VANCOUVER, BC (March 19th, 2013)
ANGKOR GOLD CORP. (TSXV: ANK) (“ANGKOR”) is pleased to announce the publication of its Sustainable Community Development (SCD) 2012 Report. The report provides an overview of Angkor’s activities working with local communities in the province of Ratanakiri, Cambodia; where the company undertakes mineral exploration and project generation.
Highlights include:
- Improved Community Organisation: 5 elected and functioning Village Development Committees and 190 families profiled.
- Improved Community Food Security: 20 family gardens created, 1700 fruit trees planted, 980 villagers actively participating in their own village development.
- Improved Community Environmental Health: family planning and health educations sessions, 12 water wells installed, over 18,000kg of medical supplies and equipment distributed.
In 2012, Angkor’s SCD Team expended an estimated 8,700 hours on the SCD program at zero cost to the company by virtue of its funding originating in lieu of senior management salaries, as explained in our SEDAR filings. Angkor estimates that 75,000 people have benefitted from Angkor’s SCD program since it began in 2011.
Mike Weeks, Angkor’s CEO & Chairman, commented,
“Our Sustainable Community Development 2012 Report shows our shareholders and the Socially Responsible Investment community that we’re organised, serious and making a real difference. It’s a core part of our ACTION strategy, it helps provide our social licence to operate and we’re very proud of the benefits it delivers to all our stakeholders.
Angkor gains significant benefits from our SCD investment, particularly in terms of the operational support we enjoy. I am very confident that the scope of these benefits will expand over time – including the creation of a local pool of educated, willing workers capable of involvement in all aspects of mining operations. Indeed, during peak season our team expands to 150 people of which 140 are locals.
Our community development work continues apace in 2013; we are supporting development of a medical centre with construction getting underway in the next week. And we continue to improve the education facilities of the local villages in the form of creating libraries, education sessions and providing modern, sustainable hygiene equipment.”
Angkor’s SCD program follows the World Bank guidelines for Community Driven Development. It is also based on best practice and thought-leadership drawn from other recognised initiatives including the PDAC e3 Plus Framework for Socially Responsible Exploration, the Global Reporting Initiative and the World Health Organisation’s Country Cooperation Strategy for Cambodia.
Angkor has confirmed that it will participate in the Canadian Responsible Investment Conference 2013 organised by the Social Investment Organization (SIO). The conference will take place June 17-19 in Vancouver, BC – see the link at the bottom of this press release for more information. Angkor is a member of SIO and will have a speaking role and representation throughout the conference..
Delayne Weeks, Angkor’s VP Corporate Social Responsibility, emphasised,
“We’ll be using the Canadian Responsible Investment Conference in June as a springboard to connect with the SRI community. Our aim is to highlight our priorities and explain why an investment in Angkor is advantageous and logical from a triple-bottom line perspective.
Over the next quarter, we’ll be inviting feedback and dialogue through our improved social media platform, which we’ll be launching in April. We’ve set very high goals for our SCD 2013 program and I look forward to reporting our progress achieving them.“
Sustainable Community Development Annual Report 2012 click here to view the report.
About Cambodia
Cambodia is relatively unexplored and yet is already known to contain multiple deposits with grades that are suggestive of economic viability. The two transactions announced by Angkor this January of 2013 underline this opportunity. The participation of Mesco Gold in Cambodia confirms that others are now recognizing Angkor’s valuation of Cambodia’s potential for gold and other mineral opportunities.
Cambodia offers Angkor’s shareholders an exciting advantage: Angkor acquired licences with strong histories of artisanal mining; Angkor’s prospects are accessible, mineable and well-serviced; Angkor continues to explore efficiently, maximizing the low exploration costs. Cambodia has a stable, democratic government, a business-friendly environment, and strong infrastructure in place.
Angkor’s mid-term ambition is to self-finance its exploration activities. In Cambodia, Angkor intends to make a positive difference while rewarding its shareholders with strong, steady value creation.
Solid progress has been made over the past three years; 24% of the company is owned by insiders, and the management team offers the right blend of technical and business experience.
The two transactions announced by Angkor in January 2013 constitute a very small percentage of Angkor’s land package.
ANGKOR GOLD CORP. is a public company listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange. It is Cambodia’s premier gold explorer with a significantly large land package and a first-mover advantage with excellent relationships at all levels of Government (local to national).
Angkor has 5 exploration licences in the Kingdom of Cambodia now covering a total of 1102 km2, plus 3 pending licence applications. The company has been actively exploring these concessions over the past 3 years, and has now covered all tenements with stream sediment geochemical sampling, has flown low level aeromagnetic surveys over much of the ground, drilled 17,556 metres of NQ core in 143 holes, of which 8,815m in 66 holes were drilled in the 2012 season; and has collected in excess of 20,000 ‘C’ zone soil samples in 8 centres of interest, over a combined area of 20km2, in addition to numerous trenches and detailed geological field mapping. Exploration on all tenements is ongoing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
ANGKOR GOLD CORP.
Delayne Weeks, VP Corporate Social Responsibility
Telephone: (780) 831-8722
Email: [email protected]
The Canadian Responsible Investment Conference is organised by the Social Investment Organization, Canada. For more information, please visit: http://www.socialinvestment.ca/
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Reader Advisory
Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate” and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the timing and completion of the Corporation’s financings and related information. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.
Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are founded on the basis of expectations and assumptions made by the Corporation. Such forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in Canada, Cambodia, the United States and globally; industry conditions, including fluctuations in the prices of gold and other base metals; governmental regulation of the mining industry in both Canada and Cambodia, including environmental regulation; unanticipated operating events or performance which can reduce production or cause production to be delayed; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; competition for and/or inability to retain mining equipment and other services; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; liabilities inherent in mining operations; competition for, among other things, capital, undeveloped lands, skilled personnel and supplies; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions; geological, technical, drilling, processing and transportation problems; changes in tax laws and incentive programs relating to the mining industry; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and dispositions; and other factors. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.
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