TIDMAVM

RNS Number : 6911C

Avocet Mining PLC

21 January 2015

21 January 2015

Short term loan funding arrangement with Elliott Management

and Inata update

Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") announces that it has agreed terms with its largest shareholder, Elliott Management ("Elliott"), which is the beneficial owner of 27.7% of the Company's shares, for US$1.5 million loan funding.

The funding, which is expected to meet the Company's corporate requirements for approximately three months, is intended to allow the Company to continue its business review, while exploring longer term funding options. As part of the business review Avocet continues to consider options for maximising the value of its assets for the benefit of shareholders, including its Inata mine and the adjacent Souma deposit in Burkina Faso, and its Tri-K development project in Guinea.

The new loan funding consists of an unsecured demand loan of US$1.5 million from Manchester Securities Corp., an affiliate of Elliott, with an interest rate of 12%.

In addition, the Company announces that while limited operations have resumed at Inata's process plant to allow the processing of stockpiled ore, planning is still ongoing regarding a full resumption of operations including mining activities. In particular, following the illegal strike in December and the subsequent dismissal of approximately 300 employees, management is in the process of determining the optimal revised manning structures.

The Company expects to be able to provide a further update on Inata shortly, and updates on the business review in due course as appropriate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

 
Avocet Mining  Bell Pottinger     J.P. Morgan                NM Rothschild       Investec Bank 
 PLC            Financial PR       Cazenove                   Financial Adviser   Plc 
                Consultants        Corporate Broker                               Financial Adviser 
David Cather,  Daniel Thöle  Michael Wentworth-Stanley  Roger Ewart-Smith   George Price 
 CEO                                                          Sam Critchlow 
 Mike Norris, 
 FD 
+44 203 709    +44 20 2772        +44 20 7742                +44 20 7280         +44 20 7597 
 2570           2555               4000                       5424                4180

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. Across the Bélahouro district, which includes both Inata and the Souma deposit, the Company controls a Mineral Resource of 6.1 million ounces and an Ore Reserve of 0.5 million ounces. The Inata Gold Mine poured its first gold in December 2009 and produced 118,443 ounces of gold in 2013. Other assets in Burkina Faso include eight exploration permits surrounding the Inata Gold Mine in the broader Bélahouro region. The most advanced of these projects is Souma, some 20 kilometres from the Inata Gold Mine.

In Guinea, Avocet owns 100% of the Tri-K Project in the north east of the country. Drilling to date has outlined a Mineral Resource of 3.0 million ounces, and in October 2013 the Company announced a maiden Ore Reserve on the oxide portion of the orebody, which is suitable for heap leaching, of 0.5 million ounces. As an alternative, the potential exists to exploit the entire 3.0 million ounce Tri-K orebody via the CIL processing method.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

MSCEAFFEAEDSEAF

Avocet Mining (LSE:AVM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Avocet Mining Charts.
Avocet Mining (LSE:AVM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Avocet Mining Charts.