Last checked at 4 Oct 2011 07:00
4 October 2011
Solomon Gold Plc
("Solomon Gold" or the "Company")
Management Change
Mr. Malcolm Norris appointed as CEO and Managing Director
The Directors of Solomon Gold plc (LSE:AIM SOLG) are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Malcolm Stewart Norris BSc (Hons) MSc (52) as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Solomon Gold and its subsidiaries, effective 31 October 2011. As a result of other commitments and in the interests of the Company's next phase of development the current CEO Mr. Nicholas Mather has decided to retire from management responsibility, but will remain as an Executive Director of the Company for at least the next 12 months.
Mr. Norris recently led the team which discovered the Tujuh Bukit copper gold porphyry project for ASX listed Intrepid Mines Ltd. The Tujuh Bukit discovery, together with Mr. Norris' impressive previous exploration and management experience with WMC Resources Ltd., Indophil Resources Ltd., Emperor Mines Ltd., and Intrepid Mines Ltd., provides Solomon Gold with a particularly relevant and significant set of skills and experience to take the Company forward. His appointment of aligns with the Company's strong commitment to the discovery and development of high value epithermal gold and porphyry copper gold deposits in the South Pacific Rim of Fire. Mr. Norris is not currently a director of a company and has not been a director of any other company in the past five years. No other disclosure in relation to Mr. Norris' appointment is required pursuant to Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies.
Solomon Gold continues to focus on its exciting epithermal gold discovery, the Rannes Project in Central Queensland, where the Inferred Mineral Resource was recently increased to 675,779oz gold equivalent, the Fauro Island copper gold porphyry project in western Solomon Islands, and the Guadalcanal Joint Venture with Newmont Mining Corporation on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. In addition, the Company is exploring the Mt Perry and Normandy Projects in Queensland. A resource of 2Moz is targeted for the Rannes Project and the Company intends to continue to develop as an integrated gold explorer, developer and miner.
The Board wishes to express its gratitude to Mr. Nicholas Mather the outgoing CEO who from incorporation in 2005 has overseen the development of Solomon Gold through its most difficult and formative first six-years.
Qualified Person
Information in this report relating to the exploration results is based on data reviewed by Mr. Nicholas Mather (B.Sc. Hons Geol.), the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Mather is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy who has in excess of 25 years' experience in mineral exploration and is a Qualified Person under the AIM Rules. Mr. Mather consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it appears.
By order of the Board
Karl Schlobohm
Company Secretary
Contacts:
Mr. Karl Schlobohm Tel: +61 (0)7 3303 0660
Solomon Gold Plc (Company Secretary)
kschlobohm@solomongold.com
Mr. Ewan Leggat Tel: +44 (0)207 598 5368
Fairfax I.S. PLC (Broker)
eleggat@fairfaxis.com
Mr. Stephen Weir Tel: +61 (0)2 9250 0048
RFC Corporate Finance (Nominated Advisor)
stephen.weir@rfc.com.au
Mr. Dominic Barretto Tel: +44 (0)7769 537 739
Yellow Jersey PR (PR & IR)
dominic@yellowjerseypr.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
Solomon Gold Plc's original and core gold exploration projects are located on Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands and are the focus of the Company. The Company holds a comprehensive and extensive tenement position on the main island of Guadalcanal where its JV partner, NVL Solomon Islands Limited (a subsidiary of NYSE-listed Newmont Mining Corporation) can earn a 51% interest in the project by expending US$6million by 4 March 2012, and may elect to expend a further US$6million (total US$12million) to earn a further 19% to a total 70% by 4 March 2014. The GJV has outlined high priority gold-copper porphyry targets at Chikora, Mbetilonga, and Kuma.
The discovery in September 2010 of extensive and rich gold mineralisation on Fauro Island, just south east of Bougainville Island in neighbouring Papua New Guinea, presents Solomon Gold with further potential for a world class gold and copper-gold-molybdenum discovery on the south west Pacific Rim of Fire. The region is one of the world's most strongly endowed gold and copper provinces hosting, amongst others; Grasberg, Lihir, Panguna and Ok Tedi, each with in excess of 40Moz gold equivalent metal endowment.
Solomon Gold has extended its strategy to aim at becoming an integrated gold explorer, developer and miner with projects in lower risk theatres as well as the Solomon Islands.
Solomon Gold's projects in Queensland include Rannes, Mt Perry and Normanby. At Rannes, the Company has outlined a 30km long prospective zone in a 200km long trend on the eastern edge of Queensland's Bowen Basin in the same geological setting as Newcrest's 100,000 ounce per year Cracow Gold Mine. This extensive exploration licence position hosts three mineralised projects at Cooper, Central Rannes and Police Camp. The exploration area is believed to host mineral systems which are geologically similar to the Carlin trend in Nevada USA. At Central Rannes, the Company has encountered potentially economic mineralisation in five different prospects targeted to yield at least 2 Moz. The total Solomon Gold Inferred Mineral Resource estimate following the continued work at its Rannes Projects, Crunchie, Kauffmans-Homestead, Brother and Cracklin Rosie Prospects is 21.7Mt at 1.0g/t gold equivalent for 675,779oz of contained gold equivalent (379,739oz gold and 11.97Moz silver), based on a gold to silver ratio of 1 : 40 and a 0.30g/t gold equivalent cut‐off grade.
At Mt Perry, the Company is investigating an area of approximately 1,500km2 hosting over 50 historic mines and workings near Newcrest's Mt Rawdon Gold Mine. Mt Perry has yielded potentially economic drill intersections on nine of the ten prospects tested to date.
Solomon Gold's Board includes accomplished professionals with strong track records in the areas of exploration, mine development in Australia and Melanesia, investment, finance and law. Board and Management have significantly vested interests in the Company holding approximately 17.5% of its issued share capital.
Solomon Gold is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The Company listed on London's Alternative Investment Market in 2006, under the AIM Code 'SOLG' and currently has 284,623,489 shares on issue and 11,264,000 options exercisable at 50p on issue. Further details concerning the Company's key projects and personnel can be found at www.solomongold.com