Angkor Gold Corp. announced that the Cambodian government recently approved the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for Mesco Gold (Cambodia) Ltd.’s Phum Syarung mine located in northeastern Cambodia.
According to the company, this represents the final step before approval from the minister of mines for Mesco’s mining license application covering 12 km2 at the Phum Syarung mine site. Mesco has completed most of the necessary mine infrastructure.
Angkor maintains a sliding-scale net smelter return (NSR) agreement from 2%-7.5% based on the price of gold on the Phum Syarung mine. For all other minerals, a 7.5% NSR will be paid.
“Today’s news represents the final step in the process towards issuing MESCO with their mining license for the Phum Syarung mine site. We are extremely pleased with the approach that the Cambodian government has taken to apply international standards to this important process,” stated Mike Weeks, chairman and CEO of Angkor.
JP Dau, vice president of operations for Ankgor, said, “There are a number of serious investment firms and mining companies keeping a very close eye on this process as Cambodia continues to increase in popularity within international investment communities.”
“Cambodia, after years of grass roots exploration, is finally starting to see some of the early development pay off. Mesco’s license marks the beginning of a new chapter for the country in the mineral sector, moving the industry one step closer toward extraction,” said Richard Stanger, president of the Cambodia Association for Mining and Exploration Cos.
Angkor, a Canadian company listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange, said its six exploration licenses in the Kingdom of Cambodia cover 1,273 km2, which the company has been actively exploring over the past six years. The company has now covered all tenements with stream sediment geochemical sampling and has flown low level aeromagnetic surveys over most of the ground.
