Central African
Gold Plc / Ticker: CAN / Market: AIM / Sub-sector: Gold Mining
5 June 2007
Central
African Gold Plc (“CAG” or “the Company”)
Signs
heads of agreement over the Kola permit, contiguous to the multi-million ounce
Morila gold deposit, south Mali
Central African Gold Plc,
the AIM traded gold mining and exploration company, has signed heads of agreement
with Mandé Mines SARL to form a subsidiary company for the development of the circa
300 sq km Kola permit in south Mali, whereby CAG, Mandé Mines SARL and the
Government of Mali would hold 80 per cent. 10 per cent. and 10 per cent. equity
interest respectively (“Kola Permit Agreement”). The permit is situated in the
prospective Birimian Gold Belt and is contiguous structurally to the circa 6
million oz Au Morila gold deposit, operated by Anglogold Ashanti and Randgold Resources. It
is CAG’s intention to fast-track exploration by utilising existing data and its
teams’ knowledge of the area to generate drill targets.
Greg Hunter, CEO of CAG,
commented, “This agreement further extends our exposure to the prospective gold
regions of southern Mali.
The geological setting, in close vicinity to Morila, and early work already
conducted on the licence all underpin our confidence in the Kola permit area. We
have an extensive portfolio of exploration permits in highly prospective areas of
Mali
that have already yielded significant gold targets, which we believe have the
potential to be economic deposits. We are advancing our projects and look
forward to updating the market once further sampling and drilling results have
been processed.”
Kola
permit background
The Kola permit is
situated over lower Proterozoic age Birimian strata in south Mali, roughly 180 km east of the capital Bamako, in the Bougouni
District. The property is notable for its locality, which is partly over a
preserved metasedimentary package that is contiguous structurally to Morila.
In recent years
(2002-2004) Anglogold (now Anglogold Ashanti) has completed regional
multi-element geochemical surveys (10,651 samples), and follow-up
reverse-air-blast (RAB: 43,387m) and reverse circulation (RC: 6,677m) drilling
programmes. These programmes were initiated on a previous 600 sq km permit
area, which subsequently has been reduced on renewal to 300 sq km. Numerous
anomalous gold intersections above 1g/t Au were intersected at shallow depths
(1-30m) during the various phases of RAB drilling. RC boreholes checked certain
high value gold intersections to a maximum of 180m. The relationship with Anglogold
was terminated during 2005.
CAG’s
intended work programme
CAG intend to thoroughly
collate and review all available data for the Kola permit. The key areas of
interest include metasedimentary enclaves (biotite schist) preserved in certain
structural domains emanating from the regional Banifin deformation zone to the
east of the property. CAG, from previous experience working in the Bougouni
district and Morila itself, has in-house working models on the Morila style
mineralisation, and intends to systematically generate and prioritise targets
for diamond drilling during 2008. It is anticipated that the areas of interest
will be deeper (200-800m below surface) than previous exploration work has
tested.
Terms
of the agreement
The Kola Permit Agreement
complements CAG’s existing business interests in Mali, namely its two joint
venture subsidiaries, Songhoi Ressources SA and Mali Goldfields SA, where exploration
is ongoing over a package of 20 permits covering over 2,500 sq km in south and
west Mali, including the Medinandi prospect (500,000 oz Au resources). Assuming
CAG enter into the Kola Permit Agreement, under the terms of the agreement CAG would
fund exploration on the properties through its existing subsidiary companies in
Mali.
Other
exploration
CAG is also conducting
exploration in Ghana at the Bibiani mine site (RC and DD programme), Botswana
(regional work on the extension of the Archean Kraaipan greenstone belt from
South Africa), as well as initiating fieldwork in Zimbabwe proximal to existing
mining operations at the Camperdown and Dalny/Venice mines.
*
* ENDS * *
For further information
please contact or visit www.centralafricangold.com
or contact:
Central African Gold Plc
Greg Hunter Tel: +27
(0)82 882 4222
In London:
St Brides Media &
Finance Ltd
Hugo de Salis/ Felicity Edwards Tel: +44
(0)20 7242 4477
Strand Partners Limited
Simon Raggett /Braden
Saunders Tel: +44 (0)20 7409 3494
In South Africa:
Central African Gold
Nicole Broome Tel: +27
11 676 2500
Mob: +27
83 601 1702
Russell and Associates
Charmane Russell Tel: +
27 11 880 3924
Mob: +
27 82 372 5816
Notes
to Editors:
Central African Gold Plc,
admitted to AIM in April 2004, was established to acquire gold assets with a
geographical focus on Africa. The Company has
established a sound portfolio with projects in Ghana,
Mali, Zimbabwe and Botswana. It has a highly
experienced management team, which has worked together for four years managing
six underground greenstone gold mining operations and building exploration
portfolios.
CAG’s portfolio includes
the producing Bibiani gold mine and prospecting licences in Ghana, which it acquired from AngloGold Ashanti
Ltd, two joint ventures in Mali
covering 23 prospective permits and licences in Botswana
covering the extension of the Kraaipan greenstone belt from South Africa. CAG recently acquired
five mines and extensive exploration properties in Zimbabwe. The directors are
evaluating additional prospects in Africa to
establish CAG as a leading mid-tier African gold producer with world class
exploration and production assets.
Isabel Crossley
St Brides Media & Finance Ltd
Aldermary House, 10-15 Queen Street
London EC4N 1TX
Tel: 020 7242 4477
Fax: 020 7651 8689
Email: isabel@sbmf.co.uk