3aadedc1-af72-4e0d-a259-982266951976.pdf
Alecto Minerals plc / EPIC: ALO / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining
5 May 2016
Alecto Minerals plc ('Alecto' or the 'Company') Renewal of Kerboulé Exploration Licences in Burkina Faso
Alecto Minerals plc (AIM: ALO), the Africa-focused gold and base metal exploration and development company, is delighted to announce that it has been awarded a further three-year term for its Gassel- Manere and Arae mineral exploration permits (together the "Kerboulé Project" or "Kerboulé") in Burkina Faso, which collectively have an initial independent (non-JORC) in-situ gold resource assessment of 6.2Mt grading at 1.16g/t Au for 230,758 oz Au, at a cut-off grade of 0.5g/t Au.
Highlights:
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Validity of existing Kerboulé exploration permits extended for a further three years to 16 January 2019
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Extension is a crucial step to securing a potential joint venture partnership
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Renewal and a potential joint venture is in-line with the Company's strategy to maintain exposure to its highly attractive West African exploration portfolio whilst minimising exploration and development spend
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The additional three year term will allow sufficient time to expand the known mineral resource estimate of 230,758 oz Au in the Kerboulé-Yalema Corridor ('KY-corridor') and complete further exploration at the highly prospective Palpaga Exploration Target
Alecto's CEO, Mark Jones, commented:
"An additional three year licence period for the Kerboulé project sets the conditions for adequate additional exploration work to be completed at this highly attractive and exciting gold asset in a well established mining jurisdiction. The extension is testament to the excellent relationships we maintain with the mining administration in Burkina Faso and the abilities of our small but extremely capable in- country team. With nearly 0.25 million ounces already defined in the KY-corridor and a vast exploration target at Palpaga we are confident that with additional time to explore, this project will deliver significant future returns. We remain committed to finalising a joint venture arrangement for the continuance of activities on the ground so that Alecto and its shareholders can maintain exposure to the project without committing financial resources, whilst we continue to focus on producing saleable gold from our Matala project in Zambia as rapidly as possible."
The Kerboulé Project covers 399.5km2 of the highly prospective Birimian-age Djibo gold belt in the north of Burkina Faso, and lies 20km along strike of the 5Moz Inata gold mine. Alecto acquired the project in November 2014 and quickly compiled historical data and modelled the mineralised zone leading to an independent (non-JORC) mineral resource estimate by Wardell Armstrong International ("WAI") in April 2015 of 6.2Mt grading at 1.16g/t Au for 230,758 oz Au, at a cut-off grade of 0.5g/t (see the Company's announcement of 27 April 2015).
Despite a popular uprising and a military coup d'etat in Burkina Faso during the the year following acquisition of the project, Alecto's geologists were able to complete essential work and demonstrate the potential of the project. Burkina Faso returned to stability in November 2015 when President Kaboré was elected.
Alecto's strategy remains focused on becoming a producer in the mid to near term through the development of the Matala gold deposit in Zambia. In tandem it will continue to advance its early stage exploration portfolio through joint venture or early monetisation of opportunities.
Figure 1: Map showing the licence location of Kerboulé
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.alectominerals.com, follow us on Twitter @AlectoMinerals, or contact:
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Alecto Minerals plc Mark Jones
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Tel: +44 (0)20 7499 5881
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Strand Hanson Limited Andrew Emmott Matthew Chandler
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Tel: +44 (0)20 7409 3494
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James Dance
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Beaufort Securities Limited Jon Belliss
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Tel: +44 (0)20 7382 8300
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St Brides Partners Limited Elisabeth Cowell Charlotte Heap
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Tel: +44 (0)20 7236 1177
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Notes to editors:
Alecto Minerals plc is an African focussed, gold and base metal exploration and development company quoted on AIM with gold exploration projects in Zambia, Mali, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
In Zambia, the historic Matala and Dunrobin gold mines have, in aggregate, a 760,000 oz Au JORC Code compliant resource estimate in the Measured, Indicated and Inferred categories at an average grade of 2.3g/t Au. The Company is focused on seeking to bring Matala into low-cost production in the near to mid-term.
In Mali, the Kossanto East project has an inferred JORC Code compliant resource estimate of 6.72Mt grading at 1.14g/t Au for an aggregate of 247,000 oz Au with a cut-off grade of 0.5g/t Au. This is under a co-operation agreement with ASX listed Desert Gold Inc. to evaluate the potential to jointly develop each company's neighbouring projects into production. The Kossanto West Project is under a joint venture with Randgold Resources Limited.
Alecto also owns the Kerboulé Project, located in the highly prospective Birrimian-age Djibo gold belt in northern Burkina Faso, as well as the wholly owned Wad Amour IOCG Project in Mauritania which is at an exploration stage.
Accordingly, the Company has a strong, diversified project portfolio with exciting exploration upside potential.