Indochine Mining Limited (ASX & POMSoX: IDC) is pleased to provide the
following market update:
Renewal of Exploration Licence 1093 for the Mt Kare Gold Project
Exploration licence 1093 for the Mt Kare Gold Project was due for renewal
on 28 August 2014 and an application for renewal of this tenement license
has been lodged by Indochine’s wholly owned subsidiary Summit
Development Limited. Under the PNG Mining Act 1992 section 112, an
exploration tenement license continues to be in force until the renewal
application has been determined. To this end, attached is a letter from the
Managing Director of the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) of Papua
New Guinea confirming the preservation of the Company’s rights to
conduct exploration beyond expiry of the term.
The Company is confident that its exploration license will be extended and
we are working closely with the MRA in this regard.
Landowner Investigation Report (LIR)
The Company is currently in the process of completing the final stage of the
Landowner Investigation Report (LIR) involving the clan meetings and clan
vetting that is required under the Lands Act 1996 and which validates and
confirms the customary landowners of the Mt Kare surveyed boundaries.
Indochine notes that the completion of the LIR has been deferred for
several months due to a thorough review being undertaken by the Enga
Provincial Government (EPG) as the signing authority. We are pleased to
advise that the EPG has completed its review which facilitates the
Company’s progression to the LIR.
Completion of the LIR will result in the nomination of clan agents to sign the
LIR that will then be signed off by the EPG as required under statute. On
site work is expected to commence before the end of September and be
completed by mid October 2014, after which the LIR will be finalised for
submission to the PNG Lands Department for registration.
Indochine’s Chairman, Mr Dermott McVeigh, commented that “this is a
major landmark milestone for the project, given the landowner issues of the
past. We look forward to working with the landowners to realise the
potential of Mt Kare”.
The fieldwork will involve government officials from government agencies
such as Minerals Resource Authority (MRA) and the National Lands
Department, landowner clan representatives and support staff. The
registered LIR is the basis for determining how the identified clans will
share in any payments to landowners for the use of their land. This has
been a major hurdle for this project since the 1990s and its resolution sets
the stage for a structured and harmonious working relationship between the
project’s stakeholders.
Legal Proceedings
The Company’s wholly owned subsidiary Summit Development Limited has
been served with a summons in PNG by Kare Puga Development
Corporation Limited (KDC) and its directors. KDC is a private company
based in Port Moresby.
We understand that the PNG Minister for Mining, the PNG Mineral
Resource Authority, the Enga Provincial Government and the State of
Papua New Guinea are co-defendants in these proceedings.
The summons substantively seeks declarations that the Company’s
Exploration Licence terms have not been complied with and injunctive
orders to restrain the Minister for Mining from renewing Exploration Licence
1093.
The Company’s legal advice is that the summons is without merit and will
be vigorously defended.
Cambodian Tenements
Further to the market update of 11 August 2014, the Company has now
been advised by the Minister of Mines and Energy in Cambodia that the 12
tenements (EL 749, 750-755, 757, 758, 760-762), in the Ratanakiri
Province that were under application for third extension under ministerial
discretion since 31 May 2014 have not been renewed.
The Company is investigating the reasons for this decision and will update
the market should further details be received.
The previously announced Heads of Agreement with Capital Mining Limited
(ASX:CMY) on 7 October 2013 in relation to the Cambodian tenements has
also been terminated.
Future funding
Further to the Company’s announcement on 11 August 2014 in relation to
its Strategic Focus and the corporate funding initiatives that will facilitate
the strategic focus, the Company advises that it currently anticipates that
the fund raising required to allow the planned 20,000 metre diamond
drilling and sampling programme will be undertaken by the end of the
current calendar year.
The Company continues to assess all funding options in relation to the Mt
Kare project.
The Company is confident that this funding initiative will be successful
within the revised timetable.
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