Chile desert rains sign of climate change: chief weather scientist

(GNN) - The heavy rainfall that battered Chile's usually arid north this week happened because of climate change, a senior meteorologist said, as the region gradually returns to normal after rivers broke banks and villages were cut off.

"For Chile, this particular system can only be possible in an environment of a changed climate," Deputy Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization Jeremiah Lengoasa told Reuters on a visit to Santiago on Friday.

The intense rainfall that began Tuesday in an area that is home to the Atacama, the world's driest desert, had resulted in nine deaths by Friday, with 19 people still missing, nearly 6,000 people in temporary housing and some roads cut off, the government's emergency office Onemi said.

Under a more familiar beating sun, people began to trickle back to debris-strewn villages and smashed houses. A curfew is in place in the Atacama region tonight, Onemi said, while operations at some mines in the top copper producer are still on hold.

 Local media reported that one of those who lost his home was Victor Zamora, one of the 33 miners whose dramatic rescue from a mine in nearby Copiapo in 2010 attracted global attention.

While the worst seems to be over, Chile can expect to see more of this kind of event in the future, Lengoasa said.

"This is an example of an extreme (event) - it's an unprecedented event in a place where you would not normally expect it to happen," he said.

(Reuters)(Reporting by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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Seven die in Chile floods, military rescues stranded residents

(GNN) - The death toll in Chile rose to seven after rains battered the north and caused flooding, the government said on Thursday, while 19 others were unaccounted for as the military rushed to rescue stranded villagers.

The downpours in the usually arid region have been the heaviest in about 80 years, although the worst of the bad weather appeared to be over, meteorologists said.

Rivers have burst their banks, flooding towns, making roads impassable and forcing miners in Chile, the world's top copper exporter, to suspend operations.

Chile, a sliver of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains in one of the world's most seismic zones, is used to dealing with natural disasters.

Military helicopters flew in supplies and evacuated residents from three villages in the Atacama region that were entirely cut off and only reachable by air, Mahmud Aleuy, the deputy interior minister, said on Thursday.

"We're transporting medicine and will start a process of mass vaccinations" in order to avoid the spread of diseases, Aleuy added.

The city of Copiapo, some 800 km (497 miles) north of Santiago and home to 160,000 people is also partly cut off, he said, adding that the airports of both Copiapo and Antofagasta further to the north have been closed to commercial air traffic.

The unusual weather phenomenon was caused by a cold front hitting the Andes. Spurred by high temperatures, it produced strong rains at the high altitudes instead of snow, which swept down to valleys and towns in the foothills.

The scenes contrasted with those of parched fields further south, which were desperate for rain after a hot, dry summer that hurt farming and mining production.

But the rains fell in a different part of the country and did not signal the end of an eight-year drought, said climatologist Claudia Villarroel.

"These rains serve to accumulate water, but the superficial run-off is very high. What is best is a little, constant rain," she said.

(Reuters)(Reporting by Antonio de la Jara and Rosalba O'Brien; Additional reporting by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Diane Craft)

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Mining contracts: Pakistan must study global models to court investors

(GNN) - ISLAMABAD: After facing a legal battle with Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) Pakistan – a joint venture between Canadian and Chilean giants – in the international court, Pakistan must make endeavours to study mining deals around the world in a bid to frame a model agreement for awarding gold and copper mining contracts.

Pakistan has already lost a major opportunity to search for gold and copper reserves in Balochistan because of a poor framework that sparked controversy with TCC over the grant of contract and dented investor confidence.

Balochistan, the largest province in terms of area but the most under-developed, not only boasts of a large number of mines containing deposits of precious and other metals, it has also huge reserves of oil and gas. The northern areas too hold big deposits of gold and copper that await exploration and could give a boost to the country’s faltering economy.

Around the world, business tycoons are involved in tricky games to win contracts, but they spoil things when they lose. Moreover, the countries rich in natural resources have been facing poor law and order situation as is happening in many Middle Eastern states.

Balochistan, blessed with huge reserves of mineral and other natural resources, has also been grappling with insecurity and violence since long due to alleged involvement of external forces.
However, according to experts, the poor law and order conditions appear to be a blessing in disguise for international investors, who are promised a lucrative package of incentives in an attempt to win their support.

The province has a 16km long belt of gold and copper reserves that passes through Iran and Turkey and then enters Afghanistan. Only a Chinese company is working on the Saindak gold and copper project in the province.

Though TCC tried to break the monopoly by undertaking exploration of metals, different lobbies came in the company’s way and it was forced to pack up after spending over $400 million. It also approached the International Court of Arbitration to seek compensation.

The rift between the government and TCC started in 2009 when Pakistan’s ambassador in Chile wrote a letter, suggesting that a Chinese company should be awarded another area for exploration rather than Reko Diq. As a result, the government turned down the demand of the Chinese firm to grant rights for Reko Diq.

Policy revision
The present government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has blamed the previous administration of Pakistan Peoples Party for corruption and kickbacks. Now is the time for the new government to demonstrate transparency and good governance and try to reach a settlement with TCC. This will set a precedent and encourage investors to pour money into Balochistan.

The government should revamp the Mineral Policy of 2013, framed by the PPP-led coalition government, to remove bottlenecks, if any, and provide a level-playing field for all investors.

The policy should not favour investors from only one country that discourages other potential investors. Incentives should also be put in place for those willing to set up gold and copper refining units. This will stop export of unprocessed metal and lead to shipment of finished goods, fetching better prices.

The inflow of investment will also create significant job opportunities for the locals in the insurgency-plagued region.

TCC had also been planning to invest $5 billion in Reko Diq over a period of five years with creation of jobs for 3,000 people and another 4,000 for daily-wage workers, who would assist in infrastructure work at construction sites.

Apart from these, the government should make efforts to appoint independent experts on key posts in an attempt to instill confidence in investors. Any hiring on political grounds could spark controversy and disrupt a smooth flow of investment.

In a recent case, the Balochistan government appointed a son of former chief justice of Pakistan as vice chairman of the provincial Board of Investment, which triggered a row and calls for his resignation. Eventually, he stepped down from the post.

Published in GNN, Tribune, AIP, July 14th, 2014.