Anglo-African Minerals plc
Anglo-African Minerals plc: Anglo African Minerals Plc acquires a 74% interest in a 1.7 million ounce Gold Equivalent resource in Armenia
Anglo-African Minerals plc / Acquisition/Mergers & Acquisitions 09.08.2010 11:32 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company: Anglo-African Minerals plc Symbol: FSE: AMQ, ISIN: IE00B66ML191 WKN A0N9YH Release Date: 09 August 2010 Anglo-African Minerals Plc acquires a 74% interest in a 1.7 million ounce Gold Equivalent resource in Armenia The Directors of Anglo-African Minerals plc (FSE: AMQ), the special situations mining investment company, are pleased to announce that the company has signed an agreement with Caspian Resources Development Pte Limited, a Sistema associate company, to acquire all of the shares in issue of Belgrave Mining Corporation which holds a 74% interest in Azatekgold CJSC, an Armenian company which owns the Azatek mining licence, which is valid until October 2030. The Azatek Project The 2km2 Azatek licence area is centred in the valley of the Arpa River near the town of Vayk in the Vayots Dzor Marz administrative district. The licence area has been extensively drilled and sampled and hosts a vein system with a C1+C2 reserve of 560,000 oz gold and 12.65 million oz of silver, plus base metal credits and antimony. On a gold equivalent basis, this equates to about 1.7 million oz. Vayk is small town with good access by road and basic infrastructure, including power, water and gas. The 130km journey to the deposit from Yerevan takes approximately 2.5hrs on the tarred and well maintained route that leads to Azerbaijan. History and Scope of the Deposit The Azatek deposit was originally explored as an antimony and lead deposit. By 1955 it had been confirmed that the deposit was polymetallic with gold and silver present in all the ore bodies, albeit with relatively low gold grades. Until 1974 the deposit was further investigated for antimony, lead, gold and silver. Thereafter exploration was focused solely on gold, silver and copper. The Mining Licence hosts a C1+C2 ore reserve of 6.8 million tonnes, with average grades of 2.6g/t gold, 55.43g/t silver, 0.19% copper, 0.55% lead, 0.28% zinc. Four distinct ore types have been identified. Antimony grades of about 2% occur in two of the ore bodies. Metallurgical test work has indicated recoveries of about 84% for gold, 90% for silver and 97% for antimony. The economic viability of producing a base metals concentrate will be evaluated. Azatek Development Plan The development of the project will be managed by AAM, assisted by an experienced local team which is based in Yerevan. A number of the local professional staff have been involved in the project for many years and were involved in the exploration drilling and geological work. Linatex Limited and mining equipment suppliers that are part of the Sistema Group, will be involved in an EPCM contract to develop the mine, supply process equipment and construct the processing plant. The company believes that, by forming an early close working relationship with these companies, the project can be fast tracked to production with significant saving on capital equipment. In broad terms, the programme for the development of the Azatek deposit entails the following: * A review of existing geological data and design of in-fill/duplicate sampling programme to define a JORC-compliant resource estimate for the deposit (Wardell Armstrong International has been appointed to do this work) * A review of existing metallurgical data and further metallurgical test work to determine best process route and preparation of pre-feasibility engineering study (GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants appointed) * Preparation of an environmental impact assessment and base-line environmental report (Digby Wells & Associates appointed) * Completion of duplicate/in-fill drilling as required by the geological consultants (local drilling contractor to be appointed) An initial estimate for the proposed 1Mtpa processing plant is some US$ 40million. Based on an initial metallurgical assessment, it is envisaged that a twin stream plant will be constructed, possibly on a modular basis. AAM is raising funding for the initial work programme with a target of completing an upgrade of the Soviet reserves to a JORC compliant resource statement, and an NI 43-101 pre-feasibility study, by the end of November 2010. It is envisaged that the project will be fast tracked with construction of the plant commencing by mid-2011. Production from Azatek is expected by the third quarter of 2012. Mr Michael Smith, Chairman and CEO of AAM said that; 'This challenging but highly prospective project offers considerable upside to the investor with an appetite for gold, but with a strong underpinning from the silver and, notably, antimony credits which provide a hedge against any potential falls in precious metal prices. Azatek will make an important contribution to the local community, in terms of employment creation, and indeed the local and national economy.' ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The topography and terrain at Azatek restricted the use of surface drilling so the mineralised zones at Azatek were explored from the surface by trenches, clearings and shafts at an average interval of 40m down to the Arpa River. A comprehensive underground system of adits and cross cuts was developed, with the adits tending to run across the mineralised structures. The total thickness of the mineralised zones was estimated from cross-cuts which were driven from the adits at 30-40m intervals. The lower horizons of the deposit (below the level of the Arpa River) were explored with boreholes drilled in profiles across strike of the mineralised zones. Several inclined boreholes were usually drilled from the same point to intersect the mineralised zones at different depth. A summary of the exploration work carried out at Azatek since 1951 follows. Department of Geology of Armenian SSR (1951-67) Geological Department Exploration Trust 1968-1972 1972-1977 1978-1980 1981-1994 Item Unit Total for 1951-1994 Prospecting Stage Prospecting Stage Sb Exploration Au Exploration Detailed Au Exploration Trench tm3 93.8 48.2 - 14.0 16.6 15.0 Drill Holes m 6,446 4,482 - 265 723 976 Adits m 50,025 9,290 6,581 1,560 6,358 13,242 Core Drilling m 116,148 2,331 16,166 30,768 167 50,184 Scope and Type of Exploration Undertaken at Azatek (1951-1994) Geology and Mineralisation The geology of the Azatek region comprises volcanogenic and volcanogenic-sedimentary units with post Eocene granitic intrusions, diorite porphyry dykes and diabase. Along the contact zones of the intrusive and Eocene units, 'dendritic' quartz-biotite-sericite, quartz-biotite tourmaline hornfels and secondary quartz were formed. The deposit lies within an anticlinal fold, with a northeast strike axis and shallow limbs dipping between 15 and 25°. The structure also features localised mineralisation at the juncture of intrusive margins, structural displacements and vein structures. Large scale faulting (5 to 20m wide) passes to the north of the deposit along an axis of another anticline fold. The fault surface dips steeply at an angle of 70 to 85°. A second series of faults, with similar characteristics, is traced to the east and strikes at 310-320° with a sub-vertical plunge of 85-88°. The primary vein structures at Azatek dip steeply at 75 to 85° with an attitude of approximately 155°. Numerous secondary veins form a dendritic network of secant veins that are generally inconsistent and irregular forming a stockwork-like formation. Along strike the veins are traced from 20-30m to between 1,000 and 2,000m, with a width of between 1.2 and 1.5m and up to 3.0m at its widest. This variation in thickness may suggest boudinage structures as a result of post intrusive deformation. In addition to the 'main' mineralised veins a secondary series of interstitial veins are present but do not constitute part of the resource. There is thought to be a vertical zonation whereby the presence of Cu and Au increases with depth. Resources and Reserves In 1974 the following reserves of the deposit were approved by the Central Committee of Reserves of the Ministry of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy (Protocol 933 of 13.03.74): 1974 Reserves Contained Metal Category Ore (kt) Sb(t) Pb(kt) Au(kg) Ag(t) B + C1 1,512 27,707 C2 3,036 73,564 C1 863 20.5 4,224 B + C1 963 983 303.6 Original (1974) Azatek Resource In 1997 a new 'reserve' was approved by the State Territorial Commission of Geological Department of Armenia. These data are also referred to in the 25-year licence issued to ARMANYAK LLC in 2005. The licence has an approved reserve of 6.8Mt and permits an annual production of 300kt. 1977 Reserves Contained Metal Category Ore (kt) Au (kg) Au (oz) Ag (t) Cu (t) Pb (t) Zn (t) C1 2,842 7,601 244,378 157.6 5,300 - - C2 3,976 9,879 317,617 236.0 7,900 37,200 18,800 C1 + C2 6,818 17,480 561,995 393.6 13,200 37,200 18,800 Average Grade n/a 2.6g/t 2.6g/t 55.43g/t 0.19% 0.55% 0.28% Latest (1977) Azatek Resource Contact: Mr Michael Smith - Chairman of Anglo-African Minerals plc Tel: +44 20 73185383 St Andrews Securities Harri Huuskonen - Anglo-African Minerals Broker T +44 207 718 0060 M +44 773 928 6880 09.08.2010 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Press Release distributed by DGAP. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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