental reports to the Coastal Resources Management Office and other government agencies, to start pre-extraction and mobilization work.

“The JGS/Bridgecreek joint venture will have the necessary capital, expertise, markets, and related resources to promptly begin ground breaking for the extraction and export of pozzolan from its permitted site on Pagan Island,” Sablan said.

“The venture has selected an international company with more than 38 years of experience and a strong sensitivity to environmental issues to do the open air extraction of the pozzolan ash,” assured Bridgecreek chief executive officer John G. Carlson.

Sablan disclosed that he and Carlson recently met with the Marianas Public Lands Authority and Northern Islands Mayor Valentin Taisakan about the pozzolan extraction project. The joint venture thanked the mayor, Northern Islands residents, and all government agencies concerned for their support for the pozzolan extraction project.