News

June 19, 2009

Central Asia Finds A Nifty Way To Fund Two Kazakh Projects Into Production Without Recourse To Banks

By Charles Wyatt

If you had to choose a “stan” country in which to mine, Kazakhstan would probably come close to top of the list. For a long time now this country has been a major producer of oil and gas, but not so many people know that it is second only to Canada in production of uranium. It is a huge country – the ninth largest in the world and as big as all the other “stan” countries put together. And the fact that it is rich in these, and other, resources means that it has more infrastructure than most of its peers and more skilled labour. Its biggest neighbours are Russia and China, both of whom are interested in oil. And across the steppes and over the sea, Japan is involved in uranium. There is always a downside in these countries of the Former Soviet Union, and Jason Stirbinskis, chef executive of ASX listed Central Asia Resources admits that the bureaucracy can be tedious. On the plus side he points out that exploration during the Russian era was very blinkered. Geologists exploring for gold would not test core for copper, and vice versa, so there are now plenty of opportunities for those with an open mind.

Jason came into the company in February last year and soon after that A$14 million was raised by a placement. Although it may not have been fully appreciated at the time, this meant that Central Asia could go on exploring its projects in Kazakhstan during the dogs days towards the end of 2008 when a lot of juniors simply disappeared down holes in the ground themselves. During that period Jason wasted no funds on promotion, but Minews did run into him at a conference in London that was focussed...