Bong Mieu Gold Mining Co. Ltd, a Vietnam-Canada joint venture, plans to put more gold mines into operation in the coming years more than one month after it opened Bong Mieu Mine in the central province of Quang Nam.
The joint venture between Canada’s Olympus Pacific Minerals Inc. with an 80 per cent stake and two Vietnamese enterprises – Minerals Development Co. (Mideco) and Quang Nam Mineral Industry Joint Stock Co. (Minco) looks to start with the Nui Kem Mine next year and the Ho Ray-Thac Trang in 2008, according to Charles Barclay, director general of Bong Mieu Co.
Barclay, who is also the country manager of Olympus Pacific Minerals, said the underground mine Nui Kem was currently being evaluated and was the next target for processing in the operational plant of the company.
The company put the total resources of 1,438,700 tons of ore for the Nui Kem, which is an old mine abandoned during the Second War World.
He said the Ho Ray-Thac Trang were not yet identified as mines but “we are hopeful that we can find enough ore to start up new projects there.”
The Nui Kem and Ho Ray-Thac Trang are part of Bong Mieu, which also includes the open pit Ho Gan. Bong Mieu Gold Mining Co. started the mine construction in Ho Gan in 2004 and mining activity in the third quarter of last year.
The company estimated a recoverable reserve of more than six tons of gold in Ho Gan and Ho Ray-Thac Trang mines.
Barclay said the company had only quarried about 30,000 tons of ore from the Ho Gan as it only started in early January to process the ore. “We eventually will be yielding twelve thousand ounces per annum from the Ho Gan pit.”
He added Bong Mieu Co. has plans for further exploration around Vietnam as “Vietnam is very prospective and deserves to be explored more than it has been to date”.
Olympus Pacific Minerals acquired the Bong Mieu Gold project area covering 30 sq.m in Phu Ninh district in 1997, and commenced fieldwork on the property in the second half of 2003.
Olympus Pacific Minerals owns the $25 million Bong Mieu Holdings Ltd., which is the foreign partner of Bong Mieu Gold Mining Co. in the 80:20 joint venture with Mideco and Minco.
The company has spent roughly $15 million on acquisition and exploration. It will pour more money into road, education, health and welfare projects in Bong Mieu Village to benefit the local community.
STD
Vietnamese
