14 November 2016
Update on Inata gold seizure
Further to the announcement on 8 November, Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") confirms that although the seizure of its gold shipment which took place on 7 October 2016 was lifted by court order on 7 November, the gold has not yet been released.
The reasons for this have yet to be fully established, however discussions continue with legal advisers and intermediaries representing the ex-workers whose claims resulted in the initial seizure with a view to resolving the situation as quickly as possible.
As a result of this delay, production has not yet recommenced at the Inata mine. Further updates will be provided as soon as 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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