The mine owners in NWFP Wednesday asked the provincial government for utilisation of the natural resources for financial and economic development of the backward province.
"Mining is the potential sector of NWFP, whose promotion and development could change the fortune of the people of this part of the country," Syed Abdullah, president Frontier Mine Owners Association told a group of journalists here at the provincial headquarters of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda). He was accompanied by Shahid-ur-Rehman, president All Pakistan Marble Association.
He said that they are approaching the provincial government to discuss the problems confronting this sector and also present their proposals and suggestions for the development of the sector.
NWFP and Fata, he said are rich in natural resources having the reserves of more than 50 minerals, both precious and semi-precious. He said that they include metallic minerals and non-metallic with different varieties of gemstones.
Due to the geographical disadvantage, minerals sector he said was the only indigenous sector for industrial development of the province. He said that the development of only mineral sector and mine could put the province on the path of progress and development.
Terming mineral sector as the most neglected, he said the sector has no facility of funding by government institution. "Neither it has any loan service nor it was being recognised as co-lateral in any monetary agreement in the country," complained Syed Abdullah.
He said the province has 9 semi-precious stones including tourmaline, aquamarine, emerald, ruby and peridot while precious gemstone of gold has reserves in Dir, Chitral and Hazara regions. In metallic minerals, the province has the reserves of copper, zinc and chromium.
In industrial minerals, he said the province is rich in soapstone, manganese, phosphate, marble and granite. He said that the province has reserves of 4 to 5 billion ton of coal and billions of tons of gypsum. However, he said despite such huge natural resources, the province has so far issued licenses and leases to 13500 people.
The department of mines and minerals NWFP, he said has so far granted the lease of only 3 lakh acre land of the total 94000 square kilometre area of the province. The sector, he said generates revenue of Rs 300 million annually for the provincial government while Labour Welfare Cess was also being collected from the mine owners.
Regarding the number of workers in the sector, he said it was a seasonal sector and usually about 30,000 people earn their livelihood from it. However, some time the number of labour force crossed over the figure of 50,000. He said that the new concessional rules had allowed sub-letting of the mines.
To a question, he agreed with the presence of idol mines, but he said the number of such mines is few. But, in majority of the cases it occurred due to the resistance of the locals to give access of the leaseholders to their mines. The problem, he said had even been noted by the World Bank. The resolution of the problem, he said requires formal legislation.
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