Potash firms sees light at end of 12-year tunnel
BUSRIN TREERAPONGPICHIT

Asia Pacific Potash Corporation, a Thai-Canadian joint venture, is confident it will be granted a potash mining licence in Udon Thani over the next 18 months after 12 years of delays due to opposition from local villagers and conservationists.

The company has pledged to meet opponents anywhere to clear any misunderstandings about the project, said chief executive Praphant Asava-Aree, who recently succeeded John Bovard _ the new chief executive of Asia Pacific Resources Ltd, the parent company of the Thai unit.

"We have kept silent for a long time to avoid further disputes but those opponents have not tried to understand or even listen to others," said Mr Praphant, a former executive of NCC Management and Development Co, which holds a 25-year concession to manage the state-owned Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.

"We will monitor closely any movements that will bring about misunderstanding among the villagers," he said.

The company is willing to accept any complaints from the villagers and to jointly address the problems with them.

"It's unacceptable if any opponents attack the company without proper reasons and refuse to listen to explanations from the company," he said, adding that remarks that defame the company's reputation could result in lawsuits.

Over the past decade, the company has attempted to explain to villagers about its mining techniques, which have proved to be harmless to the environment.

He said the company had not yet completed an environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the 25,000-rai exploration tract because villagers were blocking access, especially on 1,300 rai of land where an ore separation plant is located.

Villagers and conservationists have claimed that operating the underground mine would lead to land subsidence and contaminate surface and underground farmland water with salinity.

Mr Praphant said the environmental impact study could go ahead within three months, as soon as a land survey and measurements have been completed after a year of delays due to the opposition.

He said that he had asked the project opponents, be they academics or non-government organisations, to meet to help solve problems.

The opponents recently called off a meeting with caretaker prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in light of current political tension.

The company, to date, has spent more than US$10 million on exploration work and will spend another $300 million for the mining stage.

The project will produce one million tonnes per year of potash initially, to double to two million tonnes in the future.

The company says its potash output, to be used for fertiliser production, will help save on foreign exchange as Thailand needs to import 300,000 tonnes of potash each year.

So where exactly is this?

It

It may create many jobs, but no matter how they try to safely mine the material, the damage to the enviroment will be unrepairable. The big question really is how much damage will it do, and what precautions is the company (as they say)is taking to so insure the damage is minimal. There is always going to be damage, no matter what precautions they are taking.


Pop's

I think i would trust a Canadian firm far more than a Thai company to look after the environment.