Empire Metals Regulatory News (EEE)

Noricum Gold Limited / EPIC: NMG / Sector: Natural Resources

15 July 2015

Noricum Gold Limited ('Noricum Gold' or 'the Company')

Acquires a 50% interest in Advanced, High Grade Copper and Gold Licences in Georgia, with Excellent Production Potential

The Board of Noricum Gold is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 50% interest, and operational control, of the 861 km2 Bolnisi Project ('Bolnisi' or the 'Project'). The Project which is located in the Republic of Georgia contains multiple, large copper & gold non-JORC resources.

Highlights

· Transaction represents a major transformation for the Company. Total mineral resources (non-JORC, C1, C2 & P1 Soviet Reserves & Resources) for the overall project area are both significant and scalable, comprising:

o 980,000 tonnes of contained copper;

o 6.6 million ounces of gold;

o 22 million ounces of silver.

· Title is secured via a 30 year exploration & mining licence which surrounds an existing operating mine and production facilities (owned by the Company's joint venture partner) providing immediate access to toll treatment infrastructure;

· Three high priority, drill ready targets within the Bolnisi landholding, each has an existing high grade resource inventory (non-JORC, C1 & C2 Soviet Reserves) including;

o 450,000 tonnes of copper ('Cu') (average grade 1.31%)

o 835,000 oz of gold ('Au') (average grade 1.16 g/t)

o 20 million ounces of silver ('Ag') (average grade 23.71 g/t)

o 22,000 tonnes of lead ('Pb') (average grade 1.23%)

o 52,000 tonnes of zinc ('Zn') (average grade 2.9%)

o 1.5 million tonnes of Barite ('BaSO4') (average grade 27%)

· Short term focus, utilising existing cash reserves, to immediately commence work programmes necessary to increase the resource base whilst at the same time converting the historical non-JORC into JORC compliant resources

o The assessment of short term production opportunities will also be prioritised;

· Acquisition price of £2.6 million satisfied through the issue of 1,299,999,980 new ordinary shares (no cash component) represents significant and immediate accretive value event for shareholders whilst allowing for immediate commencement on work programs utilising existing cash reserves;

· Structured via Noricum Gold's acquisition of 100% of GMC Investments Limited ('GMC'), which owns 50% of Georgian Copper & Gold Limited ('GCGL'), the licence holder;

· Issue of 80,000,000 options to vendors of GMC. The options granted vest on Admission, have an exercise period of 8 months and an exercise price of 0.4 pence per Ordinary Share.

· Structure ensures both the JV partner, Caucasian Mining Group ('CMG') and the Company's interests are aligned with Shareholders;

· The Company has access to CMG's extensive in-country expertise and infrastructure within Georgia, including a full geophysics team and a state of the art assay laboratory;

· Noricum Gold is required to spend US$6 million over 2 years on exploration and development, after which CMG is required to contribute or dilute;

· Martyn Churchouse to join the board as Executive Director. Martin has 33 years' exploration experience in Europe and Africa, mine development, mine feasibility and mine management.

Noricum CEO Greg Kuenzel said, "This acquisition represents a significant transformation for Noricum, from a grass roots explorer into a major resource developer. Being selected to partner in the development of these globally significant deposits is a game changing event for us. Acquiring Bolnisi via an all share transaction ensures the interests of our joint venture partner and those of our shareholders are aligned. At the same time, it exposes our shareholders to an immediate and significant value event. With a 30 year Exploration and Mining Licence, nearby modern and high quality processing infrastructure owned by our partner, and the appointment of a highly experienced executive with a strong understanding of the assets and a background in developing mines, this is a remarkable value-add acquisition, which positions us well for rapid short term growth.

"As part of this strategy, the Company will immediately move to implement a programme aimed at converting the historical resources to JORC compliant resources. I look forward to updating shareholders on our activities in Georgia in coming weeks and months."

Further Information

Noricum Gold has acquired 100% of GMC for £2.6 million to be satisfied by the issue of 1,299,999,980 new ordinary shares of no par value in the Company at a deemed price of 0.2 pence per share (the "Consideration Shares").

The Consideration Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of no par value in the capital of the Company. Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the Consideration Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ('Admission'). It is expected that Admission will become effective on or around 21 July 2015.As a result of the issue of the Consideration Shares, the issued share capital of the Company now consists of 2,693,771,064 ordinary shares of no par value.

In addition, vendors of GMC have been granted options over a total of 80,000,000 Ordinary Shares of no par value. The options granted vest on Admission, have an exercise period of 8 months and an exercise price of 0.4 pence per Ordinary Share.

GMC owns 50% of Georgian Copper & Gold Limited ('GCGL'), a company registered in the Republic of Georgia, which holds the 861 km2 Bolnisi exploration licence also located in Georgia. The other 50% of GCG is owned by CMG.

Noricum Gold has a commitment to spend $6 million over two years. At this point CMG will either contribute to the ongoing operations or have its interest diluted.

The Bolnisi Licence

Following completion of the acquisition, Noricum Gold will have operational control over the Project. The under-explored Bolnisi VMS district forms part of the larger Tethyan Belt regional trend that includes well-known mines and resources such as Murgul, 14.5Mt @ 3.0% Cu, Ceratepe, 4Mt @ 5% Cu & 1g/t Au and 5.5Mt @ 4.3g/t Au & 148g/t Ag, Kadjaran, 1.76bnt @ 0.27% Cu & 0.006% Mo and Teghut, 460Mt @ 0.36% Cu. The Madnelui VMS Camp owned and operated by RMG (also owned by our local partner) is reported to contain a sulphide resource of approximately 80Mt @ 1.0% Cu & 0.80g/t Au.

The Company's activities will ultimately be focused on capitalising upon Bolnisi's near term production potential. In addition, the Project surrounds the fully operational Madneuli mine that has been developed by Noricum Gold's partner, and is therefore in close proximity to state-of the-art infrastructure that can support further production.

Bolnisi has received circa $35 million of investment to date by CMG on top of a considerable amount of historical drilling. A non-JORC resource (Soviet C1 & C2 Reserves) exists across the 3 priority sites:

· 450,000 tonnes of copper (avg grade 1.31%);

· 835,000 oz of gold (1.16 g/t);

· 20 Moz of silver (23.71 g/t);

· 22,000 tonnes of lead (1.23%);

· 52,000 tonnes of zinc (2.9%);

· 1.5 Mt Barite (BaSO4) (27%).

Importantly, a larger regional target (including Soviet P1 Resources) has also been identified whereupon a non-JORC resource of 980,000 tonnes of Cu, 6.6 Moz of Au and 22 Moz of Ag has been delineated.

With these extensive, high grade resources in hand, the Company's initial activities will focus on converting the resources delineated across 2-3 three target areas to JORC standards, Additionally, over the coming months the Company plans to implement modern techniques to explore and identify new high grade opportunities in the VMS setting as well as porphyry deposits, which are proven to exist distal to the VMS camp but have never been followed-up.

Induced polarization has been the exploration method of choice with considerable historical success in delineating sulphide bodies. Noricum Gold plans to scale up this technique with larger arrays, 3D inversions of data sets and significantly increasing the power applied. In addition in the correct stratigraphic areas electromagnetic methods could be utilised to search for footwall massive sulphides.

Under the terms of the agreement, Noricum Gold will have access to CMG's resources and personnel in Georgia, including a full geophysics team and a state-of-the-art assay laboratory that has fire assay, core preparation and core storage facilities on site.

Martyn Churchouse Appointment

Mr. Churchouse is a geologist with 33 years' experience in Europe and Africa in exploration, mine development, feasibility and as a mine manager. He worked for Anglo American and Gold Fields before joining the junior mining sector and has been involved in bringing a number of exploration companies to the AIM market. Mr. Churchouse is currently acting as a senior adviser to Lundin Mining Corporation's New Business Development Division.

Martyn John Churchouse, aged 56, currently holds or has held the following directorships and partnerships in the last five years:

There is no other information that is required to be disclosed pursuant to Schedule 2 paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

Competent Person Statement

The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Jeremy Whybrow, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Jeremy Whybrow has sufficient experience, relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking, to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Jeremy Whybrow has reviewed this announcement and consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

**ENDS**

For further information please visit www.noricumgold.com or contact: