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Baltic News Service / - BNS
September 23, 2011 Friday 7:58 AM EET
Estonia: Vichmann, Gild exploring for gold in Armenia
TALLINN, Sep 23, BNS - Estonian businessman Marcel Vichmann along with
the couple of hundred shareholders of the Gild Arbitrage investment
fund and about a dozen creditors possess licenses to explore seven
potential deposits in Armenia for gold, Eesti Paevaleht reported.
Vichmann told the newspaper that in spring 2011 he established a
holding company named FTT Armenia to organize the surveys. "The work
will be carried out by local Armenian companies at my orders," he
said.
The paper said the licenses covering seven deposits in the mountains
of southern and northern Armenia were bought by Gild Arbitrage
immediately before the economic crisis for 20 million euros. After
Gild found itself in trouble meeting its obligations before creditors
and investors as a result of the crisis the deposits were divided in
such manner that Vichmann as the biggest investor now holds three of
them and four remain in the hands of Gild.
Initial exploration costing an estimated one million euros is
currently going on at four potential deposits under the supervision
Gild-appointed supervisors. The goal is to compare the geological maps
from the Soviet era with the actual state of affairs and to determine
places where more detailed exploration is to be carried out.
"When we've conducted in-depth exploration with the anticipated
result, which costs about 10 million euros, we'll be able float our
enterprise. A local exploration company which doesn't dig anything yet
listed on the Armenian stock exchange and its value rose to nearly 230
million euros immediately," said Erko Kundla, creditor and member of
the supervisory board of the fund.
As part of the second stage about a thousand boreholes will be drilled
in the mountains to find out where the ore lies. The samples retrieved
will be sent to two independent laboratories based on whose answers
the decision will be made whether or not to start buying enrichment
equipment.
If the results are promising and there's not enough money, Gild
intends to bring in partners. A gold enrichment plant costs hundreds
of millions of euros.
Alar Tamming, chairman of the supervisory board of the leading
Estonian gold seller Tavid, said investing in gold mining pays for
sure. "New values are created in mines, not on exchanges," he said.
"The price of gold is constantly rising and there's no ceiling in
sight. Even if an extremely sharp fall should follow, which has
happened before and which is possible also now, mining industry
enterprises will not disappear," he said.
Gild made the investment in the exploration permits via the Cypriot
company Melorama Holding, whose subsidiaries hold numerous rights to
the extraction of natural resources in Armenia.
September 23, 2011 Friday 7:58 AM EET
Estonia: Vichmann, Gild exploring for gold in Armenia
TALLINN, Sep 23, BNS - Estonian businessman Marcel Vichmann along with
the couple of hundred shareholders of the Gild Arbitrage investment
fund and about a dozen creditors possess licenses to explore seven
potential deposits in Armenia for gold, Eesti Paevaleht reported.
Vichmann told the newspaper that in spring 2011 he established a
holding company named FTT Armenia to organize the surveys. "The work
will be carried out by local Armenian companies at my orders," he
said.
The paper said the licenses covering seven deposits in the mountains
of southern and northern Armenia were bought by Gild Arbitrage
immediately before the economic crisis for 20 million euros. After
Gild found itself in trouble meeting its obligations before creditors
and investors as a result of the crisis the deposits were divided in
such manner that Vichmann as the biggest investor now holds three of
them and four remain in the hands of Gild.
Initial exploration costing an estimated one million euros is
currently going on at four potential deposits under the supervision
Gild-appointed supervisors. The goal is to compare the geological maps
from the Soviet era with the actual state of affairs and to determine
places where more detailed exploration is to be carried out.
"When we've conducted in-depth exploration with the anticipated
result, which costs about 10 million euros, we'll be able float our
enterprise. A local exploration company which doesn't dig anything yet
listed on the Armenian stock exchange and its value rose to nearly 230
million euros immediately," said Erko Kundla, creditor and member of
the supervisory board of the fund.
As part of the second stage about a thousand boreholes will be drilled
in the mountains to find out where the ore lies. The samples retrieved
will be sent to two independent laboratories based on whose answers
the decision will be made whether or not to start buying enrichment
equipment.
If the results are promising and there's not enough money, Gild
intends to bring in partners. A gold enrichment plant costs hundreds
of millions of euros.
Alar Tamming, chairman of the supervisory board of the leading
Estonian gold seller Tavid, said investing in gold mining pays for
sure. "New values are created in mines, not on exchanges," he said.
"The price of gold is constantly rising and there's no ceiling in
sight. Even if an extremely sharp fall should follow, which has
happened before and which is possible also now, mining industry
enterprises will not disappear," he said.
Gild made the investment in the exploration permits via the Cypriot
company Melorama Holding, whose subsidiaries hold numerous rights to
the extraction of natural resources in Armenia.