Aim float for Chinese gold miner

CHINESE gold miner Afcan will announce tomorrow that it is to join the Alternative Investment Market in a placing arranged by broker Seymour Pierce.

The company, which already has a Toronto Stock Exchange listing, is raising at least £11.6m to fund development of a major opencast gold mine in Qinghai, one of China's most remote provinces.

Chief executive David Netherway said the Tanjianshan mine had proven resources of about a million ounces, with mining due to start this year. 'The Chinese market will soak up everything that can be produced,' he said.

Afcan is partnered with the Qinghai provincial government and as a result the mine will benefit from new roads and power lines being built to the site.

Aim-listed Griffin Mining is expected to announce that the government of China has extended its licence to mine zinc and gold from three years to 15. Griffin's mine, 125 miles from Beijing, is to start operating within the next two weeks.

Shares in Griffin rose a penny last week to close at 34¼p, valuing the whole group at just over £60m.

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