From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!
Monday, April 4, 2005
"They can dictate where we can and can't use it," a BHP spokeswoman said.
The United States has blocked the use of its advanced technology for mapping mineral deposits in China, according to Australian mining operation BHP Billiton (BHP).
"They can dictate where we can and can't use it," a BHP spokeswoman said.
The Australian first reported the decision last week, after Clinton Dines, the chief of BHP's Chinese operations, told analysts about the U.S. Navy's decision. BHP confirmed this story to The New York Times in Melbourne last Friday.
The U.S. maintains a list of munitions which are prohibited from being exported to China. Pentagon spokewoman Lt. Col. Tracy O'Grady-Walsh confirmed that the Falcon system was on the list of prohibited munitions and that it could not be exported for use in China without a waiver from the President. The ban has been in place since the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989.
The Falcon system, used by BHP under a special license from the U.S. Navy, is based upon American nuclear-submarine technology. Technically described as an "airborne gravity gradiometer", the Falcon system has been adapted by BHP to explore for a broad range of minerals underground. BHP has used the system since 2000. At the time, a BHP executive described the system as "the holy grail of the exploration industry."
BHP earns 10 percent of its revenue from sales to China.
This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
The text of this article has been released into the public domain. In the event that this is not legally possible, this article may be used for any purpose, without any condition, unless such conditions are required by law. This applies worldwide. Copyright terms on images, however, may vary, so please check individual image pages prior to duplication.
This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
The text of this article has been released into the public domain. In the event that this is not legally possible, this article may be used for any purpose, without any condition, unless such conditions are required by law. This applies worldwide. Copyright terms on images, however, may vary, so please check individual image pages prior to duplication.
