Extractive industries include mining and mineral sectors, natural gas and oil exploration, petroleum refineries, and quarrying for construction resources such as sand, stone, and gravel. Cambodia’s extractive resources have gone largely untapped, while these resources are geographically identifiable.

The government considers extractive industries a potentially important sector to fuel economic development. Under the Constitution, all-natural resources are the property of the state, and therefore, mining conducted without a license is illegal. Except for oil and petroleum, most extractive industries are regulated by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), formerly the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, or MIME.

Mining has both potentially positive and negative impacts on the social, economic, and environment. The potential positive impacts of mining are development and financial benefits (wealth creation and increased investment) and benefits for local people (employment, skills, improved infrastructure, as well as education and social programs). Cambodia will see how the mining industry can benefit the country after 2023, as it will create a stronger economic foundation, more job opportunities, and more business. The revenue generated by extractive industries should be directed to a national fund that can be used to cover priority areas such as education, public health, and social protection. Cambodia joined the ranks of the world's gold producers with the start of production in the Okvau Area of Keo Seima District in Mondulkiri Province, where Renaissance Minerals has been exploring and researching for 14 years. The project is expected to provide $185 million in annual national income for Cambodia, including at least $40 million in royalties and tax revenue, which would be used for social development. Additionally, the GDP from mining in Cambodia increased from approximately $204 million in 2018 to $248 million in 2019… Read more

The line graph below presents the revenue in the financial law and the implementation year of mining and oil and gas concessions from 2019 to 2022. Revenue from mining concessions has increased consistently by 58.29% from 64,036.26 million Riels for the implementation revenue in 2019 to 101,363.08 million Riels for the implementation revenue in 2022. Revenue from oil and gas concessions rose slightly for 2020, while revenue in the financial law escalated from 6,166 in 2019 to 93,101 in 2020. However, the revenue from oil and gas concessions decreased to 0 for the implementation year of 2021 and 2022.

The table below shows that the government received 34,986,193.79 US dollars in royalties from 20 different types of mining businesses in 2022. With a production volume of 12,044,264.52 tons, the limestone business (used in agriculture and industry) generated the highest royalties, totaling US $ 7,226,558.71. The sandy soil business produced the second-highest royalties at US $ 6,114,391.87. Businesses on gold and all kinds of crushed stones brought in about US$5,353,813.58 and US$5,262,013.54, ranking third and fourth, respectively.

Tracking public revenues from oil and gas in Cambodia

Tracking public revenues from mining in Cambodia according to News sources

Project Timeline: Okvav Gold Project


Project Timeline: Phnum Daek Gold Project

  • Total Public revenues from extractive industries listed: 6
  • Gold: 3
  • Iron: 1
  • Copper: 1
  • Ilmenite: 1
Map ID
Area name
Province
Mining company
Investor country
Size in hectare
Commodity
Capital investment
Company revenue of mineral product (USD)
Company profit (USD)
Corporate tax (USD)
Export tax (USD)
Royalty (USD)
Fee for land for mining exploration (USD)
Area rental fee (USD)
Social and Environmental Fund (USD)
Year of referencing data
Data classification
Reference
12
Koh Kong
Samnang Rer Thbong Thmor Co, Ltd
Not found
12,000
Ilmenite
15,500,000
7,200,000/year
3,756,447/year
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
1,305/year
2,000/year
960,080/year
2010
Government Data Partial 

Information obtained from official Government sources, with legal documentation, but missing one or more of the following identification fields:
a. Company name;
b. Location;
c. GPS coordinates and/or analog map; and
d. Purpose (crop, ore, etc.)

133
Kratie
Xing Yuan Kanng Yeak Co., Ltd.
China
2,800
Gold
150,005,000
64,899,550/year
6,489,550/year
144,990/year
648,955/year
194,686/year
330/year
2,400/year
100,000/year
2011
Secondary Source Data 

Information obtained from the concessionaire (company/entity) or from government source(s) without legal documentation.

127
Ratanak Kiri
Hoang Anh-Ratanak Kiri Co., Ltd.
Vietnam
15,400
Iron
26,672,451
47,384,450
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
2,699,940
2011
Secondary Source Data 

Information obtained from the concessionaire (company/entity) or from government source(s) without legal documentation.

424
Siem Reap
Meng Xin Hong Fa (Cambodia) Resources Investment Co. Ltd.
Not found
Not found
Copper
5,000,000
250,987,000
25,762,000
16,892,000
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
20,336,000
600,000
2017
Secondary Source Data 

Information obtained from the concessionaire (company/entity) or from government source(s) without legal documentation.

42
Preah Vihear
Delcom Cambodia Pte., Ltd.
Malaysia
100
Gold
2,575,000
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
2022
Government Data Partial 

Information obtained from official Government sources, with legal documentation, but missing one or more of the following identification fields:
a. Company name;
b. Location;
c. GPS coordinates and/or analog map; and
d. Purpose (crop, ore, etc.)

429
Mondul Kiri
Renaissance Minerals (Cambodia) Limited
Australia
37,400
Gold
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
60,000,000
Unknown
22,000,000
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
2017
Secondary Source Data 

Information obtained from the concessionaire (company/entity) or from government source(s) without legal documentation.