EGU.L Regulatory News (EGU)

3 Apr 2006 07:01

European Goldfields Ltd03 April 2006 For Immediate Release 3 April 2006 European Goldfields Limited APPOINTMENT OF CFO & VP OPERATIONS European Goldfields Limited (AIM: EGU / TSX: EGU) (the "Company") is pleased toannounce the appointment of Mr Timothy Morgan-Wynne as Chief Financial Officerand a director of the Company, effective 1 June 2006. He replaces David Grannellwho stepped down on 31 March to pursue other opportunities. Tim Morgan-Wynne is a Director of the Resources and Energy Group at HSBC Bankplc. He has worked in HSBC's mining sector corporate finance team since 1997,and has gained a broad experience of corporate finance and capital markets ontransactions involving companies in the UK, Europe, North America and SouthAfrica. He is a graduate of St. John's College, Cambridge and a member of theInstitute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Neil Hepworth as VicePresident, Operations of the Company. Neil joined the Company in June 2006 asSenior Mining Engineer and initially focused his attention, with the team atHellas Gold, on the launch of mining operations at Stratoni and the completionof studies for input into the business plans recently submitted to the GreekState. Neil Hepworth has over 20 years' experience as a mining engineer, most recentlywith Somincor (Neves Corvo Mine in Portugal). His expertise in undergroundmining with backfill will be central to developing the Company's major gold andbase metals projects of Skouries and Olympias in Greece. Neil will also managethe completion of feasibility studies on the Company's Certej project inRomania. Commenting on the appointments, David Reading, Chief Executive Officer ofEuropean Goldfields, said: "We are delighted to welcome Tim Morgan-Wynne to ourteam. He has strong credentials as a financial executive and has extensive duediligence, financing and M&A experience. "Neil Hepworth and the Hellas Gold team successfully launched production atStratoni in September 2005 and we are confident that they can repeat thissuccess at Skouries and Olympias. Neil has strong credentials as a miningengineer and mine operator. This makes him a solid addition to our executiveteam. David Grannell has been with us since 2003 and his contribution has beeninstrumental in turning around the company, developing our Greek assets andcementing our key partnership with Aktor. We thank David for his significantcontribution and wish him the best of success in his new ventures." Tim Morgan-Wynne added: "European Goldfields has entered into a very excitingperiod of its development, with production having commenced in Greece as well asthe recent submission of the business plans for the major gold projects. Ibelieve that European Goldfields has the assets to become one of the largestbase and precious metal mining companies in Europe and I look forward to joiningwhat I consider to be a dynamic team with a proven track record." Mr. Morgan-Wynne, aged 38, is not a director of any other company and there areno other matters under paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM rules to bedisclosed. About European Goldfields European Goldfields Limited is a resource company involved in the acquisition,exploration and development of mineral properties in Greece, Romania and theBalkans. Greece - The Company holds a 65% interest in Hellas Gold S.A. ("Hellas Gold").Hellas Gold owns assets in northern Greece which consist of three depositswithin 70-year mining concessions covering a total area of 317 km(2). Thedeposits include the polymetallic projects of Stratoni and Olympias whichcontain gold, lead, zinc and silver, and the copper/gold porphyry body referredto as Skouries. All three deposits have been well defined with over 200,000metres of drilling and the completion of feasibility studies and laterengineering studies. The total proven and probable reserves of these assets are 7.6 Moz gold, 65.8Moz silver, 0.7 Mt copper, 0.7 Mt lead and 0.9 Mt zinc, from a measured andindicated resource base of 9.4 Moz gold, 74.5 Moz silver, 1.0 Mt copper, 0.8 Mtlead and 1.1 Mt zinc (65% attributable). These assets represent some of the largest defined deposits in Europe. The threedeposits are located within a 10 km radius of each other, making thiseffectively a gold and base metals centre. Furthermore, both Stratoni andOlympias were previously in production and have extensive existing mining andplant infrastructure and a ship-loading facility on the Aegean Sea. Hellas Gold's assets also include potential revenue-generating stockpiles ofgold concentrates. In September 2005, Hellas Gold resumed production at Stratoni following theaward by the Greek State of all necessary environmental and mining permits.Hellas Gold is in the process of applying for similar permits for Olympias andSkouries, having met its first milestone by submitting business plans to theGreek government in January 2006. Romania - The Company holds five mineral properties located within the "GoldenQuadrilateral" area of Romania, where it has recently completed an in-housepre-feasibility study underpinning the value of its80%-owned Certej deposit. The Certej deposit hosts measured and indicatedresources of 31.4 Mt grading2.1 g/t gold and 11 g/t silver for 2.2 Moz gold and 11.0 Moz silver (80%attributable). For further information please contact: European Goldfields: e-mail: info@egoldfields.comDavid Reading, Chief Executive Officer website: www.egoldfields.comOffice: +44 (0)20 7408 9534 Buchanan Communications: e-mail: bobbym@buchanan.uk.comBobby Morse / Ben WilleyOffice: +44 (0)20 7466 5000Mobile: +44 (0)7802 875 227 The Sherbourne Group: e-mail: forbes@sherbournegroup.caForbes WestOffice: +1 416 203 2200 Resources & Reserves Parameters For additional information on the resource and reserve estimates quoted in thisnews release, please refer to the Company's Resources & Reserves Declaration atwww.egoldfields.com/goldfields/resources.jsp.Patrick Forward, General Manager, Exploration of the Company, was the QualifiedPerson under Canadian National Instrument 43-101 responsible for reviewing thedisclosure of resource and reserve estimates quoted in this news release. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange