NZ mining firm teams up with Vietnamese partner

Dame Silvia Cartwright

New Zealand miner Zedex Minerals is teaming up with a Vietnamese partner to explore for gold in that country in a possible US$10 million ($16.6 million) investment project

Zedex and Binh Dinh Urban Development and Construction are seeking approval to explore a gold mine in Tay Son District with an initial investment of at least US$700,000.

Nguyen Thanh Hai, director of the province of Binh Dinh's Investment Promotion Centre, said the project was supported by the New Zealand Government.

Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright promoted the project in Hanoi last November.

"If the exploration produces satisfactory results, the investors will invest some US$10 million more to proceed with the project," Hai said.

Zedex was one of the first foreign investors in Vietnam and has been prospecting in the Binh Dinh area since the early 1990s.

Through Olympus Pacific Minerals, a Canadian company in which Zedex is the biggest stakeholder, the New Zealand company is also involved in another gold mining project in the mountainous district of Phu Ninh, north of Binh Dinh.

Zedex has also been working actively to obtain mineral exploration licences in other provinces in northern Vietnam, including Son La and Lang Son.

- NZPA