Ord River Resources and China Nonferrous Metal to study alumina project
Ord River Resources (ASX: ORD) has announced that Sino Australian
Resources (Laos) Co., Ltd (SARCO), a joint venture company between ORD
and China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and
Construction Co., Ltd (NFC) is investing A$5.3million in a feasibility
study.
This study is being carried out by Sinomine Resource
Exploration Co., Ltd. There will be a large team of people from China
and Laos working on this study. SARCO already has a permanent office in
Laos.
In the announcement on 30 October 2009 ORD informed the
market that SARCO entered into a JV Agreement with its Lao partner Lao
Service Incorporation (LSI) to develop the LSI Tenement in conjunction
with Yuqida Tenement into a 600,000ton per annum alumina refinery.
The
feasibility study is required to make a final investment decision. In
the process LSI and SARCO will establish a JV company to hold the LSI
Tenement. This will give SARCO a direct 51% interest in the tenement.
ORD’s
financial contribution to this budget is limited as disclosed in the
past. ORD has spent ahead of NFC in previous years.
The majority
of the A$5.3million will be covered by NFC. ORD will maintain its 49%
holding in SARCO.
ORD has set aside A$500,000 for its
contribution to the project prior to the investment decision. Actual
financial contribution from ORD is not expected in the current financial
year.
ORD Managing Director Peter Shou commented from Laos,
“this is a significant investment in the project by NFC and ORD. We are
confident that this feasibility study will be successfully completed and
take this project to the investment decision stage."
"Together
with Sinomine Resource, NFC and ORD are working very hard to ensure we
will have a world class mining, engineering and alumina refinery
construction model for this project,” Shou added.
