Xtract Regulatory News (XTR)

1 Sep 2006 13:00

Cambrian Mining PLC01 September 2006 CAMBRIAN MINING PLC ("Cambrian" or "the Company") Cambrian Sells Holdings in Cambrian Oil & Gas, Wasabi Energy Limited and Aviva Corporation Limited to Xtract Energy The board of Cambrian is pleased to announce that it and the Company's whollyowned subsidiaries Deepgreen Minerals Corporation Limited and CambrianInvestment Holdings Limited have reached an agreement to sell their substantialshareholdings in Cambrian Oil & Gas plc ("COIL"), Wasabi Energy Limited ("Wasabi") and Aviva Corporation Limited ("Aviva") to the Company's 55% owned subsidiary Xtract Energy plc ("Xtract"). This re-organisation will create a centralised energy group under Xtract, whosemanagement team can utilise their expertise to focus on the energy andtechnology side of the Cambrian portfolio. The total consideration payable by Xtract (which is based on the closing marketvalues of the shares being acquired on 30 August 2006, all of which are quoted)for these investments is approximately £3.8 million which is being satisfied bythe issue to the respective sellers of convertible unsecured loan notestotalling approximately £3.3 million (the "Loan Notes") and a payment to theCompany of £450,000 in cash. Pursuant to the agreement Xtract shall acquire: • 44,630,769 ordinary shares in COIL (representing approximately 28.2%of COIL's issued ordinary share capital) and warrants over an additional22,844,994 ordinary shares (15,000,000 exercisable at 3p per share and 7,844,994exercisable at 7p per share) for a total consideration of approximately £1.3million (approximately £0.9 million in Loan Notes and £450,000 in cash); • 81,511,422 ordinary shares in Wasabi (representing approximately19.5% of Wasabi's issued ordinary share capital) for a total consideration ofapproximately £0.8 million in Loan Notes; and • 61,500,000 ordinary shares in Aviva (representing approximately 18.6%of Aviva's issued ordinary share capital) and options over 10,000,000 Avivashares exercisable at a price of A$0.10 per share for a total consideration ofapproximately £1.6 million in Loan Notes. The Loan Notes carry interest at a rate of 2% over LIBOR and are repayable inSeptember 2008. In the event that Xtract issues new shares in a placing, theLoan Notes may be converted at the option of the noteholder into ordinary sharesof Xtract at the placing price. The Acquisition will significantly extend the range of Xtract's energy andresource related investments beyond its existing oil shale and gold mininginterests. John Byrne, CEO of Cambrian, comments "This marks an important step inCambrian's evolution as we seek to further rationalise our investments into fourdistinct divisions: coal, iron ore, metals and energy. We have now assembled anexciting portfolio of energy investments, combining prospective oil and gasassets with emerging technologies, both in the oil shale and renewable energysectors. We also believe the energy group has the potential to growsignificantly in the short to medium term." Ends For further information contact: Cambrian Mining Plc Parkgreen CommunicationsAlwyn Davey / John Byrne Cathy Malins / Annabel Leather+44 20 7409 0890 +44 20 7493 3713 About Xtract: Xtract was formed in October 2004 (previously Resmex plc) to invest in energyand mineral resources in Europe, North America and Australia. Xtract has subsequently built up a significant portfolio of oil shale resourcetenements in Australia and has applied for exploration permit in New Zealand.Xtract, in conjunction with Australia's CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific andIndustrial Research Organisation), aims to develop commercially effectivetechnology to unlock oil reserves in oil shale deposits in Queensland, AustraliaThe Queensland deposits, known as Julia Creek, contain substantial quantitiesof oil. In one particular part of the deposit, called Area C, there are 415million barrels of In Situ resources. For further information, please review: www.xtractenergy.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange