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Senators introduce bill to keep SEC under open-government law
By Ken Sweet
Fox Business, New York
Thursday, August 5, 2010
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010/08/05/senators-introduce-sec-foi...
Four prominent members of the U.S. Senate introduced a bill Thursday that would strike the provision in the Dodd-Frank Act that potentially gives the Securities and Exchange Commission broad powers to deny Freedom of Information Act requests.
The bill, introduced by a bipartisan group of senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee -- Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa -- is similar to a House version introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., that would strike the provision in the law.
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Sona Resources Expects Positive Cash Flow from Blackdome,
Plans Aggressive Exploration of Elizabeth Gold Property
On May 18, 2010, Sona Resources Corp. (TSXV: SYS, Frankfurt: QS7) announced the release of a preliminary economic assessment for gold production at its flagship Blackdome and Elizabeth properties in British Columbia.
Sona Executive Chairman Nick Ferris says: "We view this as a baseline scenario for gold production. The project is highly sensitive to the price of gold. A conservative valuation of gold at $1,093 per ounce would result in a pre-tax cash flow of $54 million. The assessment indicates that underground mining at the two sites would recover 183,600 ounces of gold and 62,500 ounces of silver. Permitting and infrastructure are already in place for processing ore at the Blackdome mill, with a 200-tonne per day throughput over an eight-year mine life. Our near-term goal is to continue aggressive exploration at Elizabeth and develop a million-plus-ounce gold resource, commencing production in 2013."
For complete information on Sona Resources Corp. please visit: www.SonaResources.com
The drafting of a Senate bill to strike the SEC FOIA provision comes a day after House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said he would hold hearings next month regarding potential abuse of the bill.
"When Congress enacted these exemptions, it sought to ensure that the SEC had access to the information that the commission needed to carry out its new enforcement powers and to protect American investors -- not to shield information from the public," said Leahy, who is also the chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee.
"I have been troubled by the sweeping interpretation that the commission has expressed, to date, that these exemptions would shield all information provided to the commission in connection with its broad examination and surveillance activities."
The SEC provision in the Dodd-Frank Act, known by its technical name 929I, was invoked by the SEC to deny an FOIA request by FOX Business last week. Since the news became public, several members of Congress have come out against the provision, saying it gives the SEC too much statutory power to deny FOIA requests.
"If anything, the financial crisis and the wave of financial frauds we have seen over the past few years call for more transparency at the SEC, not less," Cornyn said in a statement. "I am alarmed that the financial regulatory reform bill appears to have excluded the SEC from the FOIA disclosure requirements."
Journalism organizations have also come out publicly against the bill, citing the SEC's failures with the Bernie Madoff case and subprime mortgage crisis as reasons why the agency needs to be opened up to further scrutiny.
The SEC has repeatedly denied that the 929I provision can be used to deny FOIA requests, saying that it will continue to honor them.
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Prophecy to Become Coal Producer This Year
with 1.5 Billion Tonnes of Resource
Prophecy Resource Corp. (TSX.V: PCY) announced on May 11 that it has entered into a mine services agreement with Leighton Asia Ltd. to begin coal production this year. Production will begin with a 250,000-tonne starter pit as planned in August, with production advancing to 2 million tonnes per year in 2011. Prophecy is fully funded to production and its management team includes John Morganti, Arnold Armstrong, and Rob McEwen.
For Prophecy's complete press release about its production plans, please visit:
http://www.prophecyresource.com/news_2010_may11.php
