My friend I have the utmost respect and admiration for anybody who makes a judgment call and is then willing to back that opinion with their own cash. I hope (obviously) that you are on a winner. My concerns are as follows. I became involved in STX IN 2021 and BRU in early 2022 and have never been comfortable since the Federal Election in May 2022. In my opinion we are somnambulating into a crisis of monumental proportions. I will be accused of fear mongering, racism and being a conspiracy theorist but I am merely voicing an opinion of what I believe is developing. I believe that native title, traditional ownership and the avalanche of regulatory, advisory, legal, historical, cultural, financial and social obligations to follow will make future developments an absolute nightmare. I say this with a little knowledge of how difficult these decisions are now and wonder if they will become even more difficult with the introduction of the Voice. Just take a look at a company announcement (below) and you can't help but wonder how many similar agreements are already in place and how many more will be undertaken in the future. The cost and difficulty of development in Australia is about increase exponentially.• Native Title Agreement signed with the Ngururrpa native title holders in relation to the haul road for the Mackay Potash Project• The agreement is a major milestone that allows the granting of requisite haul road licences within the Ngururrpa determination area• The agreement confirms support for the creation of significant road infrastructure in the region Agrimin Limited (ASX: AMN) (“Agrimin” or “the Company”) is pleased to advise that it has signed a Native Title Agreement with Parna Ngururrpa (Aboriginal Corporation) RNTBC (“PNAC”), the native title representative body for the Ngururrpa native title holders (Figure 1). The Native Title Agreement provides the necessary consents for a Miscellaneous Licence to be granted to Agrimin by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation & Safety. Agrimin and PNAC commenced formal negotiations in November 2020 in relation to a Native Title Agreement to permit the construction and operation of Agrimin’s haul road, whilst preserving the traditional way of life of the Ngururrpa native title holders. The negotiations have involved numerous on-country meetings and heritage surveys, as well as input from environmental, economic and legal experts appointed by PNAC.The Native Title Agreement provides the necessary consents for a Miscellaneous Licence to be granted to Agrimin by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation & Safety. As part of the agreement, PNAC’s anthropologists have prepared a Cultural Heritage Management Plan (“CHMP”) for the Mackay Potash Project.The CHMP provides heritage clearances for all the proposed infrastructure required to support the haul road, including communication towers, turnouts, rest stops, borrow pits, aggregate sources, water abstraction bores, drains, turkey’s nests and water storage.The agreement contains a range of financial and non-financial terms which remain confidential in nature. The Company has agreed to issue 1,000,000 ordinary shares to PNAC, escrowed for three years, as part of the terms.As you can see there is confidentiality as opposed to transparency and financial inducements. This could well be the tip of the iceberg and when the massive machine that I expect will be spawned becomes involved in all aspects of developments the politicians and legal fraternity will be at their obfuscating best. A self perpetuating bureaucratic machine with an insatiable appetite is about to be unleashed with L. Thorpe at the wheel.
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