8 November 2016
Outcome of hearing regarding gold seizure
Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") today announces that a judge in Ouagadougou has ordered the lifting of the seizure of the gold shipment which had taken place on 7 October 2016.
The Company continues to explore solutions to resolve the 2 billion CFA (US$3.4m) legal claim made by ex-employees against Société des Mines de Bélahourou SA ("SMB", the Burkinabe entity that operates the Inata mine), which remains ongoing.
In the meantime, however, steps are being taken to recover the seized gold for export and to reinstate normal gold shipments thereafter. The intention is to resume operations at Inata later this week if possible.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
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Avocet Mining PLC
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Bell Pottinger
Financial PR Consultants
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J.P. Morgan Cazenove Corporate Broker
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David Cather, CEO Jim Wynn, FD
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Daniel Thöle
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Michael Wentworth-Stanley
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+44 20 3709 2570
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+44 (0)20 3772 2555
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+44 20 7742 4000
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or the "Company") is an unhedged gold mining and exploration company listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: AVM.L) and the Oslo Børs (ticker: AVM.OL). The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration in West Africa.
In Burkina Faso the Company owns 90% of the Inata Gold Mine. The Inata Gold Mine poured its first gold in December 2009 and produced 74,755 ounces of gold in 2015. Other assets in Burkina Faso include five exploration permits surrounding the Inata Gold Mine in the broader Bélahouro region. The most advanced of these projects is Souma, some 20 kilometers from the Inata Gold Mine.
The Company also holds an interest in the Tri-K proct in Guinea. On 10 October 2016, the Company announced that it had agreed to dispose of 40% of the project to Managem, a Moroccan group listed on the Casablanca stock exchange, subject to, inter alia, shareholder approval, and which will increase upon completion of a bankable feasibility study for a CIL plant at the site, the incurring of expenditures of at least US$10 million, and the enlarging of the ore reserve, to 70% (in the event of an increase of the reserve to 1 million ounce or more) or 60% (if less than 1 million ounces).
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