LAOS

From the earliest time of French colonial rule, Laos, a land-locked country in Southeast Asia, bounded by Thailand, Burma, China, Vietnam and Cambodia, has been known to potentially host a wealth of mineral resources, including copper, gold and gemstones, among many other minerals. For a number of reasons, including lack of infrastructure and political turbulence during the Indo-China conflicts, little attention was paid to this potential.

In 1986 the Lao Government embarked on a series of economic reforms designed to create conditions conducive to private sector activity. The government is promoting infrastructure development, particularly in the mining and hydropower sectors. In 1997, the first Mining Law was enacted in Laos and this has been updated and revised in 2010. During the past decade, two significant copper/gold mines have been constructed (Phu Kham and Sepon) and a number of hydropower projects have been built, or are under construction.

In the Lao PDR, the government actively promotes foreign investment in nearly all sectors, including mining. The minerals industry is governed by the Mining Act (1997), revised in December 2008. After successful exploration by Rio Tinto and development by Oxiana Ltd., the Sepon gold and copper mine was commissioned in 2001, marking the first modern mine in Laos. More recently, Pan Australian commissioned a copper-gold mine at Phu Bia and several exploration licence applications are presently under consideration by the government. The COW style investment agreements for these mines have been in force since the early 1990s and remain unchanged, indicative of a reliable and long-term investment climate.

pages: 1 2