Balochistan to take up Saindak lease issue with federal government
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The Balochistan Assembly has formed an eleven-member committee to take up with the federal government the issue of the lease of the Saindak copper-gold project to a Chinese company, it emerged on Saturday.
The committee includes government and opposition lawmakers including Finance Minister Arif Jan Muhammad Hassani, Balochistan National Party (BNP) legislator Sanaullah Baloch, Khaliq Hazara of Hazara Democratic Party, and Information Minister Zahoor Buledi.
The federal government had leased out the mega project to a Chinese company for a five-year period on October 17, 2017.
Although the federal cabinet had approved the extension in the original contract with the consent of the former PML-N-led Balochistan government, the terms of the agreement are often criticised by nationalist leaders for being unfavourable to Balochistan.
BNP ideologue Sanaullah Baloch had raised the issue on October 4 during a session of the Balochistan Assembly.
Explore: The Saindak files
"The Balochistan government was completely bypassed while leasing out the project to a Chinese company," Baloch told DawnNewsTV after the formation of the committee.
The federal government gets a 50 per cent share in the profit of the Saindak project while the rest goes to the Chinese company. Of its 50pc share, the federal government keeps 20pc profit and passes on 30pc earnings to the provincial government.
In addition, Balochistan receives a 5pc royalty over the Saindak copper-cum-gold project.
The committee will devise ways to seek a reasonable solution for handing over the Saindak project to the province, in line with the 18th Constitutional amendment, a notification released by the Assembly said.
"Balochistan must be kept on board with regard to all decisions," Baloch reiterated.
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Comments (34) Closed
Oct 20, 2018 06:47pm
Why lease it? If leased, almost 95% of the gold would be pilfered and only 5% would be shown on books. That is how it was in South Africa under apartheid rule and also in several other places. We must act self reliant without parochialism or feudalism.
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Oct 20, 2018 06:49pm
How are these gold mines being handed over to the chinese? They are robbing the country with there debt ridden loans and extraction of minerals and gold? What on earth is going on?
IK must rescind and review all Chinese projects now.....!
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Oct 20, 2018 06:53pm
Are the chinese pulling a fast one again? Honestly this is making me ill of what the previous goverments have done...! Who granted them a licence to extract? Could we not set up our own machinary rather than leasing it out to china?
Chinese private sector is profiting from our debt ridden country - please please please review all chinese projects now...this is how NS and Zardari made their money through kick backs on these kind of projects granted to chinese companies....
I think Pakistan need to have all companies whether Pakistani or foreign registered - no registration complete closure please asap. Then they need to review the licences granted and by whom? and the value of each licence.
No wonder China calls us Iron brother they are robbing us, wouldnt you aswell.
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Oct 20, 2018 06:58pm
This is making me very angry!
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Oct 20, 2018 07:07pm
"The Balochistan government was completely bypassed while leasing out the project to a Chinese firm." That is how Nawaz Sharif works with his cronies.
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Oct 20, 2018 07:10pm
Balochistan deserves its dues
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Oct 20, 2018 07:22pm
What a shame
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Oct 20, 2018 08:08pm
At last Pakistan will know how the country wealth is not used for their desperate people but wealth is going to someone other pocket be aware of this
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Oct 20, 2018 08:29pm
Meaning some corrupt didn’t get commission
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Oct 20, 2018 08:30pm
@M. Saeed A very prudent and frugal comment, every country loving person should ask. This lease is in place for almost three decades now, & virtually has not brought any worthwhile economic change to this cash strapped province so far, which has lately approached the federal govt. for bridge financing of its deficient budget. This sparsely populated province, very rich in natural resources can change the destiny of the nation, has been destitute & its existing population is 7million plus, is suffering with 2.3 million children unable to go to schools, provincial capital faced with drinking water crises, extreme poverty in far lying districts, poor communications, health & employment oppotunities.We need to revisit these one sided project deals where provincial govt. has been kept aside & rework and revise the agreement of Saindak project, in order to bring needed uplift to living conditions of the province as whole and people of Dalbedin, Chagai district in particular sooner the better
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Oct 20, 2018 08:53pm
The main problem is we failed to develop and empower the locals. The strength of a country is defined by the weakest in the society. Instead of strengthening and empowering the people and provinces of the country we are becoming more and more dependent on foreign countries, foreign loans and foreign interest, unless we start empowering the people, nothing will change. Our policy is dependent on what other wants but not what the people of the country wants. The rulers have failed the people and are continuing with the failed policy.
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Oct 20, 2018 09:03pm
@Chacha
I fully endorse your views, especially the last but one sentence.
R.S. Menon, Bangalore
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Oct 20, 2018 09:24pm
@R. S. Menon It is mind boggling, where ever the name of China comes in you people jump in for no rhyme or reason. May be it a prelude to a suffering from phobia which has no antidote. We are better off solving our internal problems ourselves and don’t need outsiders to jump in with their pseudo unwanted compassionate comments.
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Oct 20, 2018 09:24pm
@Marcus funny what you wrote. Not easy to digging gold and copper. Cost lots of money. In Indonesia copper mine project run by USA and Canada.
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Oct 20, 2018 09:52pm
The federal government gets a 50 per cent share in the profit of the Saindak project while the rest goes to the Chinese company. What is the profit? Who audits the books of Gold mining? Is it the 50% of Gold mined, or is market value in Chinese currency?
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Oct 20, 2018 09:57pm
@Chacha your comments makes no sense. The ground reality is that remote area is in Chagai desert, where bulk of the population are illiterate and virtually in the strangle hold of local sardars, who represent them in the provincial assembly. The British during their rule of the province provided an impetus to this medieval system, promoting & strengthening it by dishing money in envelopes in Sibi jirga held in the month of February each year, jobs as levies personnel to the favorites of serdar & others perks, in order to keep law & order in these areas. A little has changed so far. The only way to emancipate and empower local people is through education. A sorry state of affairs showing 2.3 million children not going to school because of lack of facilities, clearly shows the arduous journey ahead. This is a catch 22 situation, & PTI who came with a promise of change to the status quo, has to work hard in giving these unfortunate a chance to have a better future/prosperity they cherish.
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Oct 20, 2018 10:24pm
I guess it's time we should either stop pretending to have anything called a province or take provincial governments on board before embarking on such projects that make use of provincial resources.
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Oct 20, 2018 10:33pm
Why our own engineers cannot handle this? They may require latest machinary, so what federal/provincial government could allocate required funds. Are we become soo lazy to respect our own wealth?
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Oct 20, 2018 10:46pm
Good move.. but pml n will again cry foul for reiewing yet another Chinese project.
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Oct 20, 2018 11:05pm
This project must be given to Balochistan engineers. They are best in Pakistan . It save lot of forigin excange
It also help people of chaji district employment as they are best skilled worker in balochistan compare to Chinese who are wasting time and taking minerals from province for their benfits. IK must cancel contract with Chinese firm.
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Oct 20, 2018 11:05pm
After eighteenth amendment provinces have the right on their resources, let Balochistan to bargain on such projects. China is here just for looting our resources with both hands.
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Oct 20, 2018 11:44pm
@Rizwan - i will buy you a shovel and show you how to dig - the rest leave to me. You will know how easy it is.
Gold has been extracted before machinery....so get real bud. The only difference will be the speed of extraction.
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Oct 21, 2018 12:02am
Are u joking? 50% partnership? Scrap agreement bring new terms.
1. 60% profit for GOV of balochistan.
2. 40% profit for foreign company and company will pay 10% GST to Federal Gov.
3. Hire and train 80% balochs in mines.
4. Full medical and insurance protection for workers.
60% profit should be used on local balochs.
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Oct 21, 2018 02:00am
Why don't we acquire the required skills and the technology and keep it in-house for our country and its people's sake!!!
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Oct 21, 2018 03:34am
This is not new project. It was starters I believe in Musharraf era. Regardless if Pakistani people think China is robbing then why they did not explored this before Chinese did or why they donot explore addition similar mines.
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Oct 21, 2018 04:19am
@Marcus
Do we have expertise to extract gold and bronze mines by our self....???
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Oct 21, 2018 04:24am
50% profit just for labor cost and that would be Chinese. It is like farm labor who harvests the crop get to keep half of it.
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Oct 21, 2018 04:28am
What best deal one can have other than 50-50 without doing any risk investment on site.
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Oct 21, 2018 04:52am
@Marcus you really need to be educated. Please be informed as given below;
1.This iron oxide, copper & gold containing 412 million tons deposits was discovered by Chinese engineering firm in 1970. A Saindak metal ltd. owned by GOP was established in1995 at a cost of PKR 13.5B & given on 10 years lease worth $350 million to China Metallurgical Group Corp. The project has a capacity to produce15800 T of blister copper containing 1.5 T of gold & 2.8 T of Silver per year.
2.The above ore is hosted with iron ore rocks containing high quantities of of hematite or magnetite, & dominant gangue assemblages- commercially worthless material that surrounds or closely mixed with ore deposit. These ore bodies are cone shaped or breccia- broken segments of minerals, cemented together by a fine grain material.
Now Mr. expert tell me how will you manually excavate the iron oxide rock using hand shovel. It is worthwhile to do your homework prior to commenting on a purely technical issue which many read
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Oct 21, 2018 06:47am
The value of gold they have taken already should be considered as loan repayment !!
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Oct 21, 2018 08:07am
@Z best comment.
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Oct 21, 2018 08:21am
Amazing, our land, our resources, we take on the loans, we pay the interest, we pay back the loans, yet the Chinese companies get the work, and we get only 50%. The PML-N government not only don't know how to govern, they are clueless when it comes to making deals, no wonder the country is in a complete financial mess.
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Oct 21, 2018 02:50pm
50% to the Chinese is a too large of a percentage. This is daylight robbery. Do we not have mining expertise? Can we not make or buy the equipment used and do the minibg our selves?
Is there anything we can do which is right??
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Oct 21, 2018 03:06pm
Fair enough. What about ensuring that Baloch fuedals do not make the most out of it and Baloch people are deprived of their due rights.
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