February 8, 2015
BAN LUNG, Cambodia -- You don't ever see an even-dozen women in hardhats tromping around, poking around a future gold mine.
Until, that is, this week at
Phum Syarung: the
Angkor Gold prospect that is on track to become Cambodia's first commercial gold mine later this year.
The women in these photos are here as investors, as geologists, as Alberta, Canada, supporters of a company that in turn nurtures the Cambodian communities that share its mineral prospects. (Three of the 12, including Angkor Gold's Delayne Weeks, are just outside the photo frame.)
Their male counterparts, in some cases, are veteran property syndicators, miners, engineers ?and resource investors. All are from Canada and the USA.?
In one shot here (
below), Phum Syarung mine supervisor
Harsh Sharma of Mesco Steel explains the slope of one of three adits (entrances) to Grupo de Bullet's
Robert Allen, a large Colombia minerals property syndicator and early investor in Angkor Gold (ANK in Canada).
The mine, developed on NE Cambodia prospects generated by Angkor Gold, appears on tap to begin mining and refining ore for gold later this year.
?"We are in a very rich country when it comes to minerals, yet there is no mineral production to speak of," Mr. Sharma says. ?The Mesco Consolidated engineer says he is confident current drilling will show gold assays that extend mine life to 15-plus years from 5 years at present.
The tour of Angkor Gold, my seventh in 3 1/2 years, took us (a day ago) to the
China Wall prospect (copper, moly, gold) that Angkor Gold is drilling for confirmation of a porphyry system. Another two prospects at Okala and Otray prospects, are in today's program. All are in Ratanakiri Province.
The
Women In Hardhats theme here is part of Angkor Gold's strategy of bringing a NON ENDEMIC shareholder group to the company. Its outreach in the past four years has succeeded in enlisting women, artists, photographers, writers, technology creators and others not just as shareholders, but also as supporters of Cambodia programs in English, computers, midwifery, water storage, sanitation, agriculture and other areas.
On the minerals end,
Angkor Gold employs geologists, engineers, and technicians from two China institutes in Beijing and Shandong. They are associated with Angkor Gold investor Toihui Property Group of the city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province.
Coming: More evidence of Angkor Gold's looming mineral assays due out from March through June this year. With photos. The assays -- under the targeting of chief geologist Adrian Mann and a team of international exploration geologists -- are seen as the next step in what could become a bidding frenzy for Angkor Gold's 10 leading targets across seven licensed concessions in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
The Grand Prairie, Alberta-spawned Angkor Gold's properties cover 1,440 square kilometers in SE Asia's fastest growing economy.
Schedule: Onto Phnom Penh to meet with Angkor's India-based partner, mine builder and Phum Syarung owner:
Mesco Consolidated Steel.
Congratulations: To
Daniel Carlson, whose pick of BBSI -- Barrett Business Systems -- resulted in a spot-on scenario that saw the company's superb earnings report propel the stock to $40 USD from $28 or so in the span of one week. Dan is sticking with his call for a steep overall decline in large company stocks in North America and elsewhere. His next conquest? I know, and it has to do with rice.
Thank You: Stockhouse.com for publishing our farewell to gold writer
Gene Arensberg. A memorial service for Gene took place Saturday in Texas. Fare thee well.
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