VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 15, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ANGKOR GOLD CORP. (TSX-V: ANK ) ("ANGKOR") is pleased to announce that Mesco Gold Ltd. ("Mesco") has submitted the mining application for the Phum Syarung gold mining project to the Ministry of Mining and Energy ("MME") in Cambodia.
The mining application is the next step for Mesco to receive the mining licence so that production can begin at Phum Syarung. It is expected to take approximately 6 months for MME to reach its decision. The issuance of the mining licence by MME would also trigger the final payment of USD$500,000 from Mesco to Angkor as per the definitive purchase agreement originally announced on March 2013 ( http://angkorgold.ca/blog/?p=278 ) and subsequently updated in November 2013.
Angkor will receive a Net Smelter Royalty ("NSR") from all production at Phum Syarung. As announced on November 14 th 2013, the NSR is based on a sliding scale related to the price of gold: 7.5% between $1300-1700 increasing by 0.5% per $50 change in the price of gold above $1700, decreasing by 0.5% per $50 change in the price of gold below $1300.
JP Dau, Angkor's Country Manager, commented, "Our partnership approach to Phum Syarung meant that we worked closely with Mesco on the mining application. We're very pleased with the outcome. Phum Syarung is expected to go into production late 2014/early 2015. It will be the first officially licensed gold production in Cambodia."
Angkor is also pleased to report that the Phum Syarung project continues to attract positive attention from exploration and development companies interested in gaining a foothold in Southeast Asia's newest mining jurisdiction.
Mike Weeks, Angkor's CEO, commented, "Phum Syarung has become a showcase for Angkor as a prospect generator and for our partnership approach. Originally it attracted attention because of the drill results which included 16g/t over 4.05m. Now it's attracting attention because of the rapid pace it's progressing towards mining.
"We have other prospects which we believe show similar potential to fast track towards production. It's a great way to help create the area play that we fully expect Cambodia will become in due course."
ANGKOR 's 7 exploration licences in the Kingdom of Cambodia cover 1448 km 2 , which the company has been actively exploring over the past 4½ years. The company has now covered all tenements with stream sediment geochemical sampling; has flown low level aeromagnetic surveys over most of the ground; drilled 18,737 metres of NQ core in 148 holes; and has collected in excess of 20,000 augered 'C' zone soil samples and over 41,000 termite mound samples in 14 centres of interest, over a combined area of 80km 2 , in addition to numerous trenches and detailed geological field mapping. Exploration on all tenements is ongoing.
ANGKOR GOLD CORP ., a public company listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange, is Cambodia's premier gold explorer with a significantly large land package and a first-mover advantage with excellent relationships at all levels of Government (local to national).
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ANGKOR GOLD CORP. Mike Weeks, President Telephone: (780) 568-3801 Email:
