RE: Sino Gold in ChinaIt is from Mineweb.com
Abe19
>Sino Gold Urges Miners to Invest in China
By: Dorothy Kosich
Posted: 2004/03/02 Tue 08:49 | © Mineweb 1997-2004
RENO, NV (Mineweb.com) – Australian-based Sino Gold (SGX:AU), operator of the only Chinese gold mine not run by the state, insists the People’s Republic of China offers a framework in which miners can operate with some predictability, but it requires time and patience.
And, forget old notions that Chinese officials turn a blind eye to pollution. Sino Chairman Nicholas Curtis warned that those wishing to do business in China should be prepared to implement firm international environmental standards.
In a presentation to BMO Nesbitt Burns 2004 Global Resources Conference in Tampa, Florida, Curtis said his company had a “huge learning curve” when it came to operating a gold mine in China, requiring six years of hard work. Nonetheless, Sino's focus is solely on China and anticipates that, within the next three years, the company will be producing 300,000 ounces of gold annually in that country.
Currently, Sino Gold is operating the Jianchaling gold mine in a rural area of the southwestern part of the Shaanxi Province. The junior mining company owes its existence to the privatization of the gold division of Sino Minerals by the Chinese government. The mine currently produces 74,811 ounces of gold annually at a cost of US$182/oz. Curtis said the gold mine has produced 400,000 ounces of gold since it began operation in 1998. Sino’s foremost goal at Jianchaling, he added, is to sustain the mine’s production by adding reserves. Sino Gold holds an 87.5% interest in tenements located east of the mine.
As the first foreign operator of a Chinese gold mine, Curtis said Sino Gold has worked hard to learn the Chinese system of industrial relations and how to order through its supply chain. He believes Sino managers improved the mine’s safety performance.
Sino Gold managers are particularly excited about their Jinfeng Gold Project in the Guizhou Province, which is believed to be the largest undeveloped gold resource in China. The gold deposit is located within a large gold region known as the Golden Triangle. Curtis said the advanced exploration project actually contains “a Carlin-like mineralization structure.” He predicted that his company will define a 3-million ounce gold resource base by the end of April. Sino owns 82% of the project, according to Curtis. A formal feasibility study will be submitted to Chinese authorities by the end of April, he said. A decision concerning development of Jinfeng is expected to be made early this year.
Curtis told the analysts attending the conference that the proposed mine will use a bio-oxidation process being developed with the assistance of Goldfields, which (along with three banks) paid for a 40% stake in the project. The investment gives Gold Fields production from China. Chinese officials stressed to Sino Gold managers that they would like to use a more environmentally benign process to process the ore. “China is focused on the environment,” he insisted. “You just have to assume world best standards.” Curtis estimated mine construction would cost $60 million and would produce 200,000 ounces of gold by 2005.
Meanwhile, Curtis broadly hinted that Sino Gold would “announce a significant acquisition by the end of the year.”
In January, Sino and Gold Fields entered into an exploration alliance and project join venture agreement in the Shandong Province, which, according to Curtis, contains about 25% of Chinese gold production. He added that several 2 million to 3 million ounce gold deposits have been found in the province.
The cooperative joint venture is exploring the Heishan gold exploration project. The property is an early-stage exploration prospect. Due to strategic alliances, Curtis said Sino Gold is accumulating a substantial China-wide body of geological data.