Designing and constructing Oxiana's Sepon gold and copper operations in one of the most remote areas in Laos has been a great achievement; one which was recognised by the engineering industry's highest accolade - the Australian Engineering Excellence Award in 2005._x000D_
The developing nation of Laos has no previous mining or heavy industrial experience, but the support of the Lao Government and a remarkable Lao workforce has enabled the project to be developed and operate as well as it would anywhere else in the world._x000D_
When making a decision to invest offshore, several geophysical and jurisdictional criteria need to be considered. Laos offers unparalleled prospectivity, a central location with growing infrastructure, a ready workforce and a developing but supportive regulatory regime._x000D_
In addition, the Sepon copper project has exceptional characteristics, including its high grades, location near the surface, leachable qualities, access to hydropower and the ability to produce cathodes on site. These attributes and its location in the centre of a region hungry for resources contributes to the project's excellent economics._x000D_
FORMAL CITATION:Hegarty, O, 2006. Developing a copper mine in a developing country, in Proceedings Metallurgical Plant Design and Operating Strategies 2006, p 7 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).