Wed Jan 9, 2008 Continental's Xietongmen Project Receives Two More Important Approvals Environmental Impact Assessment And Conservation Plan
January 9 2008, Vancouver, BC - Continental Minerals Corporation ("Continental" or the "Company") (TSX Venture: KMK; OTCBB: KMKCF) announces government approval of two more reports required for its mining license application for the Xietongmen Project (the "Project") in the Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China ("PRC").
The State Environmental Protection Administration ("SEPA") has approved the Environmental Impact Assessment and the Ministry of Water Resources has approved the Soil and Water Conservation Plan. These two reports were completed by certified Chinese design institutes working in accordance with Chinese rules and regulations. Continental has now received approvals for all but one of the reports required for the mining license application (see background information posted on Continental's website). The Land Reclamation Plan is scheduled for completion in January, and will be submitted as part of the mining license application.
The Xietongmen porphyry copper-gold deposit was discovered by drilling in 2005. A comprehensive program for the Project commenced in 2006, designed to collect the data necessary for the completion of all reports required by the Chinese government to apply for a mining license, as well as the positive feasibility study (announced in August 2007). These technical studies have also provided data for a social and environmental impact assessment ("SEIA") that is being completed by internationally recognized consultants in accordance with International Finance Corporation ("IFC") standards. The SEIA is scheduled to be completed in the coming months and, together with the feasibility study, will play an important role in the financing of the Project.
President and CEO Gerald Panneton said: "Excellent progress continues to be made toward our mining license application and completion of the technical, environmental and social studies for Xietongmen. Our goal is to fulfill all requirements for a mining license, design and build an operation that meets international standards, and contributes positively to the economic development of the region. With our major shareholder, the Jinchuan Group (which recently increased its position in KMK to 14% through exercising warrants (C$2.25) at a premium of 36% to the current market), we look forward to developing this excellent project."
For additional details, please visit the Company's website at www.continentalminerals.com or contact Investor Services at (604) 684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Gerald Panneton President and Chief Executive Officer
Backgrounder -- Mining License Application Process
Continental is in the process of preparing to submit its mining license application for Xietongmen. Prior to the submission of an application for a mining license, a number of major reports have to be commissioned, prepared and submitted to the relevant government agency in the PRC for review by a panel of experts, for assessment and approval. There are 12 major reports that have to be completed, assessed, and approved. These include: Mine Area Scoping, Geological Resources, Geological Hazard Assessment, Safety Pre-Assessment, Land Acquisition Pre-Approval, Water Resources, Water Use Permit, Seismic Assessment, Mineral Resources Development and Utilization Report, Environmental Impact Assessment, Water and Soil Conservation Plan, and Land Reclamation Report. Continental has now received approval for all reports but the Land Reclamation Report.
Current Approvals - Environmental Impact Assessment and Water and Soil Conservation Plan
The National Peoples' Congress (NPC) provides overall supervision of the administration of environmental and social protection legislation within the PRC. Specific legislation is administered at various levels of government. Under this system, the NPC and its Standing Committee enact the national laws, and the State Council enacts the administrative regulations. Various centralized ministries, including the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), Ministry of Water Resources, State Forest Administration, Ministry of Land and Resources, Work Safety Administration, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security issue administrative rules or management methods. These ministries undertake centralized supervision and are represented at the provincial, city, county and, in some instances, lower administrative levels. Relevant bureaus carry out the local supervision.
The SEPA is the highest-level environment management authority in the PRC. In regard to the Project, its most important responsibilities include:
formulating environmental protection principles, policies and regulations;
supervising the protection of nature reserves and biodiversity;
co-ordinating local environmental issues and handling environmental accidents;
developing national environmental quality and discharge standards;
formulating national environmental management systems and approving related EIA reports;
improving the development of the environmental protection industry, managing the verification of environmental management systems and environmental labelling;
organizing the PRC's environmental monitoring network and encouraging public participation in environmental protection;
taking part in international treaties and co-ordinating activities; and
the overall management and co-ordination of the different administrative authorities.
In addition to SEPA, most provinces, cities, and counties fund their own Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB), the directors of which are appointed by relevant local governments. Provincial EPBs are connected to provincial governments and municipal EPBs operate within their local municipal framework.
Local EPBs are responsible for the routine inspection of sites, including issuing pollutant discharge permits, checking the discharge compliance status, reviewing pollutant discharge registration, transmitting regulatory information, and allocating mass loading targets. The Environmental Monitoring Station (EMS), a subsidiary of the EPB, is responsible for environmental monitoring. The monitoring data are used as evidence for the EPB to verify the discharge status of facilities. Although local governments do not deal directly with environmental issues, they are obliged to approve applications provided by their EPBs for shutting down facilities that cause significant pollution that contravenes applicable regulations. The Tibet EPB and Rikaze EPB will be responsible for routine environmental management of the proposed site.
Other administrative authorities under the State Council, including the State Forest Administration, the State Agricultural Administration, the Ministry of Geology and Minerals and the Ministry of Water Resources, handle specific environmental protection issues. The Water and Soil Conservation Act is administered by the Ministry of Water Resources. It was formulated for the purposes of preventing and controlling soil erosion, maintaining soil and water resources, preventing floods, droughts and desertification, improving the condition of the natural environment and allowing proper industrial development.
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