[1] The Department of State for Trade, Industry, and Employment is the government entity responsible for the administration of the mining sector.
[1] As of 2005, Carnegie Corporation Ltd. (CCL) of Australia (50%) in joint venture with Astron of China (50%) held an exclusive prospecting license for the Batukunku, the Kartung, and the Sanyang [de] mineral sands deposits in Brufut.
[1] In 2005, the joint venture completed a second-round trial dredge program at the deposit.
[1] Following the completion of this dredge program and of an environmental impact assessment study, the company submitted an application to convert its prospecting license to a mining lease.
As of 2005, total measured, indicated, and inferred resources at the Batukunku, the Kartung, and the Sanyang deposits were estimated to be 18.8 million metric tons (Mt) that contained approximately one Mt of heavy minerals at a cutoff grade of 1%.