Chatham Rock Phosphate - CRP

**jonu** · 12-07-2016, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by Xerof

Unless you think I am a nobody,

I saw the irony in my June 16th post

Touche Xerof. Lord no I wouldn't think that. I didn't see your earlier post.

Actually everybody is a nobody from where I sit, high in my ivory tower, looking disparagingly down on the minions below. The rarified air up here is really rather fine.

**Balance** · 13-07-2016, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by upfrontal

I don't think you are a nobody, but I do think you are a realist (it is shame I got caught up in the original hype with this company).

The Board of this company specialises in spin and i was one of the suckers

Don't be too hard on yourself. This is from Chris Lee (reknown for his superior knowledge of the finance companies before they all started going broke) in March 2014 :

"Congratulations are due to Chatham Rock Phosphate’s key figure Chris Castle, who has cracked it.

He has found new shareholders in Britain and the US and Canada who will invest and underwrite a rights issue, enabling CRP to be fully funded for its horrendously expensive application for an environmental consent to convert its mining licence for phosphate pebbles into revenue, profits and dividends.

Castle’s dogged pursuit of progressing this project will be of no surprise to his followers. He is a survivor, a battler, a determined character whose quiet demeanour should fool no one.

If the consent application is granted, Castle will have achieved what many would not have tried.

Note: CRP is hoping to list on the UK AIM market".

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Sp then was 22 cents - now less than 1c.

Whatever happened to the AIM listing?

**NeverQuestion** · 24-08-2016, 03:07 PM

Looks like Transtasman are trying again

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/seabed-...nsent-b-193360

**artemis** · 25-08-2016, 06:51 AM

The EPA has had a bit of a shake up since the TTR and CRP declines. The head honcho left, the minister indicated some changes around balancing economic and environmental issues.

The Ombudsman is investigating aspects of EPA charges for the CRP hearing. Certainly some charges seem extravagant - nearly $5k to hire velvet curtains, wtf? - which do not show the EPA in a good light.

Then there were 2 staff reports for which CRP was charged a truckload, even though they were withdrawn for quality reasons.

**winner69** · 25-08-2016, 09:45 AM

Suppose some groups will need to get together again to stop this appalling idea happening

**upfrontal** · 30-08-2016, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by winner69

Suppose some groups will need to get together again to stop this appalling idea happening

I wouldn't call it appalling, the strongest I would go is that it is unfortunate that it is a NZ resource and a decision has to be made about it.

Do some research about blood phosphate and you will see that Moroccan phosphate is associated with some pretty bad stuff.

Quick History: In 1975 Morocco went to war over the resources of the Western Sahara and occupied the lands. This continued until a UN brokered ceasefire in 1975 but Morocco has removed of the Sahrawi people of the Western Sahara who have been forced to live in refugee camps in order to make way for the mining of their lands. Neither the UN or the International Court of Justice recognise Morocco's claims to these lands and figures I have seen quote 50,000 displaced people as a result of the phosphate resource they had the bad luck to live on.

Moroccan phosphate has also significant negative health benefits for those that mine it (it is fair to say that their OH&S is not as 'robust' as NZ):

Few recent studies are in the public domain on work-related illnesses in the Moroccan phosphate industry. However, studies are published elsewhere.Greenpeace and the World Nuclear Association have found that Moroccan phosphate is particularly high in cadmium and has appreciable quantities of uranium, two heavy metals associated with cancer, kidney failure and bone disease. Uranium is so abundant, in fact, that in 2012 OCP (the number one Moroccan phosphate producer) announced plans to co-mine it with phosphate.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has conducted extensive research on managing phosphogypsum, a radioactive waste byproduct generated during fertiliser production. In the US, this low-value waste is hauled off as slurry to stacks located far from people. In Morocco, it is simply dumped in the Atlantic.“OCP doesn’t recognise the connection between these illnesses and our work environment,” says one of the Moroccan Phosphate workers we talked to. (Source The Guardian Newspaper 16th December 2015: Toxic shadow phosphate miners in Morocco fear they pay a high price).

If you think that we are a small country and don't import much from Morocco, in 2013 Ravensdown Ltd was the 4th largest customer with 180,000 tonnes and Ballance Agri-Nutrients was the 6th largest customer with 140,000 tonnes (both are NZ companies and all 320,000 tonnes was imported into NZ, 2012 had similar figures, source 'P for plunder' 2014 Western Sahara Resource Watch). You will be aware of how much agriculture contributes to NZ's GDP.

So I differ in your view that it is an appalling idea (and I very much doubt those people I have talked about above think it is also an appalling idea that we look to mine a rock phosphate on our doorstep) I think that it is unfortunate that it is a NZ resource and a decision has to be made about whether to leave it where it is (and support the concept of blood phosphate) or bring it up and risk environmental damage.

I suppose your viewpoint depends on where you stand over condoning societal damage v condoning environmental damage and it is unfortunate that the decision to mine comes down to this black and white decision.

We could talk about phosphate recycling but that is a another post and still very very far away from being economical.