29 Sep 2010 07:00
AVOCET MINING PLC
INATA MINERAL RESERVE INCREASED BY 25% TO 1.08 MILLION OUNCES GOLD,
AND MINE LIFE EXTENDED
Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") announces a new Proven and Probable Ore Reserve ("Mineral Reserve") at Inata of 16.3 million tonnes grading 2.06 g/t Au for 1,081,500 ounces of gold (973,310 ounces attributable to Avocet), and a mine life extended to 2018 at an average annual production of 120,000 ounces.
The new Mineral Reserve represents an increase of 235,600 ounces or 25%, after allowing for depletion to the end of August 2010, and 149,100 ounces or a 16% increase over the previously published Mineral Reserve as at 31 December 2009 of 14.0 Mt @ 2.08 g/t Au for 932,400 ounces (839,200 ounces attributable to Avocet). The new Mineral Reserve is the result of economic analysis and a revised pit design following the updated Mineral Resource for Inata announced on 7 September 2010.
The table below reports the Mineral Reserve beneath the 31 August 2010 topographic surface and above a 0.7 g/t Au economic cut off grade.
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| Metric tonnes | Grade (g/t Au) | Gold ounces | Attributable ounces(1) |
| In-pit Ore Reserves | ||||
| Proven | 10,540,000 | 2.09 | 707,500 | 636,750 |
| Probable | 5,360,000 | 2.00 | 345,800 | 311,220 |
| ROM Stockpiles | ||||
| Proven | 400,000 | 2.19 | 28,200 | 25,340 |
| Total | 16,300,000 | 2.06 | 1,081,500 | 973,310 |
1) Government of Burkina Faso owns 10% of SMB which owns and operates the Inata Gold Mine
The new Mineral Reserve follows a pit optimisation study that was based on a gold price of US$1,000 per ounce of gold, compared with US$800 per ounce previously used, and revised operating costs. After taking into account these factors, the resulting cut off grade remained unchanged at 0.7 g/t Au. The increase in Mineral Reserve is therefore attributable to the changes in the Mineral Resource model, which have facilitated extensions of the Inata North, Far South and Minfo pits. These extensions add over two years to the original seven year life of mine, which had been at an average production rate of 120,000 ounces per annum until 2016. The Mineral Reserve increase announced today means that the remaining life of mine at 31 August 2010 is now eight years to 2018 with a similar average production rate.
Avocet is commencing a 200,000 metre drilling program to delineate additional resources in and around the Inata deposit and to sterilise infrastructure expansion sites. The results of this program will form the basis of next year's Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve upgrade, expected in Q3 2011.
Commenting on the Mineral Reserve upgrade at Inata, Brett Richards, Chief Executive Officer for Avocet, stated:
"Further to the recently reported Mineral Resource upgrade, the increased Mineral Reserve announced today confirms our belief that Inata will become a significantly larger producer than indicated on acquisition. In addition to our efforts to further increase the Mineral Reserves in 2011, work is in progress to determine how the current capacity of the Inata processing plant can be increased to optimise the benefit of these new reserves."
The information in this announcement that relates to Mineral Reserves is based on information compiled by Kell Monro, an employee of Avocet Mining PLC. Mr. Monro has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration to qualify as Qualified Person as defined by the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) for the planning, supervision, preparation and reporting of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates under National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). Mr Monro consents to the inclusion of the technical information in this announcement in the form and context in which it appears.
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 | |
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| Brett Richards, CEO | Bobby Morse | Richard Brown | Michael Wentworth-Stanley | Arne Wenger |
| Mike Norris, FD | Katharine Sutton | Richard Greenfield | Anish Patel | |
| Hans-Arne L'orange, EVP Business Development & Investor Relations |
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| +44 20 7766 7676 | +44 20 7466 5000 | +44 20 7634 4700 | +44 20 7588 2828 | +47 21013 100 |
| +44 7802 875227 | ||||
| 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).
The Company announced in May 2010 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 Mineral Resource of 1.84 million ounces and an Ore Reserve of 1.08 million ounces. Inata poured first gold in December 2009 and has now reached a steady state production rate in excess of 12,000 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 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.