By Daniel Bardsley
Prague Post
A Canadian company has joined the race to look for gold in the Czech Republic, ahead of the expected lifting of restrictions that have for nearly two decades prevented mining firms from extracting the precious metal.
With an estimated 392 metric tons of gold lying beneath the ground in the country — around 1 percent of the world’s reserves and worth more than 400 billion Kč, a string of firms are keen to begin operations.
Most recently, Astur Bohemia, the Czech subsidiary of British Columbia-based Astur Gold, has applied for an exploration license for a series of gold deposits in Central Bohemia, the company announced Oct. 30.
The news comes a year after it was revealed that four companies had applied to the Environment Ministry for approval to search for gold in Central and South Bohemia.