Caribbean Times 88th Issue - Wednesday 1st February 2017

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8 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g Wednesday 1st February 2017 Guyana gives Chinese miner nod to begin manganese production GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Guyana’s manganese sector is set for major expansion in the coming months. Two months after the David Granger administration gave the nod to a deal between BOSAI Minerals, the Chinese company currently involved in bauxite operations in Linden and Reunion Gold Corporation to acquire the latter’s rights in the Matthews Ridge Manganese Project, preparatory works are scheduled to get underway by the first half of the year. The deal paves the way for manganese mining to resume in Matthew Ridge, Region One after several decades. The Ministry of Natural Resources is expecting major dividends from the agreement, including substantial revenue, jobs and infrastructural development. “Bosai expects that employment numbers can reach as high as 1,200 during the peak of construction and KINGSTON, Jamaica – Police in Jamaica have recaptured a man charged with the murder of two American missionaries, three weeks after he escaped custody. Dwight Henry was nabbed during a sting operation last Thursday night, as he was travelling in a car in St Mary – the same parish where he allegedly killed 53-year-old Harold Nichols and 48-year-old Randy Hentzel on April 30 last then stabilize at 300 to 400 during normal operations. Once in production, the company intends to ship 350,000 tonnes of manganese per year,” the ministry said. Bosai will mine using conventional open pit methods with minimum blasting, and the mine will have a life of 15 to 35 years, depending on the rate of extraction, a statement from the ministry said. Under the agreement, the Reunion Gold Corporation will transfer to the Bosai Mineral Group four prospecting licences that make up the Matthews Ridge project, the March 2011 Mineral Agreement between Reunion, Guyana and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, and capital assets. According to the ministry, preparations will begin during the second half of this year and will include the construction of a wharf facility at Port Kaituma to receive supplies for year. Henry had been arrested in June last year, along with Andre Thomas, for the murders. However, he escaped from the Port Maria Hospital on January 4 after being taken there for medical attention. He will now face an additional charge of escaping custody, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey who also told the media that several operations were carried out in several communities across St. Mary before Henry was finally caught. Hentzel and Nichols were found dead in St. Mary, where both accused and victims lived. The missionaries, who were attached to the Pennsylvannia-based Christian charity TEAMS for Medical Missions, had been residing in Jamaica for several years. The Matthews Ridge drill rig. the mine and mill, and the construction and upgrading of roads from Port Kaituma wharf to Matthews Ridge and Pipiani. Other works would include mine development, including stripping and pit work for ore extraction, construction of tailings management and water supply facilities, and installing a milling plant for treatment of manganese ores. Mining operations are scheduled to begin in another two years. (Caribbean360) Police in Jamaica capture escapee accused of American missionaries’ murders They had left their homes on motorcycles on April 30 to carry out some missionary work in Albion Mountain in the same northeastern parish. Hentzel’s body was discovered that afternoon and Nichols’ body was found the following day. Autopsies confirmed that Hentzel died of a gunshot wound while Nichols was shot and chopped. (Caribbean360)
Wednesday 1st February 2017 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g 9 Trump asked to help free Mormon jailed on weapons charges in Venezuela UTAH, USA – The mother of a Utah man jailed and allegedly subjected to “horrifying abuse” for the last seven months in Venezuela has begged US President Donald Trump to help free her son. In her new YouTube video, Laurie Holt reiterated her belief that that her son Joshua Holt is being used as a “political pawn” by Venezuela’s government. Joshua Holt and his wife, an Ecuadorean national, were arrested on June 30 on weapons charges. Venezuelan officials alleged that he was stockpiling weapons at his wife’s apartment and have suggested his case is linked to other unspecified attempts by the US government to undermine President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist administration. Laurie has staunchly refuted that claim, insisting that her son, a former Mormon missionary, travelled to Venezuela to marry a woman he met online while seeking Spanish-speaking Mormons to help him improve his Spanish. In her video, the Riverton, Utah resident criticized the inability of former President Barack Obama’s administration to gain freedom for her son, going on to appeal to Trump’s patriotism. “President Trump, my son’s only offence was that he was an American citizen. I know that you surely agree that being a citizen of this great nation should mean something,” she said. “Josh and his wife and our entire family have been living in a hellish fog for the last months. My son has undergone the most horrifying and degrading physical and mental abuse.” Laurie Holt with a photo of her imprisoned son, Joshua. The video was posted a week after US Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah most recently visited Holt on January He added that consular officers mentioned the case in a meeting with 16 and will continue to make regular Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. visits. During his confirmation hearing, Former Secretary of State John Tillerson did not mention Holt by Kerry raised Holt’s jailing during a name but said he planned to demand meeting with President Maduro in that Venezuela President Nicolas September, and a senior State Department official travelled to Caracas Maduro release all political prisoners. In recent months, Laurie has endured a series of disappointments as for his release. twice in recent months in part to push four different hearings scheduled to The US House passed a resolution discuss her son’s plight have been in September calling for the release of cancelled. No new hearings are currently scheduled. Venezuela, but the pressure has so far Holt and other political prisoners in Will Cocks, spokesman for the US yielded no tangible results. State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, said the department is prison in Caracas run by Venezuela’s Joshua Holt is being held in a concerned about the postponements intelligence police, that also holds a and is following Holt’s case closely. number of activists that the opposition considers political prisoners. The department has raised the matter with the Venezuelan government, urging respect for Holt’s hu- Maduro’s government is using Holt Human rights groups contend that man rights and an expedited effort and his wife as bargaining chips to to resolve the case, Cocks said in a extract unspecified concessions from statement. the United States. (Caribbean360)
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Caribbean Times 88th Issue - Wednesday 1st February 2017

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