Mr. Cherdsak Utha-aroon, the General Manager – Sustainability of Akara Resources Public Company Limited, owner of the Chatree Gold Mine, announced that the Company has already paid over 500 million baht in royalties to the government since resuming operations in March 2023. Following the investment of over 2.6 billion baht for overhauling machinery and processing plants, as well as infrastructure at the mine, operations have ramped up to full capacity in May, with expectations to inject more than 4 billion baht into the Thai economy annually. This will be achieved through supporting domestic businesses and creating approximately 1,000 jobs, primarily targeting local employment at 90% to enhance the local economy, improve quality of life, and significantly contribute to mineral royalty payments to the government.

By mid-July 2024, the Company had already remitted over 500 million baht in royalties. Mr. Cherdsak explained that the royalties paid would be allocated as 40% revenue for the government, while the remaining funds would be distributed to local administrative organizations, particularly the Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO) and Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO) in the area where the mining is conducted. In Phichit, 20% of the mineral royalties will go to the SAO and another 20% to the PAO, equating to approximately 23 million baht for each organization. This allocation is significant enough to enhance their regular budgets received from the central government, thus improving both organizations’ capacity to serve the community effectively. The mineral royalties have also enabled the creation of numerous jobs and projects within the local community.

Additionally, Akara has contributed about 100 million baht to four funds as required by law, not including direct community support from the Company’s budget for activities related to job creation, income generation, education, and social, religious, and sports initiatives that the Company voluntarily undertakes.

Moving forward, the Company aims to fulfill its vision of promoting Thailand as the “Gold Hub” of Southeast Asia, collaborating with upstream and downstream business partners in the gold industry. Akara will engage with relevant agencies to promote Thai gold and silver products under Free Trade Agreement (FTA) criteria. This approach aims to secure various benefits from trading partners, such as reduced import duties in destination countries when using gold and silver extracted and processed in Thailand, provided that at least 40% of production costs meet local content requirements. This strategy will offer a competitive advantage to Thai businesses in international markets and aligns with the government’s economic policy, which emphasizes entering into free trade agreements to attract foreign investment to Thailand.