Dear Editor,
The Ministers of Natural Resources are on record as stating that the Mining Syndicate is a mechanism to assist all miners who are having difficulty accessing mining lands. Yet there is no guideline in the public domain to advise on how to form a syndicate. It seems that only persons who have had direct contact with Minister Broomes know how exactly to form themselves into syndicates.
In the interest of public knowledge a few questions are being asked to the Minister in the hope of enlightening other miners who may want to form themselves into a syndicate:-
1) How many members are needed to form a syndicate?
2) Do the members have to meet any specific requirements, eg not having any active mining lands or if they must have mining equipment?
3) Who owns the lands applied for by the syndicate? How does this affect the mining permit application and permission to operate?
4) How many blocks can a syndicate apply for?
5) What happens if there are multiple applications over the same area?
6) Could the entire process be advertised in the press and in the mining districts?
It is sincerely hoped that the Minister can take some time from her busy schedule to offer a response to the above questions, and also make public any other information which may be of interest.
Could the Minister also give an update on how many people applied for lands via their advertisement in 2016? How many were successful and what will happen to those who weren’t? Many unsuccessful applicants were not even afforded an interview with the Closed Area Committee to discuss the merits of their application, and neither was a response given as to why their application was rejected.
Yours faithfully,
J Edwards
