Vast Resources Regulatory News (VAST)

30 Jun 2006 08:07

African Consolidated Resources Plc30 June 2006 African Consolidated Resources plc("ACR" or "the Company") AIM Listing ACR, a mining exploration company with gold resources approaching 1 million oz,in addition to platinum, nickel and diamond exploration rights in Zimbabwe, isvery pleased to announce its admission to the Alternative Investment Market.ACR has raised £4 million of new equity and is capitalised £22.7 million. Investment Case • Exciting and growing portfolio of assets which will profit fromcurrent and projected commodity prices by: - Leveraging country risk discount- Utilising state of the art exploration technology to increase reserves- Addition of further assets through acquisition and discovery • Multi mineral portfolio spreads risk • Experienced management team with strong industry and regionalexpertise • Working with communities to ensure local social and economic benefit Zimbabwe and Corporate and Social Responsibility • ACR has been proactive in encouraging involvement and investment fromindigenous partners who are now and will remain, post listing, an important partof the Company • Zimbabwean Government statements regarding its mining policy haveindicated the current law, along with proposed indigenisation strategies,constitute a work in progress towards economically empowering the HistoricallyDisadvantaged Persons along a similar vein to the South African Black EconomicEmpowerment programme • The Zimbabwean Government has specifically stated that explorationcompanies will be less affected in the short term by empowerment strategies inrecognition of the costs and risks associated therewith • The Directors are confident that the ultimate policy and involvementof indigenous partners will be rationally conceived and, in their opinion, willneither endanger the investment of the Company's shareholders nor disadvantagelocal communities Corporate • ACR was formed to take advantage of the perception that Zimbabweanbusiness is high risk. The Directors are of the opinion that the real risks areless than the perceived risks and that Zimbabwean mineral resources remainsignificantly undervalued when compared to global peers • ACR has raised £4 million by selling 33 333 333 million new shares at12.0p per share. The funds will be utilised for the Company's currentexploration and investment programme in addition to working capital andcorporate development requirements Williams de Broe is acting as the Company's Nominated Adviser and Broker. Operational Focus • Zimbabwe is a highly rich mineral province - in 1975 the country wasranked as the fifth largest gold producer in the world. Zimbabwe also has one ofthe best documented geological databases of the world's developing nations, witha sophisticated mining environment and continues to possess an excellentlogistics infrastructure when compared with most other African states • In a short space of time, ACR has established an exploration companywith a considerable resource base - resources certified to date are 820,500 ozof gold. ACR controls several hundred square kilometres of exploration groundand has a variety of projects at stages from greenfield to pre-feasibilityresource definition drilling. ACR currently has six drill rigs operating on twolead projects, which are expected to be available for the foreseeable future • ACR's primary focus is gold, however in order to protect against therisk associated with a single commodity, ACR has evolved into a multi-mineralexplorer. ACR believes that its nickel, platinum and diamond prospects will alsosignificantly benefit from the application of profitable modern explorationtechnology currently used elsewhere is the world Ian Fisher, Executive Chairman of ACR commented: "We believe that Zimbabwe contains substantial mineral reserves which areconsiderably undervalued and under-exploited due to a lack of both capitalinvestment and modern exploration processes that have been successfully appliedelsewhere in Africa and the rest of the world. Admission to AIM is an important step for ACR, enabling us to deliver ourstrategy of creating value for our existing and prospective shareholders, whilstensuring that the local environment and the indigenous people are rewarded. The Directors are taking a longer term view and are confident that the capitalinvestment required to prove up world class resources justifies any potentialrisks. " 30 June 2006 Enquiries: African Consolidated Resources Ian Fisher, Chairman 079 2018 9011 Andrew Cranswick, Chief Executive 079 2018 9010 Williams de Broe Simon Edwards 020 7588 7511 David Pettman College Hill Nick Elwes / Paddy Blewer 020 7457 2020 Notes to Editors: ACR's existing JORC resources as verified in the Competent Person's Report,written by SRK as presented in the Admission Document: Category Area Type Tonnage Grade Content t g/t oz "Pickstone & Peerless" Project AreaInferred Peerless Trend Oxide/Sulphide 4,600,000 1.4 210,000Inferred Concession Hill Oxide/Sulphide 3,200,000 1.8 180,000Measured 2-3 Level Pickstone Sulphide 205,000 4.8 31,500Measured Big Red Tailings 380,000 1.3 15,900Measured Football Field Tailings 586,000 1.0 18,800Measured Concentrate Tailings 200,000 4.4 28,300 484,500 "Giant" Project AreaIndicated & Giant Mine Halo Oxide/Sulphide 4,944,000 2.1 336,000Inferred 336,000 Global Resource 14,114,000 1.8 820,500 Management team: Ian Fisher, Executive Chairman, aged 53 Ian Fisher was born in Zimbabwe and has lived in Western Australia for 30 years.He has extensive knowledge of the mining and gas sectors in Zimbabwe and CentralAfrica. He is a director of Carnegie Corporation Ltd., an Australian StockExchange listed company with mineral sands production interests in Gambia. IanFisher is the Chairman of the Western Australian Premier's Regional InvestmentGroup - a voluntary group of twelve financiers assisting with investment inregional areas in Western Australia. He was also founding director of AtlasPacific Ltd., a South Sea pearl farming company listed on the Australian StockExchange. Andrew Cranswick, Chief Executive Officer, aged 43 Andrew Cranswick is Zimbabwean by birth and citizenship. He has, at variousstages over the past twenty-five years, been active in the mining and mineralssector in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa and was a geologist assistant for AngloGold (Vaal Reefs) in the 1980s. Returning to Zimbabwe in the late 1980s heexploited the combination of Zimbabwe's emerging market status and the tech boomby founding a group of IT companies including the country's first commercialInternet Service Provider and the first major computer assembly line. Sellingthe internet company to an international concern at the peak of the dot.com boom in 2000, he returned to the mining sector as it began itsupturn. Roy Tucker, Group Finance Director and Company Secretary, aged 65 Roy Tucker is a Chartered Accountant whose background is as a tax consultant. Hehas co-founded and been involved in the management of various financialbusinesses particularly in the banking and commodity sectors. He is chairman andco-founder of South Africa based Legend Lodges Group which holds significanttourism interests. He is also a director of Lisungwe plc which has mineralexploration interests in Malawi. Roy Tucker is based in the UK. Stuart Bottomley, Non-Executive Director, aged 61 Stuart Bottomley was appointed as a non-executive director of the Company on 27May 2005. He worked as a stockbroker for nine years, before joining Dawnay Daywhere he worked as a portfolio manager for the Target Group of Unit Trusts.During his time with Target, he successfully managed the Special Situations Fundand Target Energy. In 1984, he joined Fidelity International in London, workingwith the ERISA group, focused on UK and European markets. Since leavingFidelity, Stuart has consulted for numerous private and public companies,advised a number of Australian companies on admissions to AIM and assisted inIPOs and other fundraisings. He is currently a non-executive director ofCentamin Egypt Ltd and Isis Resources Plc. Michael Kellow, Technical Director, aged 50 Michael Kellow is an exploration geologist with over twenty-five yearsexperience in diverse gold, base-metals and uranium exploration in Archaean andProterozoic terranes both in Australia and Africa. He was team leader inmultiple discoveries of virgin mineral systems in Western Australia and theNorthern Territory, and has worked with a range of both junior and major miningcompanies including Anglo American Corporation (now Anglo Gold), Gold Fields andSons of Gwalia. Michael Kellow was a founding director of Intierra Ltd, one ofthe world's largest commercial databases on mining projects, companies andmanagement. Dirk Benade, Senior Geologist, aged 57 Dirk Benade has 33 years mining geology experience on 49 mines in Zimbabwe inboth underground and open pit operations mining or exploring for copper, gold,chrome and tungsten. Dirk Benade also has three years experience in Australiaexploring for copper, gold, uranium, tungsten and coal. As a partner in aprivate company he was instrumental in building a well established analyticallaboratory in the Midlands area of Zimbabwe. He has worked for, among others,Utah Development Company (now BHP-Utah) Anglo American, Messina TransvaalDevelopment and Falcon Mines, and latterly spent ten years with AIM-listedAfrican Gold plc, rising to Managing Director. He is fluent in the indigenouslanguages of Zimbabwe. He currently acts as senior geologist for the Group. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange