1 million ounces of gold expected from Okvau, says Ministry of Mines

• 24 April 2020
• Local News
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A senior official of the Ministry of Mines and Energy said that Cambodia expected to extract nearly 1 million ounces of goal based on the study on the first gold mine in the Okvau area in Kaev Seima district in Mondulkiri province.

The statement was made by H.E. Yous Monyrath, Director General of Mines in a press conference on “Progress and Continuing Direction of the Ministry of Mines and Energy” on 21 April 2020.

H.E Yous mentioned that the Australian company, which was co-operating financially with Canada, has already completed its construction of the mining infrastructure in Okvau.

“We expect that when the first gold mine is operational, we will find more new gold mines in other nearby areas where we are discovering. After the first mine runs out of gold, then we will proceed with the next one. Or even if the first mine is still operating for the third or fourth year, when the one mine is available, we will jump to that one to increase our production. This is the current situation of gold mines in Cambodia,” added Monyrath.

In a press release dated 13 March, Emerald Resources NL, a parent company of Renaissance Minerals (Cambodia) signed a US$230 million worth contract with MACA in the execution of mining in Okvau over seven years. The project is expected to operate in the second quarter of 2021.

“The signing of the Mining Contract follows a thorough and collaborative process with both teams in finalizing the mining schedule for the development and operations of the Okvau Gold Project. The signing of the Mining Contract gives us greater confidence to achieve our goal of becoming the first modern large-scale Cambodian gold producer by Q2 2021,” commented Managing Director, Morgan Hart.

In a press release of Emerald Resources NL on 10 July 2018, the Ministry of Mines and Energy issued a license to Renaissance Minerals (Cambodia) to mine on 11.5 Km2 over 15 years in Okvau in the Okvau area in Kaev Seima district in Mondulkiri province.

Finally, H.E Yous reported in the press conference that at present there are 40 gold mining licensed companies some of which hold one license with some holding two or three licenses.

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