Vulcan Materials Company - it's the largest producer of construction aggregates in the entire United States, and a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. And now, this mega multi-national wants to do aggregate quarrying on the White Ridge Farm property near tiny Gales Point, Manatee.
There's pushback from the locals, and also the conservation community - and, last night, you heard the Minister of Natural Resources say the project is a total no-go for him.
But, Vulcan is undaunted. They say they just want to have the conversation with the community and the decision makers, and go through the necessary processes. Via Zoom, we spoke today with Janet Kavinoky, the Company's Vice President for External Affairs & Corporate Communications. Jules Vasquez asked her to react to Minister of Natural Resources Cordel Hyde totally rejecting the proposed project:
Janet Kavinoky, VP, External Affairs & Corporate Communications
"So, I really forward to actually meeting the minister in person and be able to talk with him about the project. We haven't even having started done the process of the environmental assessment. Belize has a very rigorous process. We are prepared to do that, provided we buy the property."
Jules Vasquez
"What part of no don't you understand? He was quite unequivocal."
Janet Kavinoky
"Well, what we're trying to do is start a dialogue and my request to the minister would be hey let us come down and meet you and in fact our team is planning to come to Belize in a couple of weeks so we hope to be able to have conversations with him, with you, with people in the community."
Jules Vasquez
"Regardless of the quiet clear and emphatic no from the highest levels of the government, you all still, you plan to come to Belize, it sounds like you are on a mission to as they say to win hearts and minds. Why are you so hellbent on this project when there is so many ill-vibrations around it. Is it that you see a pot of gold in Belize and you have to get it, you have to empty it, it has to be yours."
Janet Kavinoky
"You raised extremely good points and very good questions and you're right. We need to answer that. I will tell you that Vulcan has always come into projects and remember we are exploring the feasibility of the project. We would not go forward with the project that could not be done environmentally, socially sustainably. But we need to look more in great detail at those questions. And as you said yes the minister has indicated his lack of support, but there is a process by which Belize and the government offers companies to go through where we say we want to go through that process. We want to ask and answer any question. We want people in the community, people with interest to ask and answer questions. Thats what we do when we go into a new place, but also go into projects knowing we are going to be there for the long haul which means we have to be great neighbours and we have to be great investors in the community and great protectors of the environment and we want to hear concerns, because there could be a lot of questions that we need to answer before we can move forward with a economically environmentally and socially sustainable operation which by the way is not a strip mining operation. Aggregate quarrying is distinct and different from strip mining. Aggregate quarrying takes big rocks and makes them into little rocks and Vulcan has always paid attention to caring for the land it's on."
Importantly, Kavinoky said that Vulcan has not, at this point purchased the White Ridge farm. We also asked her about Vulcan's recent troubled history in the state of Quintana Roo Mexico. In May, The Mexican government shut down the company's operations, "citing concerns over the impact of the company's underwater limestone extraction on the local environment and water table."
That sounded all kinds of warnings in Belize - including on the litigation side where Vulcan is suing the Mexican government for over a billion dollars:
Jules Vasquez
"We have had quite a bad history of foreign investors with a propensity for litigation and international arbitration in Belize and that evokes that very sour note,"
Janet Kavinoky, VP, External Affairs & Corporate Communications
"Well, I hear you, but Vulcan has actually had for over 30 years a very strong operation near Playa Del Carmen. We've invested in the community, we've built schools. We've invested in utilities; we've housed 120 families out of our 450 employees. We're the largest single tax payer in Quintana Roo and we do have some differences right now with the Mexican government. We are very much hoping to work those out and we could talk more about that when we come and visit."
Vulcan Materials has set up a website, "whiteridgeproject.com" - where it presents its side of the debate.
