Garda Tujuh seeks to mine gold, bauxite in Sudan

By Donald Haromunthe

IDX-listed coal mining company PT Garda Tujuh Buana Tbk plans to acquire bauxite and gold mines in Sudan next year as part of diversification strategy.

Commissioner Pardeep Dhir told Petromindo.com in Jakarta on Tuesday that its partner Massicot Trading Ltd had proposed Sudan as a location target due to the vast availability of both commodities in the country.

?Hopefully, we will soon obtain the result of due diligence process by Massicot. This plan will be a part of partnership package with Massicot to help us acquiring coal, gold and bauxite in Sudan,? he said, without providing details.

As quoted by Sudan Vision, Sudan's government had targeted to produce at least 50 tons of gold this year, higher than the country's gold export in 2013 at 42 tons. The minister also said that per May 2014 eight mining companies produced in Sudan and more than 80 firms were in the exploration stage, while 500 permits had been granted for small-scale mining.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak