GoldPlat Regulatory News (GDP)

13 Jun 2007 08:45

Goldplat plc13 June 2007 Goldplat plc / Ticker: GDP / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining & Exploration 13th June 2007 Goldplat plc ('Goldplat' or 'the Company') Enters next stage of development with Kenyan Gold Mine Joint Venture Goldplat plc, the AIM listed gold producer, has formed a joint venture todevelop the gold potential of the highly prospective 213 sq km Lolgorien licencearea located in the historically producing Migori Archaean Greenstone Belt inwestern Kenya, with a view of establishing a mining operation in the short term.The agreement marks the next stage in the Company's strategy to create amid-tier mining house focused on gold production, leveraged through revenuegenerated from its gold and PGM mining by-product processing operations in SouthAfrica and Ghana. Under the joint venture agreement with International Gold Exploration AB("IGE"), a Swedish mineral exploration company quoted on the Oslo StockExchange, a new company will be formed in Kenya ("Newco") into which IGE willprovide the mineral rights and transfer all existing plant, equipment andbuildings on the Lolgorien licence area. Goldplat will provide Newco with cashand/or services and equipment to the value of US$400,000. Thereafter, each partywill contribute equally to the costs of gold exploration and production andshare equally in profits generated. The Migori Archaean Greenstone Belt, where the Lolgorien licence area islocated, is in the northern continuation of the Lake Victoria Goldfields, whichhosts many major gold deposits. This includes Barrick's multi-million ounceNorth Mara mine, which lies approximately 40 km to the southwest of theLolgorien property. The neighbouring Macalder Mine, which produced 950 kg ofgold between 1935 and 1966 and now has a resource of 1.24 million ounces ('ozs')gold, is currently being explored by a Canadian junior. The belt is exposed for90 km along a northwest strike and is approximately 11 kms wide. The structureof the Migori belt is considered to be a broad syncline with Lolgorien situatedon the southern, more highly strained limb. The licence area has been the site of considerable historical gold mining and isstill the focus of artisanal mining. Official reports, starting from the early1900s, show that between 1920 and 1950 the area produced nearly 1 million ouncesof gold. Substantial exploration and mining has historically been undertaken on theLolgorien licence area and up to ten targets have already been identified byGoldplat's geological team. Kilimapesa Hill is currently the highest prioritytarget, which is part of a 10 km long ridge of banded iron formation (BIF) onwhich there is a 1,400 m section of artisanal gold mining workings. The BIFtypically varies in width between 10-20 m although some areas reach 30 m, andthe entire zone of mineralisation is up to 60 m wide. There is a markedsimilarity between the Kilimapesa style of mineralisation and that of the 2.2million oz gold sulphide replacement BIF mineralisation at Golden Ridge, and themineralisation of Geita in Lake Victoria Goldfields. Five adits developed duringthe early 1900s have been recently re-sampled and confirm that high grade valueswere mainly situated within the BIFs, although there were also some high valuesrecorded in quartz veinlets in the adjacent lithologies. A drift followed thequartz vein for 70 m and rock chip samples frequently returned values between10-20 g/t Au. In 1999 IGE sunk a shaft and undertook development in the southern portion ofthe licence area, focusing on quartz vein swarms which recorded rock-chip samplegrading between 1 g/t Au and 140 g/t Au. There is also considerable geochemicaland drill data available from previous exploration programmes in the 1980s and1990s, which requires re-interpretation. A small processing plant is on theproperty comprising a ball mill, gravity circuit and CIL leach tanks. Many othersmall mines also exist on the property, which are either abandoned or are beingworked by artisanal miners. Goldplat's initial focus is to proceed to resource definition by taking thefollowing steps: 1. Collate all available geological and technical data and identify the most promising targets, which will be prioritised and further evaluated by; • Accessing old workings and sampling the target areas; • Trenching on surface; • Sampling of outcrop areas and other reef exposures; and • Primary development in accessible areas to access larger areas of the ore body. 2. Define available mineral resources based on the above exploration followed by feasibility studies. Demetri Manolis, CEO of Goldplat said, "This is an exciting first step towardsachieving Goldplat's strategy of becoming a leading mid-tier mining housethrough acquisition. The Lolgorien licence area has significant historicproduction and is in a region that houses some of Kenya's largest goldmines.Kenya is an attractive country for us to operate in with an active Chamber ofMines and a new Mining Act imminent, which is expected to reflect the liberalphilosophy of other countries such as neighbouring Tanzania. Using existing cashresources we intend to initiate an extensive confirmatory exploration programmeto define a gold resource. We have the team and experience to make rapidprogress at Lolgorien and I believe that in a fairly short timeframe, we canestablish a gold mining operation in accordance with our strategy." * * ENDS * * For further information visit www.goldplat.com or contact: Demetri Manolis, CEO Goldplat plc Tel: +27 11 423 1203 Mob: +27 82 454 7392 James Joyce WH Ireland Limited Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 1666 Isabel Crossley St Brides Media & Finance Ltd Tel: +44 (0)20 7242 4477 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange