Local Mining Firm Stakes Claim In Myanmar East Asia Gold One Of First To Make A Deal With Developing Nation Formerly Known As Burma

As mining companies look overseas for new metals, a young Spokane firm has established a foothold in what could become the next hot gold spot: The Union of Myanmar.

Formerly known as Burma, the union lies on the Indochinese peninsula, between India to the west, and China and Thailand to the east and south.

That’s where John B. Hite found the Southeast Asian connections he’d been searching for the last three years, said J. C. Hite, Hite’s son and fellow force behind East Asia Gold Corp.

East Asia Gold signed three agreements Monday with the Ministry of Mines for nearly 4,200 square kilometers of land that contains known gold deposits.

“We think it could be the next Indonesia,” said J.C. Hite. Mining firms large and small rushed into Indonesia in the past two years when the country invited foreign investment to help pry natural resources from the emerging country. “We think we’re one of the very first to be in Myanmar,” J.C. Hite said.

The fledgling Canadian exploration company operates out of Spokane, where the Hites also operate Antilles Resources, another mining exploration company.

East Asia Gold will ship a drilling rig overseas and begin exploring the new properties next fall, J.C. Hite said. Finishing a feasibility study, where the company decides if there is enough gold to pay for the mining, should take about two years.

Mining overseas has special risks. Governments can tumble, nullifying deals that foreign companies have signed with the previous regime.

“You’re always exposing yourself to some political risk in this business,” J.C. Hite said. “We’re quite comfortable with the future of the government there now. They’re quite solidly in place.”

East Asia Gold owns rights to about 5,600 square kilometers - roughly 1.25 million acres - of land in the union. Hite said he believed that is the second-highest land position of any foreign mining company.

One of the properties has shown gold grades averaging .44 ounces per ton of rock. That is substantially higher than many domestic gold mines.

If East Asia’s drilling shows enough gold to make a profitable mine, the Hites will decide to either try to develop the property alone or with a partner, or sell the company and its assets to big mining firm.

John B. Hite also explored Vietnam and other Southeastern Asian countries as potential partners in mining, J.C. Hite said.

“They’ve made a lot of noise in Vietnam about doing business,” he said. “But they haven’t drafted a new mining law yet and it seemed very difficult to do business there.”

East Asia Gold’s latest efforts add to the growing number of Spokane-based mining exploration firms with substantial overseas prospects. Gold Reserve Corp. continues to find large gold reserves at its Brisas mine in southeastern Venezuela. Yamana Resources has a large set of promising metals properties in Argentina and Indonesia.

, DataTimes