drilling burried evaporates, page-32

actually, it's not clear (I don't think) about what happens if the current agreement fails - see, they've already been to arbitration over Lake Disappointment, the Minister determined access and use of the land to RWD as I see it - this was all followed by AGREEMENT from the Martu ref: the announcement of 31 March 2008....


"RWD wishes to advise it has reached agreement with the Martu people on the financial terms of a native title agreement applicable to the development of the Lake Disappointment potash project"

whilst

".... precise wording of the terms remain to be finalised..."


so, OK, RWD has access, RWD has agreement for the development of the potash project - I can't see what's not clear there, assuming all parties were not totally smashed when the agreement was made, an agreement is an agreement - what's left to negotiate apart from details?.... now if the Martu are actually reneging on the deal and want 20% say, instead of 10% - I don't think they have a leg to stand on... and if it goes back to arbitration it might just be a determination if the Martu or others are judged to have acted in bad faith.... but who wants all that crap?


let me make this clear, apart from some small areas within LD which are marked off as 'sacred sites'... the Martu cannot stop RWD from going ahead with the project.... like it or not they have to come to some agreement or I suspect eventually it will be made for them....



this is an earlier extract from RWD's Dec 2007 Annual Report:


Potash Project - Lake Disappointment, Western Australia
Native Title Issue
The Company advised on the 10th of August 2007 that negotiations between Reward Minerals Ltd and Indigenous Energy Pty
Ltd, the entity representing The Western Desert Lands Aboriginal Corporation and the Martu Traditional Owners of the Lake
Disappointment had reached an impasse.
In the Company.s view the expectations of Indigenous Energy were uncommercial and would seriously affect efforts by Reward
Minerals Ltd to establish Potash operations at the Lake Disappointment site.
Consequently the company has sought resolution of the matter via mediation and arbitration invoking sections 29-35 of the
Mining Act. Sections 29-35 of the Mining Act relate to the provision of access by Explorers to Mining Tenements in the event of
dispute with parties holding rights under the Native Title Act.
In December 2007 the Company completed its submission to the government and the NT party (WDLAC) with respect to the
proposed potash works at Lake Disappointment. The process is now in a phase of tripartite negotiations. At the time of writing
the negotiations are progressing. Should agreement be reached during the negotiation period the tenements could proceed to
grant immediately. In the event that the talks reach an impasse and the minimum negotiation period of six months has expired,
then an application can be made to the National Native Title Tribunal for a determination (section 35). The six month
negotiation requirement commences on the date of public notification of the intention to grant the leases, namely October
2007. If an agreement is not reached with the Martu by April 2008 the company will apply for a determination.


Exploration
In January 2007, Ministerial approval was received from the acting Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Hon Jon Ford JP MLC.
Consent was granted for access and the use of the Land at Lake Disappointment exactly as sought in the Section 18 submission
to the Aboriginal Cultural Materials Committee (ACMC) in December 2006.
The granting of consent allowed for the comprehensive drill assessment of the Lake Disappointment potash resource. Global
Groundwater Pty Ltd were contracted to conduct the drilling and hydrogeological assessment of the Lake using a „Geoprobe rig.
in conjunction with trenching and pump testing, to enable a JORC standard resource estimate to be generated.



there needs to be third party intervention I reckon to break the current stalemate - how serious the current impasse is, I wouldn't know, but it can't be ignored for much longer....