Cambodia: Increased gold production for Emerald Resources NL

Australia's Emerald Resources NL has announced record production from its Okvau gold mine in Mondolkiri for the final quarter of 2024.

This open-pit mine, which began operations in 2021, is Cambodia's largest gold producer

The Q3 2024 figures bring Okvau's total production for the 2024 calendar year to 2.9 tonnes. It is operated by Renaissance Minerals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emerald.

“Continued strong production and financial performance at Okvau also increased cash and bullion to $151 million at the end of the quarter,” Emerald said in a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday.

Renaissance is Cambodia's largest gold producer. Of the 13 tonnes produced in the Kingdom in the first 10 months of 2024, Renaissance produced 12.5 tonnes, says the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME).

The Chinese company Rong Cheng Industrial Investment (Cambodia), which also operates mines in Mondolkiri, is the second largest producer with 22 kg.

All the gold ores extracted are sent to Australia for refining and then transformed into 100% pure gold. Ten gold mining companies operate in Cambodia, ten of which are owned by Chinese companies. According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the government collected $15 million in royalties from the sector in 2023, compared with $5.3 million in 2022.