3 May 2013 11:50

Avocet Mining PLC - employee share awards
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Avocet Mining PLC ('Avocet' or 'the Company') announces employee share awards to Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibility ('PDMRs'), as set out below.
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Annual Incentive awards
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The following deferred bonus share awards have been made to PDMRs under the Annual Incentive scheme:
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Name | No of shares |
David Cather | 14,925 |
Mike Norris | 16,788 |
Total | 31,713 |
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These deferred shares vest on 2 May 2014.
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Employee Share options awards
The Company announces the award of 180,000 options over ordinary shares of 5 pence in the Company ('Options') to Mark Platts, a PDMR who was recently appointed as General Manager, Metallurgy and Projects, on 2 May 2013 ('the Grant Date').
These Options have an exercise price of 16.75 pence, the close price on the day preceding the Grant Date.
These Options will not normally be exercisable before 2 May 2016, the third anniversary of the Grant Date. In addition to the normal scheme rules, these options have an additional performance criterion in order to be fully exercisable, namely that the 30-day volume-weighted average price ('VWAP') for Avocet shares must exceed 80 pence in the period between the Grant Date and the 2 May 2016 (the 'Service Period').
If the maximum 30-day VWAP during the Service Period is between 40 pence and 80 pence, the number of options which become exercisable will be a pro rata scale between 25% of the number of options awarded (for 40 pence) and 100% of the options awarded (for 80 pence). If the maximum 30-day VWAP during the Service Period does not reach 40 pence, no options will be exercisable.
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PDMR interests
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As a result of the above transactions, interests in shares held by PDMRs, either directly, through connected persons (eg family members), or within the EBT or Avocet Shareholder Incentive Plan ('SIP') will be as follows:
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 | Shares owned | Restricted shares held in EBT/SIP | PSP shares | Share options | ||
 |  | EBT | SIP | Total |  |  |
D Cather | 50,000 | 14,925 | - | 14,925 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 |
M Norris | 525,695 | 16,788 | 1,951 | 18,739 | 525,000 | 1,670,000 |
R Edey | 100,000 | 91,500 | - | 91,500 | - | - |
R Pilkington | 222,763 | - | - | - | - | - |
M Donoghue | 38,029 | - | - | - | - | - |
R Gray | 521,224 | - | - | - | 130,000 | 365,000 |
P Flindell | 562,151 | - | - | - | 130,000 | 865,000 |
J Wynn | 548 | 31,346 | 2,367 | 33,713 | 195,000 | 625,000 |
J Lee | 48,993 | 12,404 | - | 12,404 | - | 275,000 |
R Demblon | - | - | - | - | 195,000 | 485,000 |
J McNair | - | - | - | - | - | 400,000 |
R Simmons | 2,324 | - | - | - | - | 505,000 |
M Platts | - | - | - | - | - | 180,000 |
 | 2,071,727 | 166,963 | 4,318 | 171,281 | 2,175,000 | 6,370,000 |
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
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Avocet Mining PLC | Pelham Bell PottingerFinancial PR Consultants | J.P. Morgan CazenoveLead Broker | Arctic SecuritiesFinancial Adviser & Market Maker | SEB EnskildaFinancial Adviser &Market Maker |
David Cather, CEOMike Norris, FDRob Simmons, IR | Daniel Thöle | Michael Wentworth-Stanley | Arne WengerPetter Bakken | Fredrik Cappelen |
+44 20 7766 7676 | +44 20 7861 3232Â | +44 20 7742 4000 Â | +47 2101 3100 | +47 2100 8500 |
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Avocet Mining is a gold mining and exploration company listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: AVM.L) and the Oslo Børs (ticker: AVM.OL). The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration in West Africa.
In Burkina Faso the Company owns 90% of the Inata Gold Mine. The deposit at Inata currently comprises a Mineral Resource of 4.7 million ounces and an Ore Reserve of 0.9 million ounces. The Inata Gold Mine poured its first gold in December 2009 and produced 135,189 ounces of gold in 2012. Other assets in Burkina Faso include eight exploration permits surrounding the Inata Gold Mine in the broader Bélahouro region. The most advanced of these projects is Souma, some 20 kilometres from the Inata Gold Mine, where there is a Mineral Resources estimate of 0.8 million ounces.
In Guinea, Avocet owns exploration licences in the north east of the country. Mineral Resource development has been ongoing since 2005 and the Tri-K project is the most advanced, which currently has a Mineral Resource estimate of 3.2 million ounces and where a feasibility study is underway.