wakey wakey....!!Pelangio acquires major land position in Ghana contiguous with AngloGold's Obuasi mine
11/29/05
TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2005 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) --
Pelangio Mines Inc. (PLG: TSX) today reported that it has acquired options on a major land position adjacent to AngloGold Ashanti's Obuasi gold mine in southwest Ghana, West Africa. The land holdings, to be known as the Pelangio Obuasi Property, cover approximately 410 square kilometres and are located within the prolific 300-kilometre long Ashanti gold belt.
"This major acquisition by Pelangio is consistent with the company's strategy of exploration and acquisition in proven gold belts with a record of world class production," said Ingrid Hibbard, President & CEO Pelangio Mines Inc. "From a global perspective, the Obuasi mine's combined historical and current reserve is greater than the entire combined production from all the mines in the Kirkland Lake gold camp to date. Ghana's mining history is more than 300 years old, and the country is one of the best developing nations in which to conduct mineral exploration and mining."
In total, the Pelangio Obuasi property consists of four mineral concessions. Three, the Meduma and Kyereboso No. 2 and No. 3, make up a 290 square kilometre block contiguous with a portion of the eastern border of the Obuasi mine property. The fourth concession, New Edubiasi, covers 120.7 square kilometres and is a separate block located about three kilometres south of the other three concessions.
One of the main reasons for Pelangio's interest in this land package is its contiguity with the Obuasi mine, which has been in production since 1898. In the eight months from May to December 2004, the mine produced 255,000 ounces of gold. According to AngloGold Ashanti's 2004 annual report, the mine is working towards an annualized production rate of 500,000 ounces. Development of its deep-level ore deposits could potentially extend the life-of-mine to well beyond 2040. The mine's historical production plus current reserves total approximately 50 million oz. of gold.
Prior to acquiring the property, Pelangio retained independent Canadian consultants, SRK Consulting with extensive knowledge and first hand experience of the Obuasi mine area to evaluate the merits and exploration potential of the project. In October 2005 SRK Consultants conducted an on site evaluation. Its preliminary due diligence review and documented historical geological information from a previous operator highlight the exceptional exploration potential of this project.
Of immediate interest is the projected strike extension onto the Pelangio Obuasi property of the Obuasi "Main Mine" trend, as indicated by previous preliminary work carried out by Randgold. The work included airborne magnetic surveys, geochemical surveys, and geological sampling. The "Main Mine" trend is responsible for the bulk of the production at the Obuasi mine. Randgold's work and the more recent preliminary examination by SRK Consulting on Pelangio's behalf suggest the Main Mine trend may extend for 10 kilometres across the Pelangio Obusasi property. It is believed that relatively minimal exploration has been completed in this area because of significant topographic relief and poor accessibility. Randgold's compilation work shows a shaft on the trend on the adjoining AngloGold property approximately 2.5 kilometres from the boundary.
Numerous other targets associated with known gold-bearing systems are present on the Pelangio Obuasi property. Pelangio is currently evaluating all of the targets on the property and formulating an exploration strategy for the entire project.
The property consists of land packages acquired from three private Ghanaian corporations. Pelangio has the right to acquire a 100% interest in all three packages by paying a total of US$3.8 million and issuing a total of 16 million shares over five years. Alternatively, after the second year, Pelangio may elect to acquire a 51% interest by paying a total of US$800,000 and issuing eight million shares with joint ventures to be formed subsequently. Each land package is subject to a 2% net smelter return (NSR). The deal is subject to regulatory approvals in Ghana and Canada.
J. Kevin Filo, P.Geo., has been designated as qualified person for this press release. Technical information reported in this press release was compiled by Mr. Filo from various sources including corporate reports submitted to the Government of Ghana on the various mineral concessions by companies such as Randgold. Mr. Filo also relied on property reviews submitted to Pelangio by independent consultants, Jean-Francois Couture, P.Geo, of SRK Consulting and Fred Sharpley, P.Geo, from their recent field visit. Information was also taken from the public domain including AngloGold Ashanti annual reports and data from Newmont Mining Corporation's web site.
To view map of Pelangio Obuasi Property, please click on the following link: https://files.newswire.ca/410/obuasi.pdf