Pan Australian says Laos mine to start early

SYDNEY, Feb 21 (Reuters) Pan Australian Resources Ltd (PNA.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday construction of its copper and gold mine in Laos was ahead of schedule and production will start next month.

Its Phu Kham mine was within a $241 million capital budget, with the project's first concentrate production planned for March, ahead of an original mid-2008 target date, Pan Australian said.

Output was expected to climb to an annual rate of about 50,000 tonnes of copper, 50,000 ounces of gold and 400,000 ounces of silver in concentrate by the end of 2008, the company said.

Pan Australian is among a small number of foreign miners seeking to tap Laos' mostly unexploited natural resources.

Fellow Australian Oxiana Resources Ltd's OXR.A Sepon mine in Laos produced 62,541 tonnes of copper last year and the company aims to lift output to around 80,000 tonnes by 2010. (Reporting by James Regan)