Key points
- French Polynesia’s assembly adopted the final legislative change harmonizing the Environment Code with the new Mining Code on Oct. 21, 2021.
- The update lets Chatham’s subsidiary SAS Avenir Makatea request a public enquiry into the Makatea mining concession.
- The public enquiry request will be lodged in November 2021, with a one-month public enquiry period to follow.
- The assembly also adopted creation of an intergenerational fund on Oct. 7, 2021 to receive mining royalties for future environmental studies.
Chatham Rock Phosphate Ltd. has noted that the French Polynesian legislation relevant to the granting of mining concessions has now been updated.
This is a significant milestone and enables the company’s wholly owned SAS Avenir Makatea subsidiary to request a public enquiry into the grant of the mining concession on Makatea.
With the socio-economic report under way and preparation of the environmental impact assessment report imminent, this request for the public enquiry into the granting of the Makatea mining concession will be lodged in November, 2021.
The dates for the one-month public enquiry will then be determined.
Background
The French Polynesian government has been working over the past three years to put in place the now adopted modern legislative framework.
The final legislative change to harmonize the current Environment Code with the new Mining Code was adopted by the French Polynesian assembly on Oct. 21, 2021.
This follows the assembly unanimously adopting the creation of an intergenerational fund on Oct. 7 to receive mining royalties to be used for future environmental studies and projects.
The new Mining Code was approved in February, 2020, while the new Fiscal Code for Extractive Industries was adopted by the assembly in December, 2019.
Chatham strategy
The acquisition of Avenir Makatea was the first step in the company’s strategy to build an international phosphate mining and trading house with a focus on low-cadmium organic phosphate.
The second step was the acquisition of the fully permitted Korella phosphate mine in Queensland, Australia, with its ability to generate positive cash flows starting in 2022.
