Patagonia Gold Regulatory News (PGD)

31 Oct 2005 08:14

Patagonia Gold PLC31 October 2005 PATAGONIA GOLD CONSOLIDATES ITS INTEREST IN HIGHLY PROSPECTIVE PROPERTIES NEAR ESQUEL, ARGENTINA. Patagonia Gold Plc ("Patagonia Gold"), the South American mining explorer, ispleased to announce the acquisition of the remaining 60% of the issued sharecapital of Huemules SA, Leleque SA and Minera Nahuel Pan SA from Meridian GoldGroup companies. Patagonia Gold already held 40% of these companies through it's100% subsidiary Minamalu SA. • Huemules SA ("Huemules"), which holds 4 mineral properties (100%) and is earning the right to purchase a further 12 properties, for total area 22,588 hectares, located in the Cordon Huemules approximately 25 kilometres to the west of the Esquel gold project and containing the historical Huemules gold mine. Exploration in the late 1990's delineated an inferred gold resource of 114,300ozs in the immediate vicinity of the mine together with identifying other prospective areas; • Leleque Exploration SA ("Leleque"), which holds 26 properties (100%), for total area 89,565 hectares, to the north and adjacent to the Esquel gold project and though lightly explored, is considered highly prospective with several large colour alteration areas together with numerous gold anomalies that have been identified by previous exploration; and • Minera Nahuel Pan SA ("Nahuel Pan"), which holds 6 mineral properties (100%), for total area 15,783 hectares also considered to be highly prospective for gold with a large colour alteration area, along strike and to the south of the epithermal corridor in the Cordon de Esquel, separated only by the Willimanco fault valley. The consideration for the acquisition, which completed on 28 October 2005, was$1,500,000. Speaking of the acquisition today, Bill Humphries, Managing Director, said: "Byacquiring the remaining 60% of these three exciting properties we now control asignificant interest in a highly prospective area that is host to one of theworld's largest high grade gold deposits. Management has commenced evaluatingall available data, including results from the two diamond drill campaignscarried out on the Huemules Mine area in 2002/3." Patagonia Gold, with 45 per cent of its shareholders based in Argentina, issuccessfully operating in the Chubut province, currently carrying outexploration activities on 37 properties covering 2,600km2. ENDS For more information, please contact: Richard Prickett / Bill Humphries Anthony Cardew/Tim RobertsonPatagonia Gold Plc Tel: +44 (0) 20 7930 0777Tel: + 44 (0)20 7409 7444 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7925 0647www.patagoniagold.com Email: tim.robertson@cardewgroup.comTrading Symbol PGD.L This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange