AMI.L Regulatory News (AMI)

20 Feb 2009 07:00



For immediate release

20 February 2009

African Minerals Limited

 ("African Minerals" or "the Company")

Restructuring of Company Share Option Scheme and Grant of Share Options to Directors

African Minerals Limited (AIM:AMI), the mineral exploration company with significant interests in Sierra Leone, West Africa, announces the restructuring of its Share Option Scheme and the grant of share options to Company Directors under the Company's share option plan.

The Board of the Company recognises that the exercise price of all share options currently in issue is well above the Company's current share price. Therefore, in order to provide more effective incentives to Directors and senior management, the Company is offering certain option holders a choice of either retaining their existing share options (with higher exercise prices but a shorter term to expiry) or cancelling their existing options and accepting the grant of new share options with an exercise price of 50p and an expiry date five years after the date of grant ("Replacement Options").

For each option holder affected, the Black Scholes Option Pricing Model has been used to determine the fair value of the holder's existing options, such value being held constant when determining the number of Replacement Options to be offered on the new terms.  In certain instances, additional new options ("New Options") are also to be granted to further incentivise the Directors and senior managers concerned, these New Options also having an exercise price of 50p and an expiry date five years after the date of grant. Both the Replacement Options and the New Options vest in three equal tranches on the first, second and third anniversaries of the date of grant.

In addition, on 19 February 2009, the Company also granted New Options to Frank Timis, Alan Watling and Christopher Duffy. Since becoming Executive Chairman in December 2006, Mr Timis has drawn an aggregate nominal salary of £29,167 from the business. Mr Watling and Mr Duffy are recent appointees to the Board.

The exercise price of 50p represents an 82% premium over 27.5p, being the closing market price of the shares at 19 February 2009. 

Per applicable disclosure regulations under the AIM Rules, the table below shows the movement in number of options attributable to relevant directors, as defined therein, assuming full election is made by option holders and assuming the full grant of New Options:

Assuming that every option holder elects to cancel their existing share options and accepts the grant of new share options, the Company will have 13,765,455 share options in issue. Under its constitutional documents the Company is permitted to issue share options equating to 10% of its issued share capital, which as at 19 February 2009 was 187,517,441 common shares. 

Enquiries: