Plaman withdraws OIO application to expand mine

Plaman has withdrawn its application to the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) to buy 432 hectares of land near Middlemarch, Otago, to expand its diatomite mine.

The overseas-owned company needed consent under the Overseas Investment Act to buy farm land next to 42 hectares it already owns at Foulden Maar in Otago.

As part of the application, Plaman also asked for consent to restructure its shareholding so that Plaman Resources’ main shareholder, Malaysian-based Iris Corporation Berhad, would exit Plaman.

The OIO was already closely examining Plaman’s financial viability before the company was placed in receivership and liquidation in June this year.

The OIO subsequently asked Plaman for more information about its application after receiving significant new information. Plaman has now informed the OIO that it does not intend to respond to our information request and has withdrawn its application.

The OIO received 42 submissions in total about the application, including information about the significant fossil site on the land.

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