West Wits updates on Derewo
Wednesday, May 2 2012 - 12:09 PM WIB
Australia-listed West Wits Mining Limited stated that the company continued to address a number of challenges at its Derewo River Gold Project in Papua Province throughout the quarter, adding that it has continued to progress with regards to completing the initial alluvial circuit.
On 26 March 2012, the company provided an update to the market outlining some delays being encountered with regard to getting access to the site designated for the initial alluvial project.
These delays have largely been created by the operators of the supply chain supporting the artisanal mining population and as such the Company elected to not complete the civil works required for the alluvial circuit until control of the site has been secured.
It was always understood that the removal of these people may present delays and efforts to repatriate this population by the local authorities whilst continuing have taken longer than anticipated.
Over the last few weeks West Wits has been seeking the intervention of higher authorities within the Indonesian system who have previously expressed support for the project. Meetings with many interested parties have taken place and steps are now been put in place to manage the repatriation of these illegal miners and provide safe access to the site for West Wits employees. The company hopes to be in a position to provide timelines on this process in the coming weeks.
The company continues to have strong and ongoing support of the local Wolami people to commence alluvial operations as soon as possible as they see this project as a platform for significant economic, health and social advancement in the area.
Editing by Audy Zandri