Canadian gold company partakes in Baluch loot

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Baluch nationalists have termed the “community meetings” organized by the managers of the $65 billion Reko Diq Copper-cum-Gold Project in Baluchistan as a mere eyewash and have vowed to boycott all such meetings, urging an end to the loot and plunder of their natural resources.

A Canadian, a Chilean and an Autralian gold company have ganged up with Pakistan's Punjabi and mohajir civilian and military leaders to exploit the gold and copper reserves in Baluchistan, against the wishes of the natives.

The Candian company is Barrick Gold Corporation, the Chilean company is Antofagasta Minerals and the Australian firm is Tethyan.

The multi-billion project has become a huge scandal as very few Baluchistan natives have been employed by the project developers. “Even the head offices of the project is housed outside of Baluchistan in Karachi and non-locals are being recruited there while natives of Baluchistan are being denied even the most menial jobs,” The Baluchistan National Party was reported to have said in a news item published by the Asaap newspaper Wednesday.

Vincent Borg, vice president of coporate communications of Bariick Gold Corporation, based in Toronto, said the project is still at a feasibility stage and only gelogists and drilling contractors, and he had no clue if locals have been employed.

"In Chile and Peru we had similiar proejcts where more than 97 percent of locals were employed," he said.

The fiercely nationalis BNP, led by former chief minister Sardar Akhtar Mengal, said the socalled development companies have not given even a single-rupee benefit to the natives of Baluchistan.

Insiders say a high-level pimp working for the Quetta-based Baluchistan Development Authority, the agency responsible for mining projects in the resource-rich province, is said to have been the main culprit behind getting the BHP Billiton out of the project.

The contract with BHP gave Baluchistan a far better deal, four percent royalty as compared to just two percent royalty, given to the province by the present contractors.

The enormous riches does not benefit the locals at all, independent analysts said.

According to well-informed sources, the terms were quite favorable for Baluchistan with the BHP Billiton contract-- that arrangement was made under present governor, Nawab Zulfikar Ali Magsi-- and all the investment was to be made by the BHP for development of the mines. “But a pimp from Punjab, who is in Baluchistan Development Authority arranged a visit of Jam Yousuf and his cabinet to Chile and then the project was allocated to the companies Antofagasta Minerals and Barrick Gold Company,” said a government official form Quetta on a condition of anonymity.

He said the Chinese were also keenly eyeballing the Reko Diq project.

“Staff for the projects is being recriuted from Islamabad by an army colonel. They are recruiting people from Punjab, Mohajirs from Karachi and people from Frontier povince. No Baloch is being recruited. Only three Baloch were recruited and then laid off,” the official said.

The Reko Diq is one of the world's largest gold-cum-copper projects.

Louis A. Schack, manager of Communications and Community Affairs of Barrick Gold Corporation based in Nevada, said it was the company's stated policy to have as many locals involved in its projects, but was not sure how many, if any, Baluch natives, were employed at Reko Diq.

Borg concurred that the local Baluch have the first right to jobs at Reko Diq and said Barrick Gold Corporation sets up institutes to train locals where expertise for its projects is not readily available.