ECR Minerals Regulatory News (ECR)

25 Apr 2008 07:01

Mercator Gold PLC25 April 2008 Mercator Gold plc ('Mercator Gold', 'Mercator' or 'the Company') AIM: MCR Sale of Non-Core Assets to Silver Swan Group • Sale of non-core exploration tenements to ASX-listed Silver Swan Group approved by Silver Swan shareholders. • Consideration for sale 10 million fully paid ordinary shares in Silver Swan, plus 4 million performance shares valid for five years . • Transaction allows Mercator to focus on its producing operations and most promising exploration prospects. Mercator Gold plc is pleased to announce that the shareholders of Silver SwanGroup Ltd (ASX: SWN) have approved the purchase of a package of Mercator'snon-core exploration tenements in the Meekatharra area of Western Australia. The package comprises 403km2 of granted tenements and 203km2 of tenements underapplication. The consideration for the sale is the issue to Mercator of 10,000,000 fully paidordinary shares in Silver Swan and 4,000,000 performance shares. The performance shares are valid for five years and convert to 4,000,000 fullypaid ordinary shares upon Silver Swan identifying on the tenements, or onadditional tenements acquired by Silver Swan with the assistance of Mercator,Indicated Mineral Resources of 350,000 ounces of gold or equivalent. In theevent that Silver Swan does not achieve this within the five year timeframe, theperformance shares in their entirety convert to one fully paid ordinary share inSilver Swan. Patrick Harford, Managing Director of Mercator Gold, comments: "The tenements sold to Silver Swan are not contiguous with Mercator's coreproject areas, which include the producing Surprise open pit operation and theplanned Bluebird open pit and Prohibition-Vivian-Consols undergrounddevelopments. Nevertheless these non-core tenements contain numerous base metals and goldprospects that require significant exploration to develop their full potential. The sale to Silver Swan is expected to allow that potential to be more quicklyrealised whilst still delivering substantial benefits to Mercator. Silver Swan is to embark on an aggressive exploration programme over thetenements they have acquired, and we eagerly anticipate the results." For further information please contact: Mercator Gold plcTerry Strapp, Chairman Tel: +61 (0) 412 228 422Patrick Harford, Managing Director Tel: +44 (0) 20 7929 1010 Email: info@mercatorgold.comWebsite: www.mercatorgold.com Bankside Consultants Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7367 8888Simon RothschildKeith IronsOliver Winters This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange