AVM.L Regulatory News (AVM)

5 May 2006 07:01

Avocet Mining PLC05 May 2006 AVOCET MINNG PLC 5 May 2006 ISSUE OF EQUITY Avocet Mining PLC ("the Company" or "Avocet") is pleased to announce thatEvolution Securities Limited ("Evolution") has placed 15,250,000 new ordinaryshares of 5p each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") on behalf of the Companywith institutional investors at a price of 200 pence per new Ordinary Share ("Placing Price"), raising £30.5 million gross for the Company ("the Placing").The Placing Price represents a small premium to the 25 day average of theclosing middle market price and a discount of 7.5 per cent. to the closingmiddle market price of 216.5 pence per Ordinary Share on 4 May 2006. Up to US$25 million of the proceeds of the Placing will be used to further theCompany's development of a new gold mine at the Bakan district in Indonesia,close to the Company's current mine at North Lanut. Up to US$15 million will beused to accelerate the Company's exploration efforts over all its near minethrough to grassroots exploration projects. Since the Company announced anexpanded mine life at the Penjom mine in Malaysia it has been reviewing thepotential move to an owner operator truck fleet. Up to US$10 million of thePlacing proceeds will be used to further this process. Any additional fundsraised will be used to pay the legal and brokerage costs of the Placing and forgeneral corporate purposes. The Placing is conditional, inter alia, upon admission of the new OrdinaryShares to AIM becoming effective on or before Wednesday, 10 May 2006 or suchlater date as the Company and Evolution may agree ("Admission"). The new Ordinary Shares will, on Admission, rank pari passu in all respects withthe existing Ordinary Shares in the Company and application is being made forthe new Ordinary Shares to be admitted to AIM. Admission is expected to becomeeffective by 8.00am Wednesday, 10 May 2006. Following the Placing, the Companywill have 121,526,530 Ordinary Shares in issue. The Company also notes that, on account of institutional demand, Evolution hasplaced 10,000,000 existing Ordinary Shares at the Placing Price on behalf ofElliott International LP and an affiliate of Elliott Associates ("Elliott"),conditional on Admission. Following this Placing, Elliott will hold 18,693,852Ordinary Shares in the Company representing 15.4 per cent. of the enlargedissued share capital. Avocet is a mining company listed on the AIM market of the London StockExchange. The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration inMalaysia (as 100% owner of the Penjom mine, the country's largest goldproducer), Tajikistan (as 75% owner and operator of the ZGC, Tajikistan'sprincipal gold mine), and Indonesia (as 80% owner of the North Lanut gold minein North Sulawesi). The Company has a number of advanced mining and explorationprojects in Asia and owns 26% of Dynasty Gold Corporation, a Canadian listedexploration company active in Western China. _______________________________________________________________________________ For further information please contact: Avocet Mining PLC Evolution Securities LimitedJohn Catchpole (Chief Executive) Rob Collins - 020 7071 4311Jonathan Henry (Finance Director)020 7907 9000 Grant Thornton (UK) LLPwww.avocet.co.uk Philip Secrett - 0870 991 2578 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange