Borneo Oil Berhad (BornOil) and Minetech Resources Berhad (MRB) have teamed up with the intention of carrying out mining works at Bukit Ibam, Pahang.
In separate announcements to Bursa Malaysia this evening, both companies said that their respective wholly-owned subsidiaries Borneo Oil & Gas Corporation Sdn Bhd (BOG) and Minetech Construction Sdn Bhd (MCSB) have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) expressing intention to work together towards the materialisation of a business contract which will involve BOG appointing MCSB as the contractor for mining works at Bukit Ibam.
MCSB – which specialises in rock blasting, controlled blasting, civil engineering, construction and infrastructure development – is also involved in the business of mining and has the prerequisite equipment, expertise and personnel with experience in mining works, said the statements.
MCSB is also currently undertaking mining excavation works at Selinsing Gold Mine at Sungai Koyan Kuala Lipis, Pahang.
The executive chairman of MRB is Datuk Awang Daud Awang Putera, who also sits on the board of Serba Dinamik Holdings Berhad as a non-independent and non-executive director.
BornOil’s announcement stated that the collaboration with MCSB will reduce BOG’s capital outlay required for the mining works and free up resources to continue with exploration works on other zones.
“It will also provide the parties an opportunity to collaborate in the field of mining and to utilise each respective party’s experience and strength,” it added.
Under the MoU, MCSB will among others provide the plant and equipment for the purpose of excavation and qualified personnel to implement blasting activity.
To recap, BornOil had made an announcement to Bursa Malaysia on 6 August 2020 that it intends to proceed with excavation and mining on the first Zone of Bukit Ibam in Pahang, where it is believed to contain total resources of 22,200 ounce or 621,917 gm of gold in 1.66 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 0.42 g/t.
The findings were made by Dr. Yves Cheze, a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists as well as the Institute Geology Malaysia.
Dr. Yves had also recommended for BornOil to develop the exploration of not only the immediate extension of the first zone but also in seven other zones within the mining area that have similar geology as they may hold significant potential for additional gold resources.
To recap, back in May 2010, an exclusive agreement had been inked between Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Pahang (“PKNP”) and HDL Global Sdn Bhd (“HDL”) for the prospecting and mining rights to an area covering 1,200 hectares within Hutan Simpan Bukit Ibam in Pahang.
Subsequently in March 2015, BornOil – via an exclusive production sharing agreement with HDL – was granted sole and exclusive right to prospect, explore, mine, extract, process, sell and collect all revenue of sales with respect to all minerals and precious metals including gold over the said area.
Currently, an area measuring approximately 187 hectares/ 462 acres within the area has been issued with a mining lease on which BornOil is currently carrying out mining works.
At the conclusion of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the preliminary exploration works on seven of the eight zones, an assessment of potential gold resources dated March 2019 was prepared by Dr. Yves showing potential gold resources of 60,032 ounce or 1,866,943 gm (1.866 ton) of gold.
Gold prices have been on the rise, and, for the first time, breached the US$2,000 an ounce mark last week.
