On 31 July 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 Mr. Alounxai Sounnalath, Minister and Head of Prime Minister's Office, 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 Prime Minister's Office for its consistent great support rendered. Given the huge resources potential in Sepon, Chifeng Gold has been making increased investment into Sepon mine, particularly in areas like the optimization of technical process and resources exploration, to ensure its sustainable development since our acquisition of LXML in 2018. When it comes to employment opportunities, Sepon mine has always placed focus on the development of local labors, giving priorities to Lao employees in filling some key management positions while providing a variety of professional and skills trainings to local employees and identifying for them a clear career path.
Mr. Gao Bo further elaborated that Sepon mine is currently undergoing the transition from open-pit mining to underground mining, thus making it possible to mine the non-refractory primary ore of higher grade in the current mining concession. There are six growth projects under plan within the mining concession of Sepon. It is believed that with the unwavering support from the Lao Government and its associated authorities, Sepon mine will continue to make contributions to the Lao government and local communities through maintaining growth in scale, employment opportunities and revenue.
Minister Alounxai expressed his welcome to the delegation led by Mr. Gao Bo and highly commended Mr. Gao Bo's resolute determination in developing Sepon. As Sepon mine is an outstanding enterprise with advanced operational methods under the leadership of excellent management personnel, the Lao government is more than ready to support and promote the long-term stable development of such enterprises, he commented. He also talked highly of Sepon's practice of attaching importance to the cultivation of exceptional local employees.
Minister Alounxai delivered his full support for the speedy development of the underground mine in Sepon. As one A+ enterprise awarded by the Ministry of Energy and Mines and a representative of top enterprises in Laos, he is fully aware that the development of Sepon mine is closely linked with the local economy and firmly believes that Sepon's accelerated transition and increased efficiency will be favourable to both the government and the enterprise. He reiterated his support for continued communication between Sepon and all department authorities so as to provide a "quick passage" for the development of key projects and further improve government's service and efficiency.
At the end of the meeting, Mr. Gao Bo extended his sincere invitation to the Prime Minister and Minster Alounxai for a visit to Chifeng Gold and Sepon mine when the right opportunity arises. Minister Alounxai expressed his appreciation to the invitation and looked forward to another visit to the Laos by Mr. Wang Jianhua, Chairman of Chifeng Gold to hear his advice on investment to the Lao government.
