Last night on the news we told you that Cabinet had made a definitive decision on Vulcan. A Cabinet brief that said quote: "No surface mining or any other type of mining activity in the Gales Point Manatee area shall be permitted having regard to the surrounding communities' concerns and given the threats and damages it may cause to the environment, including its extensive and sensitive biodiversity, watershed and other immense ecological systems." End quote.
And with that, the majority of the residents of Gales Point breathed a sigh of relief at the knowledge that their pristine environment had the protection of the Belizean government.
But they perhaps shouldn't have let their guard down that quickly. And that's because Vulcan in a statement last night was undeterred, saying, quote: "We believe that a sustainably developed and managed White Ridge Project could bring benefits to Gales Point Manatee, the surrounding area, and Belize as a whole. Our intention has always been to follow the transparent and detailed processes established in Belizean law for the study, consultation, and consideration of any investment project." end quote.
With that, it was obvious that the company who no doubt has endless legal resources intends to press on even in the face of express executive disapproval. We asked the Prime Minister about that today:
Reporter
"Sir, yesterday the cabinet made a strong statement against mining in Gales Point against Vulcan. I think it's the strongest it you could make that it will not happen and yet when we got a statement from this company they say they're going to press on, they're going to keep applying. Is there anything at this point that cabinet can do or the government can do to tell these people the answer is NO?"
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Well, I think its within their right if they want to apply, they could apply a hundred times, it doesn't matter, but I don't see cabinet changing its position, because this area, these hills are pretty in its natural state and one of the things that the minister of tourism was talking about was cultural tourism, to go into these small villages to be able to see how they can use their culture, use their environment to be able to attract tourist to come. That area has a lot of history for Belize and so obviously and also environmental is important. Thats a very important catchment area for water, so we don't think it's in the national interest of Belize and it ends there."
