Rock quality at Ghallis ta' Gewwa

Contrary to Joe Mizzi's claim, results from the recent mineral resource assessment at the Ghallis ta' Gewwa do not contradict earlier tests carried out as part of the preparation of a "Mineral Resource Assessment" for the Maltese islands.

At no point does the Mineral Subject Plan cited by Mr Mizzi refer to the Ghallis ta' Gewwa site as being a prime rock quality site. On the contrary, the plan reproduces a target area from the Mineral Resource Assessment, indicating it as a level II site, hence requiring further investigation to prove the quality of the resource.

Minutes from Minerals Board meetings, recording the discussion about testing of rock specimens from the Ghallis ta' Gewwa site, make no reference to any documents being rejected. The majority of the board members have, on the contrary, agreed that the technicalities repeatedly mentioned by a board member were irrelevant since they merely referred to stratigraphic layers and not to the actual physical characteristics of the rock for which the test results spoke out clearly. Hence even though it was acknowledged that there were some discrepancies, rectifying these would not change in any way the conclusions reached.

The British company based in Malta which carried out the auditing was selected after due consultation within the framework of the Minerals Advisory Board. The board members, in their majority, agreed that this company was the most qualified to carry out this audit within the given time constraints.