Pan African Resources Regulatory News (PAF)

17 May 2006 12:23

Pan African Resources PLC17 May 2006 17th May 2006 Pan African Resources plc ("Pan African" or "the Company") Project Update Manica Project, Mozambique and Wa Project, Ghana Manica Project (Mozambique) - Exploration update Pan African Resources PLC (AIM: PAF), the African based gold explorationcompany, announces that a recently completed dipole-dipole geophysical programmeat its Manica Project in Mozambique has delineated nine new drill targetsadjacent to historically mined areas. In total these drill targets represent acombined strike-length of 4.5km in the vicinity of Pan African's Dot's Luck,Fair Bride North, Fair Bride West, Fair Bride East and Guy Fawkes prospects. The new drill targets at the Dot's Luck and Fair Bride prospects representstrike extensions of the Fair Bride Central prospect, which is the subject of apre-feasibility study on the potential of an opencast mine. The company iscurrently completing geological work that will see these targets tested bydrilling before year-end. The Dot's Luck and Fair Bride prospects occur alongthe Andrada shear zone where the mineralization is conducive to possibleopencast mining methods. Part of the recently completed geophysical survey also focussed for the firsttime on prospective exploration targets adjacent to the Guy Fawkes undergroundmine. The mine historically mined narrow but high grade quartz veins. Fourhistorical boreholes drilled by Pangea Exploration (Pty) Ltd in November 2003within part of the newly defined drill targets adjacent to the mine madeintersections of: Borehole Mac002 3m @ 4.13g/t (from 9 to 12m)Borehole Mac003 1m @ 13.95g/t (from 54m to 55m)Borehole Mac006 1m @ 5.29g/t (from 92m to 93m)Borehole Macd002 1m @ 7.20g/t (from 109m to 110m) A re-sampled exploration drive (level 715) extending into one of the drilltargets has been re-mapped and sampled by Pan African geologists to give anaverage value of 5.75g/t over an average width of 1.21 m along a strike-lengthof 80m (samples were taken across the roof of the exploration driveperpendicular to the strike of the reef at intervals of approximately 1.7m). Jan Nelson, Chief Executive of Pan African, commented: "Our explorationprogramme on the Manica Project is advancing well and we are encouraged by theresults from the geophysical survey. Recent underground sampling and mapping byour geologists, together with historical drill data, show that the identifiedgeophysical anomalies are prospective for gold. As a result we have fasttracked our exploration programme at Manica and increased the size of ourgeological team on the ground." The historical borehole data and underground sampling data was checked andverified by Explormine Geological Consultants (Pty) Ltd ("Explormine"), a SouthAfrican based Resource & Geological Consultancy. Explormine also act asCompetent Person for the company on the Manica project. Wa project - Ghana Pan African, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mistral Resource DevelopmentCorporation ("Mistral"), has given formal notice to Kenor ASA ("Kenor"), of itsdecision to terminate its option agreement regarding the Wa Project in Ghana.After a re-assessment of the underlying fundamentals of the project based onrecent exploration and geological information, the project fails to meet thecriteria of: (a) significant resource in excess of 750,000oz; (b) imminentdevelopment; and (c) the potential to add significant new ounces. Jan Nelson, Chief Executive of Pan African, commented: "This termination isconsistent with our policy only to pursue projects that meet the aforesaidcriteria and deliver consistent shareholder value. We will maintain ourfocussed efforts on our current exploration projects and continue to reviewother project opportunities which satisfy our stringent criteria". ENDS For further information on Pan African Resources please visit the website atwww.panafricanresources.com Enquiries: Pan African Resources Ambrian Partners Limited Parkgreen Communications Jan Nelson, CEO Richard Chase Justine Howarth / Victoria Thomas +27 11 886 1211 +44 (0)20 7776 6461 +44 (0) 20 7493 3713 Colin Bird, Chairman +44 (0) 20 7584 2155 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange