1 May 2008

Cook Islands Opposition finds nodule futures scheme incredible

7:53 pm on 1 May 2008

The Cook Islands Opposition Leader, Tom Marsters, has joined the Government in dismissing a proposal promising instant wealth for the country.

Sydney based New Zealander, Bruce Ruatapu Mita, is promising billions of dollars if the country's offshore manganese nodules are used as collateral on the New York futures market.

But Mr Marsters says the problem with the futures exchange is that a specified time for delivery is one of its criteria.

He says the nodule issue and how to mine them has been around for 30 years and no one has come up with an answer yet, not even Mr Mita.

"He was talking like that we should firm up within months otherwise we would lose the opportunity so I think these are some of the grey areas that he was not able to explain fully to both the opposition and the government which may have resulted in the government shying away from the group."

The government cut short talks with Mr Mita last year.