18 Jul 2016 07:00
18 July 2016
Sovereign Mines of Africa PLC
("SMA" or "the Company")
Appointment of Jeremy Sparrow to the Board
Sovereign Mines of Africa PLC (AIM:SML), the gold mining exploration Company with properties in the Republic of Guinea in West Africa, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeremy Sparrow to its Board as a Non-executive Director, with immediate effect.
A highly distinguished investment and financing professional, Jeremy possesses over 25 years of extensive deal-making experience across multiple geographies and has led equity teams that have raised a combined total of over $23bn.
Jeremy was most recently Head of Investec Resource Investment Banking for Asia and Australia. He was responsible for setting up an integrated sales research and IB/ECM platform and oversaw the raising of over US$1.5bn in just six months of operation. Prior to Investec, Jeremy spent 12 years with Renaissance Capital, as a Managing Director heading up Equity Products in New York and the UK before becoming the CEO of Renaissance Capital Asia, where he established the company's first Asian offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. Jeremy has also served as a Vice President at Morgan Stanley, where he was Head of EMEA distribution for the USA, and started his career at American Express Bank.
Jeremy holds a BA (Hons) degree in International Relations and Economics from Keele University.
Giles Clarke, Chairman of Sovereign Mines of Africa said:
"We are delighted to welcome someone of Jeremy's calibre to the Board of Sovereign Mines of Africa. Jeremy brings over 25 years of investment experience to the Company and his deep sector knowledge and expertise will augment the board's existing skills and add significant value ahead of our next stage of growth. We are currently conducting a strategic review on the company's assets and activities which may involve the pursuit of an acquisition and Jeremy's arrival will only strengthen our capability to do so."
Enquiries:
SOVEREIGN MINES OF AFRICA PLC
Giles Clarke - c/o Billy Clegg +44 20 3757 6983
SHORE CAPITAL - NOMINATED ADVISER & BROKER
Toby Gibbs/Bidhi Bhoma - Corporate Finance
Jerry Keen - Corporate Broking +44 207 408 4090
CAMARCO
Gordon Poole / Sean Blundell +44 20 3757 6983
In relation to the appointment of Mr Sparrow, the Company confirms that there is no further information to be disclosed under paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies save as disclosed below:
Jeremy Sparrow, aged 48
Current directorships
| Previous directorships (past 5 years) |
Alexander Capital Consultants Limited Alexander Capital Management Limited Chalet Holdings N.V. J S Alex LLP
| Renaissance Capital Asia Limited
|
About Sovereign Mines of Africa
Sovereign Mines of Africa Plc is a mineral exploration company incorporated in England and Wales and headquartered in London.
At the end of 2007, the founders of the Company saw an opportunity to pool their collective expertise and experience in order to form joint ventures for mineral exploration with governments in Africa. The Republic of Guinea in West Africa was identified as the first target and this ultimately gave rise to the establishment of the Company in 2010.
The Company entered into a cooperative joint-venture with the Government of Guinea (the "Sovereign Partnership Structure"), pursuant to which the Government was granted an equity stake in Sovereign Mines of Guinea, the operating company of the group. The Directors believe that this collaborative approach gives the Company unusual advantages compared with other small exploration companies and as a result it has been able to acquire very highly prospective properties, any of which could, in the Directors' opinion, become a significant gold asset.
SMA has financed and managed the building of a preliminary JORC-compliant inferred maiden gold resource of 610,000 ounces of gold at its flagship Manadiana gold project where a relatively small amount of drilling consisting of only 16,880 metres has tested only 10 per cent of the potential strike gold project of the gold mineralising system. SMA also has two other compelling early-stage gold exploration projects in guinea called Dalagna and Marela.
Sovereign Mines of Guinea is ultimately owned 75% by Sovereign Mines of Africa plc and 25% by SOGUIPAMI, the Guinea Government Mining Representative.
The project is held in SMG's 100% Guinea's subsidiary, GUIORD SA.