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| | January 26, 2009
East Asia Minerals Comments on the New Indonesian Mineral and Coal Mining Law, and Implications for the Company
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| | For Immediate release, January 26, 2009 TSXV: EAS
VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Monday, January 26, 2009 -- East Asia Minerals Corporation (TSXV-EAS) believes that the changes proposed under the New Indonesian Mineral and Coal Mining Law ("New Mining Law") are largely positive for the Company and considers that the New Mining Law of Indonesia is a globally competitive framework within which to operate. It will provide the Company with excellent security of tenure, and a well defined framework within which to grow the Company.
The draft of the New Mining Law was approved by the Indonesian legislature on December 16, 2008, and was signed by the President on January 12, 2009. Upon its enactment, the New Mining Law will replace the current law on Principal Provisions of Mining ("Law No 11/1967" or "Old Mining Law"). However, the existing implementation regulations of the Law No 11/1967 shall remain applicable to the extent that such implementing regulations do not contravene with the New Mining Law. The new regulations required for the implementation of the New Mining Law will take several months to draft.
There are several major changes in the New Mining Law compared with the Old Mining Law. Under Old Mining Law mineral exploration and mining activity in Indonesia was conducted under either a Mining Authorization ("KP") and/or a Contract of Work (CoW), which was issued by the Central Government. East Asia Minerals Corporation currently operates under several CoW applications, and KP's.
The New Mining Law grants permits through the issuance of the mining license or IUP. The IUP is granted in two stages, namely the Exploration IUP and the Operation Production IUP. The New Mining Law guarantees that the holder of the Exploration IUP will be consecutively granted with the Production Operation IUP as the continuance of its business activity.
Under Old Mining Law an Exploration KP was granted for 3 (three) years, followed by an Exploitation KP for 30 (thirty) years, extendable for 10 (ten) years twice. The Exploration IUP for the metal minerals may be granted for the maximum period of 8 (eight) years and the subsequent Production Operation IUP will be granted for 20 (twenty) years, extendable for 10 (ten) years twice. Thus total tenure will be shortened by 5 years; however, the exploration term has been extended by 5 years. The Exploration IUP for metal minerals can grant an area of 5,000 (five thousand) to 100,000 (one hundred thousand) hectares. Hence large areas are available to prospective explorers. The Operation Production IUP grants a maximum area of 25,000 (twenty five thousand) hectares. EAS considers that the changes to term and size of tenure are unlikely to impact upon its future operations and are sufficient for all foreseeable mining activities.
IUPs can be granted by the Mayor/Municipal Official, Governor, or Minister, depending on the location of mining area. This is a departure from the previous Mining Law, wherein all exploration and mining licenses were issued by the Central Government. EAS has long been positioning itself for this eventuality and has excellent relationships with all levels of Government in Indonesia.
The Exploration IUP for metal minerals mining will be granted by way of public auction. This may well be a significant disincentive to new entrants to Indonesia. However, under the New Mining Law CoW applications submitted at least (1) one year prior to the enactment of the New Mining Law, where the applicant has obtained a principal license (izin prinsip) or the preliminary investigation permission (surat ijin penyelidikan pendahuluan), will be honoured and treated as an IUP application without the public auction requirement. Similarly, existing KP's will be automatically converted to IUPs. Hence East Asia Minerals Corporation believes that its large and hugely prospective land position in Indonesia will be converted to the new IUP system automatically.
Furthermore, the Company believes that direct foreign ownership of its tenements will be allowed under the New Mining Law; however there may be some requirement for divestment to an Indonesian entity, much in the same way as there were such requirements under the Old Mining Law.
About East Asia Minerals Corporation
East Asia Minerals is an Asian-based, Canadian mineral exploration company with gold and copper exploration properties in Indonesia, and uranium exploration properties in Mongolia. In Indonesia the Company has a 70 to 85% interest in six advanced gold and gold-copper properties located in Aceh Province, Sumatra, and Sangihe Island, North Sulawesi. Two of these, the Sangihe (Binebase-Bawone) and Barisan 1 (Abong) gold projects are being drilled to define NI43-101 compliant resources. The Company owns twelve uranium properties, including the advanced Ingiin-Nars, Ulaan Nuur and Enger uranium projects, four phosphate properties, and a 75% interest in the Khok Adar copper oxide discovery in Mongolia. East Asia currently has 55,645,372 shares outstanding. Its shares are listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "EAS".
Disclaimer - The foregoing commentary is based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made and the Company assumes no obligation to update same. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on such commentary.
Forward Looking Statements - This News Release contains forward looking information within the meaning of the British Columbia Securities Act, the Ontario Securities Act and the Alberta Securities Act, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results and the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with our expectations, metal recoveries, accidents, equipment breakdowns, title matters and surface access, labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in production, the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of new or updated feasibility studies, the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations (including uranium, fuel, steel and construction items), currency fluctuations, failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and other risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The words anticipate, believe, estimate and expect and similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management, are intended to identify forward looking statements relating to the business and affairs of the Company. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, visit the Company's website at www.EAminerals.com, or contact:
Michael Hawkins, President and CEO
Vancouver
T: +1-604-684-2183
E: [email protected]
or
Nick Kohlmann, Corporate Communications
Toronto
T: +1-416-792-8734
E: [email protected] |
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