Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Indian miner sets 2016 target for extraction of gold in R’kiri

Indian miner sets 2016 target for extraction of gold in R’kiri

Workers inspect an incline with head frame at Mesco Gold’s Phum Syarung
Workers inspect an incline with head frame at Mesco Gold’s Phum Syarung Project construction site earlier this year in Ratanakkiri. PHOTO SUPPLIED

Indian miner sets 2016 target for extraction of gold in R’kiri

Indian mining firm Mesco Gold will begin mining a gold field in Cambodia’s northeastern Ratanikkiri province by early 2016, according to a company statement released yesterday.

If it begins extracting successfully, Mesco Gold, which is owned by the Indian company Mesco Steel, would effectively become Cambodia’s first operational mine.

“This will be a great project for Mesco, Angkor and for the people of Cambodia,” said Mesco chairman JK Singh in a statement released by Angkor Gold, which owns the 12-square-kilometre economic land concession that Mesco bought mining rights to in 2013.

Surface-level infrastructure such as a laboratory and field office have already been built onsite. Nevertheless, Mesco needs to obtain a mining licence from the Ministry of Mines and Energy if it wants to proceed.

In a recent presentation to the ministry, Mesco said operations at the underground Phum Syarung mine in Ratanakkiri’s O’Yadav district would begin at around 500 tonnes of excavated earth per day.

However, more details need to be ironed out.

Angkor Gold’s statement said that Mesco had not shown its own mineral reserve and feasibility studies to either Angkor or the Ministry.

“This increases the uncertainty and the specific economic and technical risks of failure associated with its production decision,” the statement read.

Meng Saktheara, secretary of state at the ministry, said Mesco had submitted a draft report that included a financial evaluation and details on potential reserves.

However, Saktheara said Mesco had been asked to “do some additional work”, including a report about its operations in India to be used for comparison. Mesco also still needs to submit an environmental impact assessment to the Ministry of Environment.

And those reports don’t include one condition the licence hinges on: obtaining an agreement with the local community around the Phum Syarun site.

“This makes the process even more challenging and difficult,” Saktheara said.

All in all, considering the fact that Mesco’s operations must eventually be approved by the Council for the Development of Cambodia as well, actual mining operations could begin in 2016 or sometime in 2017, Saktheara concluded.

When Mesco finally obtains a licence from the ministry, it will pay $500,000 to Angkor Gold, which discovered Phum Syarung in 2011 and retains a 7.5 per cent royalty on its proceeds.

John-Paul Dau, Angkor Gold country director, said Mesco was “pretty much aligned” with the ministry, adding that an “early estimate” for commencing operations was January 2016.

Dau said that although Mesco’s filings with the ministry had not been approved yet, “all the paperwork is there”.

He added, however, that the negotiations were “a new process for everybody, including the [government people]”.

“It’s been a little [bit] of an experience in terms of perseverance,” he said.

Mesco began exploration and drilling at the Phum Syarung project in March 2013. At the time, Angkor Gold said in a statement that Mesco was aiming to extract minerals from the site by late 2014, three to six months ahead of schedule.

Mesco didn’t return requests for comment yesterday.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument