Mining in Cambodia
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In 2006,
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
's mineral resources remained, to a large extent, unexplored. Between 2003 and 2006, however, foreign investors from
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
began to express their interest in Cambodia's potential for
offshore Offshore may refer to: Science and technology * Offshore (hydrocarbons) * Offshore construction, construction out at sea * Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well * Off ...
oil and
gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
as well as such land-based metallic
mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...
s as
bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...
,
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
,
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
, and
iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
, and such industrial minerals as
gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...
s and
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
.TJohn C. Wu
"The Mineral Industry of Cambodia"
''2006
Minerals Yearbook The ''Minerals Yearbook'' is an annual publication from the United States Geological Survey. It reviews the mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-def ...
''.
U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
(July 2007). ''This article incorporates text from this U.S. government source, which is in the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
.''
The identified mineral resources in Cambodia were bauxite, carbonate rocks, natural gas, gemstones, gold,
manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...
, petroleum,
phosphate rock Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentoxi ...
,
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
,
silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...
, and
zircon Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of the r ...
. With the exception of carbonate rocks and gemstones, the country's mineral resources were largely unexploited. To attract domestic and foreign mining companies to invest in the mining sector, the Law of Minerals Management and Mining of Cambodia was promulgated by the government on July 13, 2001.


Legal framework

The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME) is the main government agency that implements the country's mineral law and policy. The MIME's Department of Geology and Mines and Department of Energy are responsible for developing the country's mineral resources, providing
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
assistance to the private sector, and administering mining-related regulations and inspections. The Cambodian Development Council (CDC) is the government agency that grants exploration licenses to investors. If exploration is successful, investors are required to present a master project plan to the CDC before being granted a mining license. The amount of investment approved for mining projects by the CDC totaled $181 million in 2005.


Minerals in the national economy

The mining and quarry sector contributed only 0.39% of Cambodia's
gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...
in 2005. The sector employed an estimated 19,000 people and accounted for only 0.2% of the country's total employment in 2005.


Production

According to official statistics of the Department of Geology and Mines, the mining activities in Cambodia during the past 2 years involved the production of
laterite Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...
blocks (red soil),
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
for
cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...
manufacturing, sand and gravel, and crude stone for construction material. Other minerals, such as gemstones and gold, reportedly were mined in the central province of Kampong Cham and the northeastern provinces of Mondol Kiri and Ratanakiri. Production data for gemstones, gold, and limestone, however, were not available.


Industry structure

Cambodia's mineral industry is still in its infant stage, and most mining companies are small-scale quarries that produce such construction materials as limestone, sand and gravel, and other construction aggregates. Production capacity data are not available for each of these small miners. Between 1994 and 2006, the MIME granted a total of 19 mineral exploration licenses to local and foreign companies, of which 11 projects were to explore for metallic minerals; 3, for iron ore; 2, for gold; 2, for bauxite; and 1, for coal. Between 2005 and 2006, the MIME had granted mining licenses to 11 companies; five of the licenses were for gemstone (zircon) projects, five were for limestone projects, and one was for a
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
project. As of 2012, the MIME reported that a total of 91 domestic and foreign companies held mining and exploration licenses in Cambodia. A total of 139 exploration projects were authorized under the licenses granted, out of which 13 had been licensed to conduct mining projects In early 2013, Chinese engineering firm Sinomach China Perfect Machinery Industry Corp and Cambodian Petrochemical Company announced they would jointly build a $2.3 billion oil refinery in Sihanoukville, which would be the first oil refinery in the country.


Commodities


Gold

In February 2006, 100% of Liberty Mining International PTY. Ltd., which had 100% interest in two gold projects in the Ban Lung and the
Ou Ya Dav Ou Ya Dav District ( km, អូរយ៉ាដាវ) is a district in Ratanakiri Province, northeast Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located i ...
/
Andoung Meas Andoung Meas District ( km, អណ្តូងមាស; "Well of Gold") is a district in north-eastern Cambodia, located in Ratanakiri Province, with a population of 6,896 (1998) Administration Andoung Meas district is subdivided into four com ...
areas in Ratanakiri Province, was acquired by Great Australian Resources Ltd. (GAR). During 2006, GAR reportedly undertook and completed an aeromagnetic survey of the two project areas and carried out an extensive soil geochemical sampling program in the
Ban Lung Banlung ( km, បានលុង, ) is the capital of Ratanakiri Province in northeastern Cambodia, and is 636 kilometres from the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. Ratanakiri Province borders Vietnam and Laos.Ray, Nick. ''Cambodia''. ...
area and a
diamond drilling Exploration diamond drilling is used in the mining industry to probe the contents of known ore deposits and potential sites. By withdrawing a small diameter core of rock from the orebody, geologists can analyze the core by chemical assay and cond ...
program in the Ou Ya Dav area.


Cement

An $80 million project to build a cement plant in Kampot Province, which was proposed by
Siam Cement Group The Siam Cement Public Company Limited (SCG; ) is the largest and oldest cement and building material company in Thailand and Southeast Asia. In 2016, SCG was also ranked as the second largest company in Thailand and the 604th largest public compan ...
of Thailand, was approved by the government in late 2005. In January 2006, construction work on the 800,000 metric-ton-per-year cement plant was begun by Thai Siam Cement Industry in the Touk Meas, Kampot Province. The cement plant, which was located 130 km south of
Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
, was scheduled to begin production during the second quarter of 2007. Kampot Cement Co. Ltd. and Tahi Boon Roon Cement Co. Ltd., which were licensed to quarry limestone in the areas of Tatung and Phnom Laag, would supply limestone to the cement plant.


Natural gas and petroleum

To further understand and expand the oil resources in Block A, which is located about 130 km off the west coast of Cambodia, Chevron Overseas Petroleum (Cambodia) Ltd. (COPCL) (an affiliated company of
Chevron Corporation Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened to Socal or CalSo), it is headquartered in S ...
of the United States) and the Cambodian government signed a joint study agreement (JSA) in 2006. Under the JSA, COPCL was expected to drill five offshore
exploration well Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Vis ...
s in Cambodia in 2006 and an additional five wells in 2007. Block A, which covers a 6,278-square-kilometer (km2) area of the Khmer Basin in the
Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...
, was owned by COPCL (55%), Moeco Cambodia Ltd. (an affiliate company of
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
's Mitsui Oil exploration Co.) (30%), and South Korea's
GS Caltex GS Caltex Corporation () is a South Korean oil refiner jointly owned by Chevron and GS Group. The company was founded in May 1967 as the first private oil company in Korea. The company changed its name from LG-Caltex Oil Corporation to GS Calte ...
Corp. (15%). In September 2006, French
TotalEnergies TotalEnergies SE is a French Multinational corporation, multinational integrated energy and List of oil exploration and production companies, petroleum company founded in 1924 and one of the seven Big Oil, supermajor oil companies. Its businesses ...
(TOT) and an unidentified Chinese oil company reportedly were competing for the rights to explore for potentially rich oil and gas reserves in
Block B Block B ( ko, 블락비) is a South Korean boy band managed by KQ Entertainment, and consists of seven members: Taeil, B-Bomb, Jaehyo, U-Kwon, Park Kyung, Zico, and P.O. Block B has received several accolades, including nominations for seven ...
, which covers a 6,557-km2 area offshore the southeastern coast of Cambodia. According to a ''
Cambodia Daily ''The Cambodia Daily'' is an English and Khmer language news site that writes and aggregates news about Cambodia. It was originally an English-language daily newspaper based in Cambodia from 1993 to 2017, and was considered a newspaper of record ...
'' report, officials from Chinese National Petroleum Offshore Oil Co. (CNOOC) met with Cambodia's prime minister in July 2006 and expressed interest in Block B. According to an official of Cambodian National Petroleum Authority's petroleum exploration department, TOT was interested in the offshore field, but negotiations were slow. Onshore oil and gas exploration began in January 2012 by a Japanese firm (JOGMEC) in the Preah Vihear provinceas part of "Basic Agreement for the Study and Survey Program in Block 17". Block 17 consists of a total area of 6,500 square kilometers of hilly forest in Kampong Thom, Preah Vihear and Siem Reap provinces.


See also

*
Economy of Cambodia The economy of Cambodia ( km, សេដ្ឋកិច្ចនៃកម្ពុជា ) currently follows an open market system ( market economy) and has seen rapid economic progress in the last decade. Cambodia had a GDP of $24.57 billion in 2 ...
* Natural resources of Cambodia *
Child labour in Cambodia Child labour refers to the full-time employment of children under a minimum legal age. In 2003, an International Labour Organization (ILO) survey reported that one in every ten children in the capital above the age of seven was engaged in child do ...


References

{{Asia topic, Mining in Mining in Cambodia Economy of Cambodia Fossil fuels in Cambodia