TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian gold producer Besra has signed a heads of agreement that could potentially pave the way for a prominent Vietnamese financial institution to become a significant partner in the Phuoc Son project, while injecting new capital.
The agreement provided for a coordinated investment in the Phuoc Son Gold Company (PSGC) that included significant new capital and ownership restructuring.
“By teaming up with a reputable, strong and influential local partner, we will be able to recapitalise our Phuoc Son joint venture (JV) and be much better placed to bring it back into sustained full production,” Besra CEO John Seton advised.
Besra said confidentiality provisions in the agreement restricted it from releasing full details of the cosignatories and the terms until preemptive rights under the PSGC JV agreement had been waived or exercised.
“After a very tough few years, we are finally starting to have a few wins. We applaud the recent announcement by the Vietnamese government to reform the way that gold royalties are calculated, which will provide a more globally competitive rate and be a direct benefit to our projects there,” Seton added.
The announcement came on the eve of the first visit to New Zealand by Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, on the fortieth anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Besra was also in the final stages of closing a long-awaited C$15-million financing that the company believed could set it on a path to recovery, move forward development of its Central Bau project, in East Malaysia, and enable the migration of the company's incorporation to New Zealand, as previously approved by shareholders.