Cambodia’s Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sem recently met with representatives from the Australian mining firm Renaissance Minerals Cambodia Ltd to discuss the progress of the Okvau and O’Chhung gold mining projects in Mondulkiri province, state-owned news agency AKP reported on Friday.

The minister encouraged the company to submit the documents for equipment needed to speed up gold extraction across a 400-square-kilometre tenement that is believed to hold 32,000 kilograms of gold.

Australia’s Emerald Resources absorbed Renaissance Minerals last year in a bid to pursue the mining project that needs an estimated $98 million in investment capital to operate a mine for seven years.