East Asia Minerals' Miwah gold project closer to reclassification
Wednesday, April 17 2013 - 01:29 AM WIB
Vancouver-based firm East Asia Minerals Corporation reported that the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry was close to accepting its proposal to open 1.2 million hectares of forest in Aceh province for mining, logging, and palm oil production.
"We are very pleased with the recent news from the Indonesian Government. These new developments are good progress and positive news for mineral extraction in the area. This will help us realize the full value of our Miwah gold project in Aceh with a NI 43-101 compliant resource of 3.1 million ounces of gold." said Edward Rochette, CEO of East Asia Minerals in a statement obtained Tuesday.
Tgk. Anwar, the chairman of the Aceh Government's Spatial Planning Committee, claimed that the Ministry of Forestry has accepted "almost 100 percent" of the province's new spatial plan, which would zone large blocks of previously protected forest for mineral extraction, timber concessions, and oil palm plantations.
Aceh has the most forest cover of any province in Sumatra, which lost 36 percent of its forests in the past 20 years. The new spatial plan would grant nearly one million hectares of land for mining, 416,086 for logging, and 256,250 hectares for palm oil. The plan would also approve an extensive new network of roads that would run through protected forests.
The company said it is working closely with government officials in the country and have company representatives on the ground in Aceh to obtain reclassification of the forestry zone from "protected forest" to "production forest."
East Asia Minerals has implemented a new Corporate Social Responsibility program and hired ex-government officials to help them with these efforts. Extensions on Miwah IUP mining business licenses are in place until November 30, 2014.
The company said it is undergoing a valuation study to define its current status and options on reclassification. The nature of the ore body and the limited scope of the valuation study preclude this assessment. Once forestry designation has been reclassified, the company will be granted the ability to continue the drilling program with the goal of expanding the resource at Miwah.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak