CNMC Goldmine reports surge in industrial metals at Malaysia gold field

CATALIST-LISTED CNMC Goldmine Holdings on Thursday reported a significant increase in unmined silver, lead and zinc mineral resources at its Sokor gold field in Kelatan, Malaysia.

This is according to an independent assessment of the group's mineral resources and ore reserves by Australian mining consulting firm, Optiro.

CNMC owns a 81 per cent stake in the Sokor project, and the surge in resources bodes well for its plans to begin commercial production of these industrial metals next year, the company said.

The amount of silver estimated to be in the ground as at Dec 31, 2019 was about 3.4 million ounces, 74 per cent more than the forecast a year ago.

The estimate for lead rose 58 per cent to 36,340 tonnes, while that for zinc increased 84 per cent to 43,320 tonnes over the same period.

Grades for silver, lead and zinc were also found to be higher.

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Meanwhile, the estimate for gold fell about 1 per cent to 900,000 ounces.

Separately, CNMC also reported for the first time Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant feldspar resources at an exploration concession in Kelantan, owned by its subsidiary, CNMC Pulai Mining. Feldspar is a mineral used for manufacturing glass and ceramics. According to Optiro, CNMC Pulai Mining has about 23.7 million tonnes of feldspar resources.

Said CNMC group's chief executive, Chris Lim: "The findings from Optiro are extremely encouraging and augur well for our growth prospects. While there are clearly challenges in the near term as the coronavirus outbreak wreaks havoc on businesses and economies worldwide, these findings reaffirm the long-term commercial viability of our mining projects in Malaysia."

As at 1.36pm on Friday, the counter was trading at 15.3 Singapore cents, up 0.3 cent or 2 per cent.