9 Jul 2010 07:00
AVOCET MINING PLC
BOARD APPOINTMENTS
RUSSELL EDEY TO SUCCEED NIGEL MCNAIR SCOTT AS CHAIRMAN
BARRY ROURKE APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF AUDIT COMMITTEE
Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Russell Philip Edey (age 67) was on 8 July 2010 appointed to the Board as a Non-executive Director and Chairman-elect. It is intended that Russell will be appointed Chairman on 15 September 2010.
Mr Edey retired as Chairman of AngloGold Ashanti Limited in May 2010 having been a member of that company's board since 1998. He is a Non-executive Director of Old Mutual PLC and several companies in the Rothschild Group, which he joined in 1977. Prior to that, he worked for Anglo American Corporation of South Africa Limited in South Africa and Australia.
Nigel McNair Scott will step down as Chairman of the Board on 15 September 2010. He has been Chairman of Avocet for 15 years, since the Company's listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1996, and for five years prior to that as Chairman of the Company's predecessor, Avocet Ventures, in Vancouver - a total of 20 years.
Avocet also announces that Barry John William Rourke (age 59) was on 8 July 2010 appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director, and was appointed Chairman of the Audit Committee. Mr Rourke served as a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 17 years, acting as an advisor and auditor for several large and medium-sized businesses in both the public and private sector before retiring in 2001. He has significant experience in the resources sector as an independent Non-executive Director of several companies, and has been Chairman of the Audit Committee at a number of these.
Nigel McNair Scott commented:
"I have overseen Avocet's development as an emerging mid-tier gold producer and believe the company is now well positioned for growth and development in West Africa. I am delighted to bring on board Russell Edey, whose track record of strong leadership at one of the world's largest and most successful gold producers will be a significant advantage as Avocet goes forward. Barry Rourke is also a welcome addition to the Board of Avocet as the Chairman of the Audit Committee. His finance and resource sector experience will help assist Avocet's overall strategy as it grows to become a leading gold mining and exploration company".
Details of the companies and partnerships of which Mr Edey has been a director or partner in the last five years are set out below:
| Current Directorships and Partnerships | Former Directorships and Partnerships
|
| Conseil de Surveillance of Paris Orleans SA | Associated British Ports plc |
| Old Mutual plc | FKI PLC |
| N M Rothschild & Sons (South Africa) Pty Limited | AngloGold Ashanti Ltd |
| N M Rothschild China Holdings AG | N M Rothschild & Sons (Washington) LLC |
| N M Rothschild Corporate Finance Limited | N M Rothschild Australia Holdings Pty Limited |
| Rothschild Australia Limited | RNR Holdings Inc |
| Rothschilds Continuation Limited | N M Rothschild & Sons (Hong Kong) Limited |
| Shield MBCA Limited | N M Rothschild & Sons (Singapore) Limited |
| Shield Trust Limited |
|
| Southern Arrows (Pty) Limited |
|
There is no further information to disclose in relation to Mr Edey's appointment pursuant to Schedule 2, paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.
Details of the companies and partnerships of which Mr Rourke has been a director or partner in the last five years are set out below:
| Current Directorships and Partnerships | Former Directorships and Partnerships
|
| 3Legs Resources plc | Columbus Acquisitions Inc |
| Croydon Economic Development Company | Cadogan Petroleum plc |
| New World Resources NV |
|
| Ruukki Group plc |
|
| Surrey and Borders Partnership |
|
In 2009, Columbus Acquisitions Inc, which had been established as an investment company, completed a voluntary liquidation process after failing to conclude a business combination within the timeframe required by its certificate of incorporation, with funds being returned to shareholders. There is no further information to disclose in relation to Mr Rourke's appointment pursuant to Schedule 2, paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.
| For further information please contact:
| |||||
| Avocet Mining PLC | Buchanan Communications | Ambrian Partners Limited | J.P. Morgan Cazenove | Arctic Securities | First Securities |
| Financial PR Consultants | NOMAD and Joint Broker | Lead Broker | Financial Adviser | Financial Adviser | |
| Brett Richards, Interim CEO Mike Norris, FD Hans-Arne L'orange, EVP Business Development & Investor Relations | Bobby Morse Katharine Sutton | Richard Brown Richard Greenfield | Michael Wentworth-Stanley Anish Patel | Arne Wenger Kim Galtung Døsvig | Stein Hansen Eirik Lilledahl |
| +44 20 7766 7676 | +44 20 7466 5000 +44 7802 875227 | +44 20 7634 4700 | +44 20 7588 2828 | +47 21013100 | +47 2323 8000 |
| www.avocet.co.uk | www.buchanan.uk.com | www.ambrian.com | www.jpmcazenove.com | www.arcticsec.no | www.first.no |
Notes to Editors
Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") is a gold mining company listed on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange (Ticker: AVM) and as of 16 June 2010 is also listed on the Oslo Børs (Ticker: AVM). The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration in Burkina Faso (as 90 per cent owner of the Inata gold mine), Malaysia (as 100 per cent owner of the Penjom gold mine, the country's largest gold producer) and Indonesia (as 80 per cent owner of the North Lanut gold mine and Bakan project in North Sulawesi).
The Company recently announced that it had initiated exploration within the Inata Mining Licence area and in the surrounding Bélahouro district with the objective of significantly increasing Inata's resource and reserve base as well as investigating the highly prospective Souma Trend, located 20 km from the Inata mill. The Company has a number of other advanced exploration projects in West Africa and South East Asia.
Background to operations
Inata has a resource of 1.7 million ounces and reserves of 932,000 ounces. Inata poured first gold in December 2009 and has now reached production in excess of 10,000 ounces per month. Other assets in West Africa include exploration licences in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali (the most advanced being the Tri-K gold exploration project in Guinea with a resource of 666,500 ounces).
Penjom is Malaysia's largest gold mine and was developed by Avocet after applying modern technology to grass roots exploration in an area of historic alluvial mining. The mine is located in Pahang State, approximately 120 km north of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur.
North Lanut in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, was developed by Avocet from the exploration stage and has produced over 270,000 ounces since it was commissioned in 2004. North Lanut is located within a Contract of Work which includes exploration and mining rights over approximately 50,000 hectares in an area highly prospective for gold. Avocet holds an 80 per cent interest and an Indonesian company, PT Lebong Tandai, owns the remaining 20 per cent.