He was a founding adviser to the US Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce and began working with the head of that organization, Reza Vaziri, a high-ranking pre-revolution Iranian official, according to his company biography. They acquired mining rights in Azerbaijan in 1997 in partnership with the country’s government, before being taken over in 2005 by a British company, Anglo Asian Mining PLC.
Vaziri became the chief executive of Anglo Asian and Sununu joined the board. A Sununu family trust also held more than $50,000 in company stock in 2009, the last time a family member held a federally elected position that required a financial disclosure listing your assets. According to Anglo Asian’s latest annual report, Vaziri and Sununu remain the company’s largest shareholders.
Over the years, Anglo Asian Mining has expanded its operations in Azerbaijan and now holds the rights to mine gold, copper and silver deposits in eight contract areas across the country. It has lost and gained access to some due to Azerbaijan’s decades-long conflict with Armenia. The company has largely stayed out of the conflict, but came under fire from the international Armenian community after celebrating the «liberation» of a mining site through a 2020 peace deal between the two countries. A UK-based Armenian organization accused Anglo Asian of «exploding» conflict for financial gain.
“Anglo Asian Mining has a strong track record of operating its mines and production facilities with a commitment to best practice,” a company spokesperson said. «The company works with its stakeholders at the local and national levels to maintain its high level of environmental and social stewardship, and will continue to do so as it expands its operations.»
It was after Michael Sununu, who runs several New Hampshire-based family businesses along with his brother James, joined Anglo Asian’s board in late 2020, that the company became involved in mining outside of Azerbaijan. It became the largest shareholder in Libero Copper & Gold as the Canadian company sought financing to increase its exploration at the Mocoa site, earning John H. a nearly 2% stake in Libero. As part of the deal, Michael joined Libero’s board.
Many political families have expanding business interests, said Virginia Canter, senior ethics adviser at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, but it is international investments, particularly board memberships, that can raise the most ethical concerns for officials. public.
“Foreign entanglements potentially raise questions about favoritism, bias, undue influence and the potential for corruption,” he said. «As the world has become more globally connected, these family opportunities have increased, and their importance has likely increased as well.»
The United States is a prime market for green energy metals as the country looks to increase imports and secure their supply to meet its climate goals. A company presentation posted on Libero’s website in March emphasized the potential of the US as a major export market for the copper it expects to produce from the Colombian mine.
“[Board membership] it suggests a higher level of involvement and connection to earnings than just someone owning a random number of shares,» said OpenSecrets’ Baumgart. But the extent and influence of those ties is difficult to trace because financial disclosure requirements differ by type of elected official, and most US financial disclosures only require officials to include information about spouses and dependents, not parents. , siblings or other family members.
The Sununu board members, father and son, also share another interest: both are outspoken critics of the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change. John’s White House efforts in the late 1980s have been accredited as one of the key reasons the US did not sign a binding climate deal early. Michael has argued against climate science-based legislation and policies at the state level, as well as in opinion pieces and in a research paper Posted by a free market think tank where her father and brother sit on the board.
Both John H. and Michael declined to comment on their views on climate change or their business holdings, referring to NBC News’ statement provided by Anglo Asian Mining.
Harris, the CEO of Libero, said that while he cannot comment on anyone’s beliefs, climate change denial has not come up at any of Libero’s board meetings. «I don’t think he had a significant influence on the company’s strategy, if he did,» he said, adding that he never met John H. Sununu and never heard Michael Sununu «share those sentiments.» .
Chris is the only family member currently serving as an elected official above the local level. In his 13 years in New Hampshire public office, six as governor, he has charted a unique energy approach for the region, opposing a variety of climate change initiatives taken by neighboring states and vetoing energy transition legislation. In 2019, a New Hampshire Public Radio podcast spent an hour until examining the relationship of the governor and his family with climate change.
“Governor Sununu recognizes that human behavior has contributed to climate change,” said Brandon Pratt, his deputy director of communications. «He has supported several clean energy bills throughout his tenure as governor and has been a vocal supporter of hydroelectric and solar development projects that shield taxpayers from burdensome subsidies.»
The governor’s investments are opaque. its new hampshire financial disclosures show that over the past four years, he earned more than $10,000 in annual income from Sununu Holdings, the same family trust that held shares in Anglo Asian Mining in 2009. But New Hampshire doesn’t require him to list the trust’s assets, so he doesn’t there is no public record showing whether he personally has a small stake in any of the mining companies.
«Governor Sununu is not involved in the operations of Anglo Asian Mining or the operations of Sununu Holdings, and makes all financial disclosures required by law,» Pratt said.
After hinting and taking the initial steps for a possible presidential run, the governor announced in early June that he would not run in the 2024 race. Sununu did not rule out a later run for the nation’s highest office. He remains on the national stage: as governor of the first primary state, he is a coveted counselor candidates in the crowded field of the Republican primary. If he were to run in the future, he would have to file a federal disclosure that would include more details of his assets within 30 days of being considered a candidate by the Federal Election Commission.
Leaf
Mocoa is the only active copper mining project in the Colombian Amazon, putting it in conflict with the country’s other big environmental goal: preserving the rainforest.
The land that Libero has the right to explore includes almost 7 square miles of the forest reserve, called the Upper Mocoa River Basin Protected Forest Reserve, and 5.7 square miles of two indigenous reserves, including Pasuy. Two square miles of the Libero exploration rights area overlaps the reserve and one of the reserves.
Harris told NBC News that Libero plans to create a small underground mining operation that would slowly mine the approximately 247 acres (100 hectares) of the deposit outside the forest reserve boundary, and that it could take a century to extract everything from the site. The long-term operation would have a small footprint, generate much less waste than more common open-pit mining, and cause little or no additional deforestation, he said. Libero is currently studying how to use «innovation and technology to minimize the project’s environmental footprint,» according to a May press release.
The company has also reforestation projects supported in the region, which has suffered one of the highest deforestation rates in the country in recent years. It is exploring on private land in a small farming community, which has been working closely with the company, Harris said, but a working mine is probably still four to 10 years from now.
Libero has stated in shareholder reports that it plans to ask the government to allow mining below the forest reserve, as half of the minerals it could access in the deposit lie below it. “Libero believes they will gain access to the Forest Reserve for mining purposes as part of the environmental permitting phase of the project,” an April document said. “However, if the Colombian government decides not to grant access to this area, this would significantly restrict the size of the resource-limiting pit casing and would have a significant impact on the size of the mineral resource.”