KUALA LUMPUR: Borneo Oil Bhd (BornOil) has expanded mining activities in Pahang following the approval of a new mining lease following the company's exclusive production sharing agreement (EPSA) with HDL Global Sdn Bhd (HDL).
The new lease forms part of a mining area measuring approximately 3,000 acres at an area located at Hutan Simpan Bukit Ibam, Keratong, Rompin, Pahang contracted to HDL by Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Pahang (PKNP) in 2010.
In an announcement to Bursa Malaysia today, BornOil said that the new mining lease issued on 21 April 2021 covers an area of 432.53 acres.
This new area is adjacent to an existing area where BornOil is conducting mining works, measuring some 462 acres.
To recap, BornOil inked an EPSA with HDL in 2015 to carry out prospecting, exploration, mining, extraction, processing, marketing, sales and collection of sales revenue with respect to all minerals and precious metals including gold.
HDL is principally engaged in acquiring and leasing of land for prospecting of minerals and related activities.
In 2010, it had entered into an exclusive agreement with PKNP, resulting in HDL being granted sole and exclusive rights to undertake and carry out mining works on the said area.
Under the agreement, HDL is granting the BornOil group sole and exclusive rights to prospect and explore the area for minerals and precious metals including gold.
With this new mining lease, BornOil will have a total mining area of approximately 894.53 acres at the said area.
On 6 August 2020, BornOil announced potential gold resource of 60,032oz based on the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) report on the said area.
BornOil is confident that, with continued exploration, the potential gold resource will increase in the future.
The company had also recently acquired interest in Ratna Pura Sdn Bhd which owns a mining lease measuring 479.733 acres, also located at Keratong.
With this new mining lease, the BornOil group will operate a combined mining area of 1,374.26 acres, while continue exploratory works on the remaining 2,069 acres of the mining area.
In the announcement, BornOil said the company would be able to leverage its mining expertise due to present domain knowledge, while also saving on deployment of equipment and machinery.