4 Aug 2008 13:13
AIM: CLF
Cluff Gold plc
("Cluff Gold" or "the Company")
Date 4 August 2008
Cluff Gold Completes Acquisition of 100% of the Baomahun Gold Project in Sierra Leone
Cluff Gold plc, the West African focused gold mining company, announces that all conditions relating to its acquisition of the 40% interest in the Baomahun Gold Project in Sierra Leona which it does not already own (the "Acquisition"), from Dumarchal Nominee Limited and Ronald Winston, have now been satisfied.
Accordingly and further to its announcement on 27 February 2008, the Company confirms that completion of the Acquisition has now occurred.
In accordance with the terms of the agreement and as consideration for the Acquisition, the Company has today issued in aggregate 12,390,909 ordinary shares in the Company to Dumarchal Nominee Limited (the "Consideration Shares").
Application has been made for the Consideration Shares to be admitted to AIM and it is expected that trading in the Consideration Shares will commence on or around 8 August 2008.
The total number of ordinary shares of the Company in issue following the issue of the Consideration Shares will be 96,769,300.
Dumarchal Nominee Limited is now the registered holder of 12,390,909 ordinary shares in the Company, representing approximately 12.8% of the total number of ordinary shares now in issue, of which Ronald Winston is the beneficial holder of 12,143,091 shares. Ronald Winston, is interested in a further 240,500 ordinary shares and, therefore, has an aggregate interest in 12,383,591 ordinary shares of the Company, representing approximately 12.8% of the total number of shares now in issue.
Upon regulatory approval, Mr. Winston will join the Board of Directors of Cluff Gold plc and take on the Chairmanship of Baomahun Gold Limited, the Sierra Leone based wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company which holds the mining lease. Mr. Winston who is now the Honorary Chairman of Harry Winston Diamonds Inc (NYSE: HWD) will bring to the table over thirty years of experience in building and running a major commercial enterprise, along with a wide range of experience in Africa and Sierra Leone in particular.. The information required by paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies in respect of Mr Winston will be notified upon his appointment
Baomahun Project
* Cluff Gold now owns 100 per cent of the Baomahun Gold Project;
* On 17 July 2008, the Company announced the grant by the Government of Sierra Leone to Baomahun Gold
Limited, now a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of the Company, of a Mining Lease for 25 years over an area of
59.85sq kilometres; and
* On 25 June 2008, the Company announced a seven fold increase in Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources
to 867,000 ounces of gold (8,933,000 tonnes grading 2.9 g/t Au) and an overall increase
of Mineral Resources (Measured, Indicated and Inferred) to 1,353,000 ounces of gold (14,016,000 tonnes grading
3.0 g/t Au).
Mr J G Cluff, Chairman and Chief Executive commented "The completion of the acquisition of the outstanding interest in the Baomahun Gold Project represents an important step for the Company. We have worked diligently with Mr. Winston as a joint-venture partner over the last few years and we are very pleased that he is now a valued member of our Company. We now own 100 per cent of a growing gold resource over which we hold a new Mining Lease valid for 25 years. Drilling is expected to resume at the end of the rainy season in October 2008. We plan to announce a further Resource Update in September 2008 based on assay results currently being processed".
Enquiries:
| Cluff Gold plc J.G. Cluff / Douglas Chikohora Chairman / Technical Director Tel: +44 (0) 20 7340 9790 | WH Ireland Limited David Youngman / Katy Mitchell Tel: +44 (0) 161 832 2174 |
| Farm Street Media Simon Robinson Tel: +44 (0) 7887 985671 |
Notes to Editors:
About Cluff Gold plc
Cluff Gold plc is focused on the identification, acquisition and development of gold deposits in West Africa that are amenable to open-pit mining and low cost production techniques.
The Company has made significant progress since its admission to AIM in December 2004, increasing gold resources across its projects, expanding the project portfolio and broadening the investor base to an increasingly international audience.
Mt. Yaoure, Cote d'Ivoire
The Mt. Yaoure permit is located 40km northwest of Yamoussoukro, the political capital of Cote d'Ivoire, and covers a surface area of 417km2 including a 50 km2 mining permit. The licence area includes the Angovia gold mine which operated between 1998 and 2003. The mine reportedly produced over 180,000 ounces of gold during this period by heap leaching some 2 million tonnes of oxide material.
The infrastructure in the area is good and includes a hydroelectric dam six kilometres from the Angovia mine site. A measured and indicated JORC compliant resource of 451,000 ounces and an inferred JORC compliant resource of 44,000 ounces has so far been delineated.
Recently, the Company announced the commencement of gold production at Angovia at an annualized rate of 40,000 ounces of gold by the end of this year.
Kalsaka, Burkina Faso
Kalsaka is located approximately 150km north west of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. A measured and indicated JORC compliant resource of 634,000 ounces and inferred JORC compliant resource of 157,000 ounces has been delineated so far. The resource has been demonstrated, by a feasibility study, to be technically amenable to open-pit mining and processing via heap leaching. Water, environmental and mining permits for the project have been granted. The mining permit is valid for twenty years.
Construction has commenced at Kalsaka and commissioning is expected to commence in Q3, 2008 with production estimated to reach 60,000 ounces on an annualized rate by the end of this year.
BAOMAHUN, SIERRA LEONE
The Baomahun Gold Project covers an area of about 137 km2 and is located about 180 kilometres east of Freetown, in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. The geological setting is similar to the Lake Victoria goldfields in Tanzania.
The Baomahun licence area covers more than 12 kilometres of prospective strike along the Kangari Hills which is composed of Archaean greenstone belt terrain consisting of banded iron formation (BIF) Gold mineralisation in the drilled areas is intimately associated with the BIF and other lithologies in close proximity to the BIF. Accordingly, future exploration and drilling will continue to use the BIF as a marker horizon for auriferous zones along the belt.
A measured and indicated JORC compliant mineral resource of 867,000 ounces of gold (8,933,000 tonnes grading 2.9 g/t Au) and inferred JORC compliant mineral resource of 486,000 ounces of gold (5,083,000 tonnes grading 3.0 g/t Au). A total JORC compliant mineral resource (measured, indicated and inferred) of 1,353,000 ounces of gold (14,016,000 tonnes grading 3.0 g/t Au) has so far been delineated.
On 17 July 2008, the Company announced that the Government of Sierra Leone had granted Baomahun Gold Limited, a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of the Company, a Mining Lease for 25 years over an area of 59.85sq kilometres.
Cluff Gold now holds 100 per cent of the Baomahun Gold Project. Cluff Gold announced on 4 August 2008 that it had acquired the outstanding 40 per cent interest in the project for US$21.8 million which was satisfied by the issue of 12,390,909 ordinary shares in the Company.
A Full Technical Glossary can be found on the company website at:
http://www.cluffgold.com/pages/projects_glossary.asp
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END