Muri Brasil Ventures Inc. (MBVI), the company granted a controversial permit for mineral surveying in the ecologically fragile New River Triangle, yesterday defended exploration of the area while signalling that mining will bring “unimaginable” benefits.
With MBVI almost virtually guaranteed up to 18 prospecting licences upon application, the company said in a statement that such permission is normal and needed to assure investors of a potential return.
In its first statement on the week-old controversy, MBVI said that it was clear that the Cabinet and government are behind the Permission for Geological and Geophysical Survey (PGGS), raising further questions as to why Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud did not tell a parliamentary committee and GHRA at two separate meetings in November and December about this. The GHRA had asked specifically if the survey would lead to prospecting
