SA explorer Salisbury Resources collapses over failed deal with Hong Kong investor SOUTH Australian junior explorer Salisbury Resources has gone into administration following the break-down of an agreement with a Hong Kong investor. The company has debts of about $460,000 and will be sold, administrator Austin Taylor from Meertens Chartered Accountants said. "A payment from Hong Kong investors failed to materialise in time and Salisbury Resources directors moved to place the company in voluntary administration," he said. Salisbury Resources holds copper, gold, uranium and silver tenements across South Australia, including the Cattle Grid copper deposit at Mt Gunson south of Olympic Dam and the Murloocoppie uranium deposit near Coober Pedy. The company sought to list on the Australian Securities Exchange in late 2010, but this was abandoned after it attracted a $5 million investment from Hong Kong-based King Copper. While an initial $1.3 million payment was made, no further payment has been received and Salisbury Resources eventually ran out of money, its lawyer said. The company has a single large creditor owed $350,000, Mr Austin said, while other creditors are owed smaller amounts. He said while he was discussing the sale of the company's exploration assets with a number of potential local buyers, Salisbury Resources failure was indicative of the stresses facing small exploration companies following a downturn in the mining sector. "We have been told that a number of other small mining companies are also running out of money and in this climate it would not be surprising to see others fail as well," he said.