Company Profile and Strategy

Leyshon Resources has a proud history as one of Australia’s most financially successful gold mining companies having produced over 2.7 million ounces from its Mt Leyshon Gold Mine in Queensland and distributed over A$300 million dollars to its shareholders over its 15 year life. Today Leyshon has divested its Australian mining and exploration interests and is focused on the emerging Chinese resources sector.

In 2003 Leyshon created one of the first Sino Foreign Joint Venture Companies in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang when it entered into a unique Province wide Agreement with the Heilongjiang Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. This agreement has given it the first right to explore and develop all existing and future projects held by this important provincial organization.

Leyshon’s strategy is to apply the latest exploration techniques to this vast under- explored gold belt with a view to building an inventory of high grade gold resources. This strategy is consistent with Chinese Central Party Committee’s policy contained in a White Paper issued in December 2003 which stated that it was important government policy to seek foreign capital and technology to develop the country’s mineral resources.

In 2002 Newmont Mining Corporation Limited of the United States became one of Leyshon’s major shareholders and since then Leyshon has been looking to apply its financial and technical resources to the acquisition and development of new mining projects to replace the Mt Leyshon mine.

Leyshon has reviewed over 50 projects across the highly mineralized 469,000 km² province under the agreement and has undertaken detailed site based reviews on 20 of the most prospective. This work has demonstrated that the Province hosts a major epithermal gold  belt which has produced over 20 million ounces of gold and has many similarities with the epithermal gold belt of the Drummond Basin in Queensland.

Leyshon’s status as a preferred foreign investor in this province of 38 million people was formally acknowledged in October 2004 when it was afforded the rare honour of a widely reported and televised reception at the Governors compound attended by Governor Zhang, the two most senior Vice Governors and the Directors General of the relevant departments.

Leyshon successfully developed the Zheng Guang gold project into one of the province of Heilongjiang's largest gold mines yet discovered. The joint venture established a 135 km² strategic ground position and delineated a JORC compliant Measured and Indicated resource of 740,000 ounces gold, 2.7 million ounces silver and 71,000 tonnes zinc.

Following a competitive tender the Company and its partner sold the Zheng Guang gold project for US$78 million in December 2009 to a private Chinese group.