African Eagle Resources Regulatory News (AFE)

6 Dec 2007 07:00

African Eagle Resources PLC06 December 2007 AfRICAN EAGLE RESOURCES Plc African Eagle begins DIAMOND DRILLING AT Mokambo project in the Zambia Copperbelt Highlights * Diamond drilling now in progress at Mokambo South * Soil sampling and geological mapping of Mokambo South completed * Mokambo North and South joint venture with Copperbelt Minerals plc * Mokambo South holds a historically reported deposit of -6Mt at 2.3% copper * Project is 15km from Mufulira, Africa's biggest underground copper mine African Eagle's Managing Director Mark Parker said: "This project is a majormilestone for African Eagle, as the Mokambo area represents an excitingexploration target in the Zambian Copperbelt. From past drilling, significantsulphide copper deposits are known to occur in the area but the shallower oxidepotential has yet to be tested. African Eagle and Copperbelt Minerals will nowjointly explore approximately 12km strike length of potentially mineralisedLower Roan strata within the Mufulira syncline, a major fold structure whichhosts the Mufulira Mine, Africa's largest underground copper operation." African Eagle ("African Eagle" or "the Company"; Ticker: AIM: AFE, AltX: AEA")today announces the start of drilling at Mokambo, near Mufulira in the ZambianCopperbelt, and the signing of a Heads of Agreement with Copperbelt Minerals plc(CML)., Under the Heads, the two companies, led by African Eagle, will jointlyexplore and develop the two prospecting licences they hold at Mokambo. The two licences are Mokambo South (PLS 351), held by Katanga Resources Ltd(KRL), African Eagle's wholly owned Zambian operating subsidiary and MokamboNorth (PLS 350), held by CML's wholly owned subsidiary, Platmin Congo Ltd. Thetwo licences form a narrow strip along the border between Zambia and theDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and together comprise 25.9 square kilometres. Much of the Mokambo project area is underlain by the highly prospective LowerRoan geological sequence, which hosts most of the world-class copper deposits ofZambia and neighbouring DRC. The Mokambo Project lies on the eastern limb of theMufulira Syncline. The opposite western limb of the syncline contains theMufulira copper mine, operated by Mopani Mines and situated 15km west of theproject. The Mine has been in operation since 1933 and by 2000 had produced ninemillion tonnes (Mt) of copper. Based on drilling conducted in the 1960s and 70s, Mokambo South was estimated tocontain about 6Mt at 2.3% copper and Mokambo North was estimated to contain atleast 3.8Mt at 1.69% copper in two separate lenses. African Eagle understandsthat these unclassified historical estimates refer to sulphide mineralisationonly, as oxide copper mineralisation was of little interest at that time. The Lower Roan rocks are well exposed in the project area, forming a 30m highridge which can be traced for approximately 12km along strike. African Eagle hasconducted a phase I exploration programme over Mokambo South, comprisinggeological mapping, geochemical soil sampling and gamma ray spectrometersurveys, and is currently extending this coverage to Mokambo North. Drilling has started on a programme of 11 exploratory diamond drill holes,spaced at approximately one kilometre intervals, to test the continuity of themineralisation and to establish the stratigraphic succession along strike. Basedon this initial exploration programme, a resource definition drill programmewill be implemented in 2008. Under the Heads of Agreement, CML and AFE each have a 50% participating interestin the Mokambo Project. AFE will be the manager and operator of the project, andexploration and development will be funded pro-rata by both companies. The Headswill be replaced by a more formal joint venture agreement in due course. CML is a private UK based mining company with copper exploration and developmentprojects at Mokambo and at Deziwa and Ecaille near Kolwezi in the DRC. John ParkChairmanAfrican Eagle Resources plc 5 December 2007 For further information, see the Company's web site www.africaneagle.co.uk orcontact one of the following: Mark ParkerManaging Director+44 20 7248 6059+44 77 5640 6899 Ed Portman/ Leesa PetersConduit PR+44 20 7429 6607 / +44 (0) 7733 635 01 James DuncanRussell & Associates, Johannesburg+ 27 11 8803924 / +27 82 8928052 About African Eagle African Eagle is a diversified mineral exploration and development companyoperating in eastern and central Africa. The Company's principal advancedprojects are the Mkushi Copper Mines project in Zambia and the Miyabi goldproject in Tanzania, which are being fast-tracked towards production. TheCompany also holds a large well-balanced portfolio of promising earlier stagegold and base metal projects, including the Ndola copper project and the EagleEye iron-oxide copper gold project. Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, the sites of African Eagle's projects, are allcountries which have highly prospective geology, relatively low abovegroundrisks and track records of successful major investments in the metals andminerals industries. African Eagle specialises in project generation and exploration. To take itsdiscoveries into production, it seeks to sign up industry partners with recordsof successful mine development. These joint ventures and, in time, the revenuefrom advanced projects, will finance future exploration and new discoveries. Qualified Person Information in this report relating to exploration results is based on datareviewed by Mr Christopher Davies BSc, MSc, DIC, FSEG, FAusIMM, OperationsDirector for African Eagle, who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute ofMining and Metallurgy, has more than 26 years relevant experience in mineralexploration and is a Qualified Person under AIM rules. Mr Davies consents to theinclusion of the information in the form and context in which it appears. Technical terms A glossary of technical terms used by African Eagle in this announcement andother published material may be found at www.africaneagle.co.uk/african-eagle-projects-glossary.html This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange