Last checked at 2 Nov 2010 10:55
GRIFFIN MINING LIMITED
60 St James's Street, London SW1A 1LE, United Kingdom
Telephone: + 44 (0)20 7629 7772 Facsimile: + 44 (0)20 7629 7773
E mail: griffin@griffinmining.com
Progress Report on Caijiaying Operations
2nd November 2010.
Further to the announcements made on the 9th and 16th of August, 28th September and on the 25th October, Griffin Mining Limited's (the "Company" or "Griffin") subsidiary, Hebei Hua Ao Mining Development Company Limited (the "Subsidiary"), has received the report from the Chinese authorities on the two contractor fatalities at the Caijiaying Mine. Whilst the report attributes no direct blame on Griffin or its Subsidiary, the Chinese authorities have imposed various fines amounting to Rmb670,000 (£62,000) on the Subsidiary and the report makes a number of recommendations for improving safety at the mine. The report also holds numerous personnel at fault and imposes minor fines and/or other penalties upon them. The Subsidiary has three days to appeal the findings of the report should it deem appropriate to do so.
The suspension of mining activities at Caijiaying will be lifted once the recommendations contained in the report have been fully implemented. It is anticipated that the safety recommendations will take a number of weeks to complete once electrical power has been restored to the Caijiaying mine. In this regard Griffin has not received any further information as to when the electrical power will be restored in full. In addition, production from the Caijiaying Mine will be limited to 200,000 tonnes of ore per annum throughput, which is in the process of being increased to 750,000 tonnes per annum, until certain upgrade design features have been approved by the Chinese authorities. The Subsidiary has already engaged a number of Chinese firms to approve the constructed mine upgrade designs.
Further information
Griffin Mining Limited:
Mladen Ninkov (Chairman)
Roger Goodwin (Finance Director) +44 (0)20 7629 7772
Investec Investment Banking:
Stephen Cooper +44 (0)20 7597 5104
Griffin Mining Limited's shares are quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange (symbol GFM).
The Company's news releases are available on the Company's web site: www.griffinmining.com