Vanguard cancels NNT gypsum/limestone project, turns to N. Sumatra
Tuesday, October 28 2014 - 01:26 AM WIB
US-based Vanguard Mining Corp announced Monday it has decided not to continue with an earlier plan to acquire a gypsum/limestone concession in East Nusa Tenggara (NNT) province.
However, the company said in a statement that it would continue to develop a gypsum/limestone mine in North Sumatra in cooperation with local partner PT Mega Kencana Persada as the province is located closer to the targeted export market of Vietnam than NNT.
?The shipping distance from North Sumatra to Vietnam is about half of the distance from Flores Timur, NTT, to Vietnam, thus making final product price from North Sumatra more attractive to Vietnamese customers,? Vanguard said.
The decision to discontinue to NNT project came after Vanguard signed last month a definitive agreement to acquire an 80 percent equity interest in Yupolo Resources, an Indonesian mining company, in exchange for a combination of cash and stock, and co-develop a 3,500-hectare gypsum and limestone concession in Flores, NNT.
On other notes, Vanguard said it would continue to develop the 8,100 hectares gold concession in North Sumatra with local partner PT Cendrawasih International. It said in September, that the company intended to conduct a staged exploration program to obtain a JORC-compliant feasibility report before going into operation and production.
?The company has negotiated to extend the closing of the PT Cendrawasih and PT Mega Kecana acquisitions until December 31, 2014 and expects to begin further technical survey on these properties very shortly,? Vanguard said.
?In addition, the company will continue to develop the joint operation gold mining project in Central Java and the sand mining projects in Vietnam and Cambodia,? it added.
The company said last month that its Indonesian partner PT Raksasa Metal Agung had been working on the licensing and permitting procedures for the joint operation of the gold and copper mining in Karang Tengah District, Wonogiri Regency, Central Java.
Vanguard said last month this joint operation project in Wonogiri would be the first one in Indonesia to generate revenues and cash flows for the company in the near term.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak