Phuoc Son Gold resumes operation

On August 17, Phuoc Son Gold Company Ltd. (Phuoc Son Gold), managed by Canadian Besra Inc.’s Vietnamese subsidiary, has restarted the operation of its Dak Sa gold mine, thanks to Viet A Bank taking hold of 35 per cent of the company’s shares as debt payment.

Accordingly, Viet A Bank will be Phuoc Son Gold’s tax debt guarantor to pay VND334 billion ($14.9 million) in tax arrears and VND100 billion ($4.48 million) in late payment fines.

The debt will be paid within 12 months, starting in August 2016, with an average payment of VND27 billion ($1.2 million) per month.

According to Phuoc Son Gold’s acting general director Paul Seton, restarting Phuoc Son Gold’s operation will maintain 1,000 jobs, create revenue to cover the tax debt, as well as contribute to preventing illegal gold exploitation.

Dak Sa is currently Vietnam’s largest gold mine, with a deposit of 30 tonnes. Once it resumes operation, it will have an exploitation and processing capacity of 18,000 tonnes of ore per month.

Tran Dinh Tung, Deputy Chairman of the Quang Nam People’s Committee, said that the province will provide favourable conditions for the company to operate effectively. However, the province will supervise tax payment and ensure that environmental regulations are upheld.

Earlier in July, the Quang Nam Department of Planning and Investment withdraw the business registration of Phuoc Son Gold, due to delays in paying its tax arrears.

Along with the tax debt, Phuoc Son Gold had to suspend its operations for two years due to a chronic lack of capital and huge losses. Notably, the company generated a loss of $15.9 million, $60.6 million of which is short-term debt. The company has not published a financial report for the 2014-2015 period.

By Ha Minh / vir