Amara Mining Regulatory News (AMA)

24 Oct 2006 07:01

Cluff Gold PLC24 October 2006 24 October 2006 CLUFF GOLD PLC Development Go Ahead for Kalsaka and Angovia Projects - Appointment of Mining Contractor and Project Engineer Cluff Gold Plc ("Cluff Gold" or "the Company") today announces the Board'sdecision to proceed and bring into production the Angovia Gold Project ("Angovia") in Cote d'Ivoire and the Kalsaka Gold Project (''Kalsaka'') in Burkina Faso.The Company is fully funded to develop Angovia and to initiate development workat Kalsaka. As a result of this, the Company has appointed Banlaw Africa Ltd (''Banlaw'') asthe mining contractor and Anthony G Smith ("Tony Smith") as project engineer forboth Kalsaka and Angovia. Banlaw is a company based in Ghana, from where itprovides contract mining, earthworks, civil engineering and environmentalservices to mining companies in West Africa. Banlaw has extensive experiencemanaging mining projects in this region and existing clients include GoldfieldsGhana Limited at its Tarkwa Gold Mine and Newmont Ghana Gold Limited at itsAhafo Gold Mine. Most recently Banlaw has been awarded the task of preparing thesite earthworks at the Perkoa Zinc project in Burkina Faso for the AIM companyAIM Resources Limited. Tony Smith is a metallurgical engineer with over twenty years experience in themining industry, mainly in Australia and West Africa where he managed thedevelopment, construction and operation of various heap leach projects includingthe Ayanfuri Gold Mine previously operated by Cluff Resources plc. As projectengineer, Tony will be responsible for the engineering, procurement,construction and management for Kalsaka and Angovia. In addition to these appointments, Cluff Gold has begun ordering key miningequipment, including two refurbished MMD Mineral Sizers (crushers) and sparesfor use at Kalsaka and Angovia. Douglas Chikohora, Technical Director of Cluff Gold plc, comments, " Theappointment of a mining contractor and project engineer are key milestones inthe development of Kalsaka and Angovia. We look forward to working with Banlawand Tony Smith, who are both experienced operators. Our combined knowledge ofWest Africa will be extremely beneficial to the successful transformation of theCompany as we move from exploration to production.'' For further information, please contact: Cluff Gold WH Ireland Parkgreen Communications J.G. Cluff / Douglas Chikohora David YoungmanCathy Malins / Annabel Leather Chairman / Technical Director Tel: +44 (0)161 832 2174 Tel:+44 (0)20 7493 3713 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7340 9790 Notes to Editors: Kalsaka, Burkina Faso Kalsaka is located approximately 150km north west of Ouagadougou, the capital ofBurkina Faso, and contains an oxide gold mineral resource of 600,000 ounces thathas been demonstrated, by a feasibility study, to be technically amenable toopen-pit mining and processing via heap leaching. Water, environmental andmining permits for the project have been granted. The mining permit is valid fortwenty years. Mt. Yaoure, Cote d'Ivoire The Mt. Yaoure permit is located 40km northwest of Yamoussoukro, the politicalcapital of Cote d'Ivoire, and covers a surface area of 534km(2). The licencearea includes the Angovia gold mine which operated between 1998 and 2003. Themine reportedly produced over 180,000 ounces of gold during this period by heapleaching some 2 million tonnes of oxide material. The Cote d'Ivoire governmenthas issued a certificate to CMA, a subsidiary of COGEMA, the French uraniummining group, evidencing that it has complied with the work prescribed by themining regulations relating to the protection of the environment and therestoration of the part of the licence area covered by the Angovia gold mine. The infrastructure in the area is good and includes a hydroelectric dam sixkilometres from the Angovia mine site. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange