On 2 August 2023, Mr. Gao Bo, Director and VP of Chifeng Gold and President of Lane Xang Minerals Limited (LXML), paid a visit to and had a discussion meeting with Ms. Bounkham Vorachit, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Laos, in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Present in the discussion meeting also include Mr. Zhou Xinbing, VP of Chifeng Gold and DGM of LXML, and Mr. Saman Aneka, DGM of LXML.

First of all, Mr. Gao Bo expressed, on behalf of Chifeng Gold and LXML, his sincere appreciation to the Minister and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for the consistent and great support. Sticking to the core value of “to benefit more people through the development of Chifeng Gold” and the green and sustainable development philosophy, Chifeng gold has made significant investments into energy saving, emission reduction, mine vegetation and rehabilitation, water resources conservation and biodiversity since its acquisition of LXML in 2018. Abiding by the highest standards in environmental protection for international mining companies, LXML has made great efforts to develop the local economies and local communities.

According to Mr. Gao Bo, LXML is transitioning from the open-pit mining to the underground mining of non-refractory primary ore of higher grade within the current mining concession so as to make full use of the rich underground resources of Sepon mine, achieve higher mineral processing recovery rate and further advance the high-quality sustainable development of LXML. There are six growth projects under plan within the current mining concession in Sepon, including gold and copper projects. It is believed that with the support and guidance from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, these projects will be launched and put into production at accelerated speed, which will enable Sepon mine to make greater contributions to the Lao government and local communities through maintaining growth in scale, employment opportunities and revenue.

Minister Bounkham expressed her welcome to the delegation led by Mr. Gao Bo and highly commended LXML for following the highest standards in environmental protection for the international mining industry. She said, during her recent visit to China to attend a work meeting, she was very much impressed by the sophisticated road networks in China, high awareness of environmental protection and high standards in local community development upheld by the Chinese mines. She hopes that Sepon mine can bring to Laos these advanced philosophies and technologies in the future to help with the development of local communities.

Minister Bounkham expressed her delight in hearing the six growth projects under plan by Sepon and indicated that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment would consistently support Sepon in environmental permitting. Both sides reached consensus on accelerated handling of EIA permitting to ensure early production of the new projects.

At last, Mr. Gao Bo extended his sincere invitation to Minister Bounkham for a visit to Chifeng Gold and Sepon mine when the right opportunity arises. Minister Bounkham thanked him for the invitation and said they would organize a visit at the right time in the near future.