Firms Go to Arbitration Over Failed Gold Mining License Deal

22 August 2012
The Cambodia Daily
Economy and commerce / Environment and natural resources / Extractive Industries / Extractive industries policy and administration / Gold / Industrial mining / Investment / Labor arbitration / Minerals and mineral products / Mining
Astra Resources Plc. / gold exploration / gold mining / gold mining sites / gold resources / mining / mining firm / mining licenses / Ratanakkiri

Despite touting its Cambodian venture on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE), a British registered mining firm's plan to extract gold in Ratanakkiri province stalled and the firm may face legal action over a failed deal to obtain an exploration license. Astra Resources Plc. has also gone ahead with making a string of promising announcements to the market in Germany, including an estimation of a large gold resource in Ratanakkiri, even though it has undertaken absolutely no exploration work in the area. ... In a statement in October 2011, one month after it launched its initial public offering, Astra Resources said it had paid a 10 percent deposit toward a license to mine on 222 square km of the province's land in O'yadaw district. ... The claims made by the company also raise questions about the legitimacy of the firm's public announcements regarding its operations is Cambodia. ...