AVM.L Regulatory News (AVM)

2 Feb 2006 07:00

Avocet Mining PLC02 February 2006 Avocet Mining PLC 7th Floor 9 Berkeley Street London W1J 8DW Tel +44 (0) 20 7907 9000 Fax +44 (0) 20 7907 9019 E-mail avocetmining@avocet.co.uk www.avocet.co.uk News ReleaseFor Immediate Release Date 2nd February 2006 THIRD QUARTER GOLD PRODUCTION Avocet Mining is pleased to announce gold production of 54,326 ounces for thethird quarter ending 31 December 2005 (compared with 40,688 ounces for the sameperiod last year), and 158,594 ounces for the first nine months ended 31December 2005 (122,695 ounces). Gold production from Penjom in Malaysia amounted to 28,889 ounces for thequarter (28,576 ounces) and 89,422 ounces for the first nine months (87,585ounces). Production from ZGC in Tajikistan was 10,362 ounces for the quarter (11,437ounces) and 28,356 ounces for the first nine months (34,435 ounces). Productioncontinues to be constrained as ZGC undergoes an expansion programme that hasincluded the pre-stripping of waste from the main pit over the last 18 months. Production from the North Lanut dump leach mine in Indonesia was 15,075 ouncesfor the quarter (675 ounces during startup) and 40,817 ounces for the first ninemonths. John Catchpole, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Penjom continues to perform well. North Lanut is now firmly on track toproduce over 50,000 ounces for the full year. The expansion plan at ZGC hasproceeded slower than we had originally forecast although total tonnages minedduring the quarter was 40% higher than last year. We remain confident we willbe mining higher grade ore in the Jilau Main pit by the middle of the year fromwhich we will see a dramatic improvement in ZGC's gold production." 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 24% of Dynasty Gold Corporation, a Canadian listedexploration company active in Western China. ________________________________________________________________________________ For further information please contact: Avocet Mining PLCJohn Catchpole (Chief Executive)Jonathan Henry (Finance Director)020 7907 9000www.avocet.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange