Copper: Puerto Rico's New Found Health
Reivich, Lois
It has been generally held by both scholars and politicians that Puerto Rico is a land ith scarce natural resources, especially minerals. This has been held up as a disadvantage for the islands...
...It is most indicative of the Cormonwealth's whole "operation Bootstrap" prograi that they have looked to please the monopolies of the North often writh disregard to criticism from hone...
...On the issue of land ownership, the opposition contends that the government has done nothing to forestall farmers (the copper reserves are in the Central highlands where sugar is grown) from selling out at low prices...
...it was revealed that besides copper deposits, which are probably the largest ineral deposit, there are probably deposits of oil, iron, gold, cobalt, nickel and bauxite...
...The reaction by the "independentistas" to these pronouncements has been that the government seenis Twilling to give away the copper resources for a small sum, indeed...
...It can be said, at the very least, that the "so--called" benefits to the Puerto Rican people such as job creation is a side effect of this most profitable courting effort...
...They also point out that the relative scarcity of copper n the wrld market right now is partly due to its .Tide use for military purposes in the war in Vietnam...
...And management positions would be filled by North Americans...
...Some estimates go as high as 3,000 jobs directly created by the mining operations...
...According to the law, for the extraction of the mineral, a contract must be negotiated by which the government receives a royalty of from 2 to 12 percent, depending on the grade of the mineral in the ore...
...The position of the ining Commission is most intractably that they have the full rights to conduct negotiations in private and they are trying hard not to lake the copper question into a political issue...
...It remains to be seen if enough pressure will be created to force the Cormmonealth government to take into account some of the criticisms of their manner of exploiting the island's resources...
...One other proposal in relation to land ownership has been made by Vanguardia suggesting that maximum ownership of 500 acres should be applied to exploitation of the sub-soil...
...As of now Ponce ining Co...
...A technical study explored the serious effects of the release of sulfur dioxide into the air, which would be spread July, 1967 -jNi A C L A iF E S L E T T M2 July, 1967 -6 to all parts of the island...
...The exploitation of copper is a crucial precedent for further exploration and uses of the island's other mineral resources...
...ieither have the landowners been informed that they would be entitled to 20i:,of the government's royalty...
...and Kienmecott Copper...
...The Commonomealth government would like to sign a contract with both companies assuring them the right to exploit copper for a 32 year period with a 3 royalty to be paid the government for all copper deposits extracted in addition to 8% of their profits during the 17 year tamxexemption period...
...The Lining Co.mrimlission has also indicated protective measures would of course be stipulated in any contract, There are other issues such as erosion of agricultural soil around the dining operations and the eventual affect of the wastee lands" around the copper deposits, a problem the ining Cormission refuses to discuss...
...They feel it is their moral obligation to give these private companies the go-ahead as these firms have already invested several million dollars and nine years in exploratory operations...
...This could be avoided by use of the Cottrell process to utilize the sulfur dioxide, the ining Commission has pointed out...
...Tnat the critics raise are arguents for the use of these mineral resources for the social benefit of all Puerto Ricans...
...The question has not been settled...
...As early as January 1965 this myth was undermined by KIal 1agenheil in Copper: The Billion Dollar Secret...
...The factor of prospective new jobs is another issue...
...Let us look more closely at some of the arguments...
...At the end of last year the U.S.,government lwas forced to release some of its copper stockpile to American copper companies because of that shortage...
...They also look at all newa eploymient opportunities and possibly secondary industry as an immediate boost in their industrial development program...
...One criticism of the project has stemmed from the ater Pollution Control Advisory Board charging that problems of water and air pollution have received little consideration in the plans for exploiting copper...
...One need only view the record of the exploitation of natural resources in other Latin American countries by private companies from the capitalist countries to see the validity in their argument...
...It was estimated that the deposits contain about 200 million tons of 1;l ore or 4 billion pounds of copper...
...At that time he revealed that copper deposits were being explored by two mining companies (Alerican ietals Climax Inc...
...The question that is now uppermost in the developing controversy over copper is just how the island's mineral resources rill be utilized...
...This nine year period permitted for exploration has expired for both Ponce lining Co., a subsidiary of 1azerican.i-ietals Climaxc and Bear Creek iiining Co., a subsidiary of Kennecott Copper...
...In Waggenheit's interview with a geologist in the U.S...
...They invoke the U.N1...
...It is only the vociferous opposition of various groups which has brought the question into the open...
...This has been held up as a disadvantage for the islands development...
...Since the most profitable part of the exploitation is in extracting the copper, Fomento (the government developulent agency) is pleased that the companies would be illing to process the copper in Puerto Rico...
...Under the mining regulations enacted in 1933, prospecting permits of one year are extendable up to nine years...
...resolution which endorses permanent sovereignty of nations in the development of their onm natural resources...
...It is an undeniable fact that the highest degree of secrecy has surrounded the whole issue of the exploration of the copper and the present negotiations as well...
...While the unskilled and semiii-skilled jobs would be designated for Puerto Ricans, it is unclear if the companies would provide training for skilled jobs...
...They clearly do not believe that leasing the rights to exploit the copper by North kAlerican giants will be to the benefit of most Puerto Ricans...
...Geological Survey Office, which has been operating in Puerto Rico for over nine year...
...owns almost 500 acres and their plans for exploitation would include almost 2000 acres...
Vol. 1 • July 1967 • No. 5
