4 Apr 2011 07:00
AVOCET MINING PLC
UPDATE ON SOUTH EAST ASIA SALE
Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") announces that it has been informed a law suit has been filed in the Indonesian courts against the Company by PT Lebong Tandai, its partner in Indonesia, over the proposed US$200 million sale of its South East Asian assets to J&Partners, a private company backed by Indonesian businessmen ("the transaction", as announced on 24 December 2010).
The Company has not been served with a law suit but has been informed that PT Lebong Tandai has filed a claim in the Jakarta courts. Comments attributed to PT Lebong Tandai in the Indonesia press, as related in the Company's press release of 8 March 2011, indicate that the basis for a law suit would be on the grounds that Avocet acted unlawfully by entering into the transaction while still in negotiations with PT Lebong Tandai.
As stated in its press release of 8 March 2011, Avocet is confident that all actions it has taken in respect of the transaction have been in accordance with prevailing rules and regulations and there are no grounds for any such legal action. Should a law suit be served on Avocet, the Company believes it would be baseless and will defend itself vigorously.
For further information please contact:
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Avocet Mining PLC | Buchanan Communications | Ambrian Partners Limited | J.P. Morgan Cazenove | Arctic Securities |
Financial PR Consultants | NOMAD and Joint Broker | Lead Broker | Financial Adviser | |
Brett Richards, CEO Mike Norris, FD Hans-Arne L'orange, EVP Business Development & Investor Relations | Bobby Morse Katharine Sutton | Samantha Harrison Jen Boorer
| Michael Wentworth-Stanley Neil J Passmore | Arne Wenger Petter Bakken |
+44 20 7766 7676 |
+44 20 7466 5000
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+44 20 7634 4700 |
+44 20 7588 2828 |
+47 2101 3100 |
www.avocet.co.uk | www.buchanan.uk.com | www.ambrian.com | www.jpmorgancazenove.com | www.arcticsec.no |
Notes to Editors
Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") is a gold mining company listed on the AIM market of 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 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).
In December 2010 Avocet announced that it had signed a binding agreement for the conditional sale of its South East Asian assets to J&Partners L.P, a private company, for US$200 million. The transaction with J&Partners will leave Avocet as a West African gold producer with a clear strategy for growth in that region. Further details can be found in the press release dated 24 December 2010 and in the Company's preliminary results statement for 2010, dated 22 February 2011.
Background to operations
The Inata deposit presently comprises a Mineral Resource of 1.84 million ounces and a Mineral Reserve of 1.08 million ounces. Inata poured its first gold in December 2009 and has now reached a production rate in excess of 13,500 ounces per month. Other assets in West Africa include exploration permits in Burkina Faso (the most advanced being the Souma trend at Bélahouro, some 20 kilometres from Inata, with a Mineral Resource of 561,100 ounces), Guinea and Mali (the most advanced being the Tri-K gold exploration project in Guinea with a Mineral Resource of 666,500 ounces).
Penjom is Malaysia's largest gold mine and was developed by Avocet 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. The mine 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.