Mining

Far East Gold rings virtual bell to mark ASX debut

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By Imelda Cotton - 
Far East Gold ASX FEG Indonesia

Far East Gold has listed on the ASX after raising $11.73 million in its IPO.

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Indonesia-focused exploration company Far East Gold (ASX: FEG) has closed out the March quarter with a much anticipated listing on the Australian Stock Exchange and a virtual bell ringing ceremony this morning.

The ceremony was attended by mining industry delegates including Indonesian ambassador to Australia HE Dr Wiswo Pramono; Australian senior trade and investment commissioner for Indonesia Sally Deane; Queensland trade and investment commissioner for Indonesia Ben Giles; Indonesian director general of mines and energy Dr Ir Ridwan Djamaluddin.

Indonesian authorities have offered strong support to the Australian junior, which operates in a country often regarded as a safe and low production-cost jurisdiction with one of the lowest AISC (all-in-sustained costs) in the region.

State-owned land

The government has played an active role in the development of Far East Gold’s projects at Trenggalek in east Java, Wonogiri in central Java and the flagship Woyla in Aceh Barat province to the north, all of which are on state-owned land.

Trenggalek is believed to have the potential to be a tier one globally-significant asset while Wonogiri sits on a JORC resource of 1 million ounces gold and nearly 190 million pounds of copper.

Earlier this year, Far East Gold demonstrated to investors the potential of its landholdings, delivering bonanza-grade gold assays from Woyla, which has been described as one of the “most highly prospective undrilled copper-gold projects in southeast Asia”.

Rock samples from a September haul returned grades up to 8.84 grams per tonne gold and 48.5g/t silver at the Anak Perak prospect, and up to 53g/t gold and 264g/t silver at Rek Rinti.

A second round of samples in December returned equally strong assays from multiple prospects, including 119g/t gold and 361g/t silver from Anak Perak; 46.38g/t gold and 664g/t silver from Rek Rinti; 63g/t gold and 1179g/t silver from Aloe Eumpeuk; and 76g/t gold and 78g/t silver from Aloe Rek.

Indonesian opportunity

Far East Gold is backed by a management team experienced in the development and operation of complex projects in the Asia-Pacific.

Chairman Paul Walker said Indonesia in particular, presents an attractive opportunity for explorers.

“Indonesia is a fast-growing economy with a wealth of natural and human resources … its large mineral reserves and comparatively low costs of operation make it one of the world’s largest contributors to the global mining sector,” he said.

“The country is currently the world’s sixth largest gold producer and 12th largest copper producer and we believe our team’s extensive experience in the region will enable us to take advantage of the opportunities it presents.”

Australian gold projects

In addition to its Indonesian assets, Far East Gold has secured commercial rights for the acquisition, exploration and development of three Australian gold projects located in central Queensland’s Drummond Basin and Connors Arc regions.

The Drummond Basin alone, has historically produced more than 4.5Moz of gold and has a total known gold endowment in excess of 7.5Moz.

The Hill 212 and Blue Grass Creek gold projects and the Mount Clark West copper-gold project are located on fertile ground prospective for epithermal gold and copper-gold porphyry deposits.

All projects are governed by earn-in agreements with privately-funded minerals explorer Ellenkay Gold Pty Ltd, under which Far East Gold can acquire up to a 90% economic interest.

A small portion of funds from the company’s $11.73 million IPO have been budgeted for exploration in Australia, while the majority of planned activity remains focused on Indonesia.