Olympus Pacific MineralsOlympus Pacific Minerals is incorporated in the territory of Yukon, Canada. Its shares trade on the TSX Venture exchange under the symbol OYM.V.
Olympus acquired these properties from Ivanhoe Mines Ltd in 1997. On January 27, 2006 Zedex Minerals acquired the US$1,024,226 debt due from Olympus to Ivanhoe. On March 21, 2006, Olympus issued 3,406,758 common shares to Zedex in full repayment.
Olympus successfully exported it first 8lb gold doré bar from their Bong Mieu gold mine on March 15. They have an 80% interest in this mine and an 85% interest in the Phuoc Son project. These properties are both located in central Vietnam, 72 km south of the port city of Da Nang.
The company projects a US$350,000 monthly operating profit based upon a gold price of US$450/ounce. The majority of these profits are to be re-invested in further exploration drilling. The company has a long-term goal of achieving 500,000 ounces of production a year.
Bong Mieu
The open pit mine of Bong Mieu Central (Ho Gan) has Proven & Probable reserves of 858kT at 2.42g/T of gold and a Measured & Indicated resource of 1.1 million tonnes at 2.36g Au/tonne for 84,300 ounces.
Commercial gold production commenced in December 2005 with an impressive cash cost of US$210 per ounce. Annual gold production at Bong Mieu is expected to be 20,000 ounces for 2007.
Australian company Oxiana's nearby Gold/Copper Sepon deposit located just over the border in Laos has Proven & Probable gold reserves of over 400k ounces and 800kT of copper. This deposit, along with Olympus' Bong Mieu and Phuoc Son projects are located along geological structure known as the Phuoc Son Suture.
The Bong Mieu East (Ho Ray) deposit has a Measured & Indicated resource of 878,000 tonnes at 1.9g Au/tonne for 53,600 ounces. This deposit has potential to be a open pit mine.
Bong Mieu Underground (Nui Kem) operated between 1896 to 1941 with a past production estimated at 84,000 ounces. Exploration work to date has identified a Measured & Indicated resource of 216,700 tonnes at 6.51g Au/tonne for 45,300 ounces. This mine could be processed at the current plant at a rate of 200 tonnes per day. The higher grade should increase cash flow. Bong Mieu Underground is fully permitted to mine and is located within 1 km of the mill.
Phuoc Son
To date over 30 gold prospects have been identified within the 70 square kilometre area of the Phuoc Son Gold Project. The most advanced prospect is the Phuoc Son South project.
The government of Vietnam issued a license to mine and develop the Phuoc Son project on January 25, 2006. This represents a major hurdle passed in becoming an operating mine.
The latest Measured & Indicated estimate dated May 3, 2006 for the Phuoc Son resource stands at 203,700 ounces of gold.
Recent drill results released from June to September '06 are very encouraging. They indicate new mineralization found between North and South Phuoc Son deposits, extended the North deposit strike length by 300m, and have confirmed that the deposit remains open to the north and south.
Share Structure
Olympus has over 182 million shares fully diluted giving it a market capitalization of CDN$78.6 million.
The principal shareholders of Olympus are Dragon Capital (39.15%) and Zedex Minerals Limited (16.44%).
Additional Resources:
Overview of Olympus
Vietnam Rising - Miners Find New Stability, Growth In Communist State
Vietnam's Gold Company
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are not intended to be taken as investment advice. It is to be taken as opinion only and I encourage you to complete your own due diligence when making an investment decision. I personally own shares of OYM.