Share Options

14 Jul 2009 07:00



Oxus Gold plc

Share Options

LONDON: Tuesday 14 July 2009 - further to the announcement made on 24 June 2009, Oxus Gold plc ("Oxus" or the "Company") (OXS.L) announces that it has cancelled 13,925,100 outstanding options in the Company which gave certain Directors and employees the ability to purchase ordinary shares in the Company at various exercise prices and subject to various exercise conditions. The options that have been cancelled have been replaced with 11,375,000 new options. 

The new options will all have an exercise price of 6p and will vest 50% on first drawdown on the appropriate project finance facility to construct the underground sulphide mine at the Company's 50% owned Amantaytau Goldfields ("AGF"), and 50% on first gold production from the underground project at AGF. The options were granted on 13 July 2009 and are valid for five years.

All existing options issued to directors have been cancelled. A total of 8,250,000 new options have been awarded to directors as follows:

Number of Options Total Options

Richard Shead 3,000,000 3,000,000

John Donald 2,500,000 2,500,000

Richard Wilkins 2,000,000 2,000,000

Miradil Djalalov 250,000 250,000

James McBurney 250,000 250,000

Oliver Prior 250,000 250,000

Richard Shead, Executive Chairman, commented: "This completes the restructuring of our remuneration policy which we announced in June 2009. Directors and senior management have all taken very significant cuts in salaries and are also being paid part of their reduced salaries in shares. The new option scheme is greatly simplified, resulting in slightly less potential dilution to shareholders, and will appropriately motivate the management team to get the underground mine at AGF into production as quickly as possible. This mine, with its extensive existing reserve base and exciting exploration potential, represents the future of Oxus and therefore our principal focus going forward."

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