PHNOM PENH (AFP)- CAMBODIA said on Monday that Australian firm OZ Minerals had discovered around 8.1 million tonnes of gold on its territory, ahead of a conference intended to draw in mining investment.
Some 60 local and foreign firms including companies from Australia, China, South Korea and Vietnam have been conducting mineral research and exploration across Cambodia, an official said ahead of the international mining conference starting in Phnom Penh on Wednesday.
'We have been conducting research and we have obtained remarkable results,' said Sok Leng, head of the General Department of Mineral Resources at Cambodia's Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, at a news conference.
OZ Minerals Limited had recently discovered about 8.1 million tonnes of gold in an area in the north-eastern province of Mondulkiri, said Mr Sok Leng. Other minerals including gold, iron ore, and copper had been found elsewhere in the country, he said.
Douglas Broderick, representative of the United Nations Development Programme, which is co-organising the conference with the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, said Cambodia's mining sector would continue to develop. 'Obviously, we would like to see (the) mining conference encourage investment,' Mr Broderick said during the briefing.
London-based Global Witness has alleged that Cambodian earnings from natural resources, including minerals, are being 'jeopardised by high-level corruption, nepotism and patronage.' The environmental watchdog said Cambodia had enough natural wealth to wean itself off foreign aid but that international donors must do more to ensure the assets are properly managed. -- AFP
Some 60 local and foreign firms including companies from Australia, China, South Korea and Vietnam have been conducting mineral research and exploration across Cambodia, an official said ahead of the international mining conference starting in Phnom Penh on Wednesday.
'We have been conducting research and we have obtained remarkable results,' said Sok Leng, head of the General Department of Mineral Resources at Cambodia's Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, at a news conference.
OZ Minerals Limited had recently discovered about 8.1 million tonnes of gold in an area in the north-eastern province of Mondulkiri, said Mr Sok Leng. Other minerals including gold, iron ore, and copper had been found elsewhere in the country, he said.
Douglas Broderick, representative of the United Nations Development Programme, which is co-organising the conference with the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, said Cambodia's mining sector would continue to develop. 'Obviously, we would like to see (the) mining conference encourage investment,' Mr Broderick said during the briefing.
London-based Global Witness has alleged that Cambodian earnings from natural resources, including minerals, are being 'jeopardised by high-level corruption, nepotism and patronage.' The environmental watchdog said Cambodia had enough natural wealth to wean itself off foreign aid but that international donors must do more to ensure the assets are properly managed. -- AFP
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