GEUS has been on a mission to the Lao PDR (the Lao People's Democratic Republic) on behalf of the World Bank to help the government of the Lao PDR identify possible new business activities that can procure money for more schools in the Lao PDR. The objective is to get all the children of the Lao PDR to school in 2020. According to the future vision of the World Bank for funding of increased schooling in the Lao PDR, mining is a possible source of income for the country. During the course of the project 'Sources of growth in the Lao PDR', GEUS assessed which major mines could possibly be established after 8-10 years and 15-20 years respectively. This work included a calculation of how many people could potentially be employed in the mines and of the size of the potential income to the state from taxes etc. GEUS assessed that it would be possible to open one gold/copper mine, one phosphate fertilizer mine and one sapphire mine within the desired time horizon.
This work also points out that it is essential for the Lao PDR to initiate targeted marketing of its geological potential in order to attract investments from international mining for exploration.
As a first step of marketing, GEUS has assisted The Lao PDR Department of Geology and Mines to establish a homepage , where mining companies and other interested investors can get information about geology, existing concessions and terms to get licences.
Contact person:pa@geus.dk