News in Brief
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EPA Cooking the Books, Manipulating the Science, on Endangerment Finding – Some more this month on the endangerment finding by EPA. According to the New York Times, “An undated and unsigned memo prepared by Office of MB states that the EPA ignored major economic and scientific questions in its April proposal to regulate carbon dioxide and other climate-altering gases, according to an internal government critique. The memo said the proposed finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare was not based on a systematic analysis of costs and benefits and fell short of scientific rigor on a number of issues. It also said that the EPA proposal to regulate CO2 under the Clean Air Act would have “serious economic consequences for regulated entities throughout the U.S. economy, including small businesses and small communities. The document also raised questions about the EPA inclusion of gases that are believed to contribute to global warming without proving that they have direct health effects.” New York Times, 5/12/09.
Australia Carbon Plan and U.S. Emissions Trading – In Australia , around 10,000 jobs will be lost, 16 coal mines will close and state governments will lose substantial royalties if a carbon trading scheme goes ahead as planned, according to a report by the coal industry published Friday. "These job losses are in addition to thousands of coal jobs already lost since December as a result of the global financial crisis," Ralph Hillman, the Australian Coal Association's executive director. Dow Jones.
And in the United States, Michael Wara, a law professor and energy expert at Stanford’s Program on Energy and Sustainable Development, has cast new doubts on the efficacy of the EEU’s Emissions Trading System, which is the model for a carbon-capping system foreseen here in this country. Mr. Wara wrote in an e-mail message to Green Inc. that European-based polluters are likely to buy so many permits from carbon-reduction projects based outside the trade bloc that industries will have emitted roughly 1% more in 2008 than they did in 1990. That date is significant because the E.U. has pledged to reduce emissions compared to 1990 levels under the Kyoto climate treaty. NYT, 5/8/09.
Was Asbestos Contamination done knowingly? Court says NO. - A federal court jury has acquitted W.R. Grace, and three of its executives on all criminal charges that they had knowingly contaminated the small Montana mining town of Libby with asbestos, and then conspired to cover up the deed. At least 200 people have died of asbestos-related diseases, and hundreds more have been sickened, in the tiny community of Libby, which has a population of about 2,600. And there is no doubt that the Zonolite Mountain vermiculite mine, owned and operated by Grace from 1963 to 1990, was the source of the asbestos. But the jury in Federal District Court in Missoula, deliberating less than two days after a nearly three-month trial, unanimously concluded that the disaster was not a matter of criminal culpability by the company. The verdict marked a repudiation of the Federal government’s case, which painted Grace as a greedy mine operator. NYT, 5/8/09.
Rimfire Minerals and Geoinformatics - have announced a binding letter agreement to complete a business combination unanimously approved by both companies' Board of Directors. The Transaction is expected to close before the end of July 2009. The combined company will be led by the current Rimfire management team, augmented by Geoinformatics management appointments. Rimfire has a strong property portfolio of 15 gold and copper-gold projects including a large land package on trend and surrounding the Pogo Gold Mine in Alaska. Geoinformatics' assets include an extensive property portfolio in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Their flagship wholly-owned Whistler Project in Alaska covers an area of approximately 440km2, and is located around 160 kilometers northwest of Anchorage. The Whistler Project is situated within the same geological belt that hosts the world class Pebble copper-gold porphyry deposit. The Whistler project area comprises a gold-copper porphyry district with multiple mineralized systems identified by geological mapping, geophysical techniques and geochemical surveys. The Whistler Zone has a NI43-101 compliant resource of 1.31 and 4.44 million ounces of gold equivalent in the Indicated and Inferred Resource categories.
Kensington - has now worked two years with no Lost Time Accidents, more than 750 days of without a lost time injury which equates to more than 350,000 man hours. Congratulations!!
Livengood - International Tower Hill has announced results from its winter drill program for the NE and SW zones which included: MK-RC-0137 27.4m @ 1.50 g/t Au; MK-RC-0138 109.7m @ 0.91g/t AU; MK-RC-0139 35.1m @ 1.16 g/t Au; MK-RC-0142 9.14m @ 4.02 g/t Au.