Vancouver gold explorer East Asia Minerals (TSX-V:EAS) saw its share value drop 11% Monday after it suspended all surface exploration at its flagship Miwah project in Indonesia.
The news comes three weeks after the junior company announced significant management changes. East Asia’s long time president and CEO Michael Hawkins resigned and was replaced with Darryl Clark and Alex Granger.
The end of exploration at Miwah, which is located in Indonesia, related to a forest classification that doesn’t allow open pit mining.
“During the review of activities the company notes that the bureaucratic process to acquire the required ground access permits from the Ministry of Forestry has not been completed,” East Asia said Monday.
“It is the view of the company that the forestry re-classification and finalizing the granting of all required permits provides more immediate opportunity to add value to shareholders than would additional drilling and resource extension.”
East Asia said in late July that its management changes come as Miwah moves toward feasibility from an exploration stage.
In May, the company released a resource estimate for Miwah, claiming that the deposit contained more than three million ounces of gold in an inferred category.
The company’s cash position totalled $5.7 million as of May 31, a 46%
decrease compared with the same period last year.
At press time, East Asia’s shares were valued at $1.44.
Joel McKay
Twitter:jmckaybiv