2015 Abridged Mineral Resource & Mineral Re...

Pan African Resources PLC

(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales under Companies Act 1985 with registered number 3937466 on 25 February 2000)

Share code on AIM: PAF

Share code on JSE: PAN

ISIN: GB0004300496

("Pan African Resources" or the "Company" or the "Group")

2015 Abridged Mineral Resource & Mineral Reserve Report

Pan African Resources PLC (AIM: PAF, JSE: PAN), the African focused precious metals producer, is pleased to announce that the 2015 Abridged Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Report ("MR&MR") has now been published and is available on the Company's website at www.panafricanresources.com. A summary of the report, including the Group Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve statement as at 30 June 2015 has been provided below.

Overview

• 0.3 million ounces (“Moz”) or 3.0% gross annual increase in Group’s gold reserve to 10.4Moz (2014: 10.1Moz)
• Increase in the Group’s gold reserve due to the extension of the Main Reef Complex (“MRC”) orebody on Fairview Mine (0.3Moz), at Barberton Mines
• 1.6Moz or 4.8% decrease in Group’s gold resource to 31.9Moz (2014: 33.5Moz)
• 20,000oz or 3.9% decrease in Group’s Platinum Group Elements (“PGE”) reserve to 0.50Moz (2014: 0.52Moz)
• No material change in Group’s PGE resource, 0.6Moz (2014: 0.6Moz)
• Exploration drilling and organic growth in accessing and development of orebodies at the Group's key assets progressed and has incremental resource ounces added
• Ongoing conversion of resources to reserves expected to continue to increase life of mine production profiles
• Preliminary economic assessments for Evander South brownfields project (“Evander South Project”) and Elikhulu

Gold

Group Gold Mineral Resources

The Group's attributable gold Mineral Resources decreased from 33.5 Moz in June 2014 to 31.9Moz in June 2015, equating to an annual decrease of 1.6Moz, or 4.8%. Of this variance, a decrease of 1.9Moz can be attributed to Evander Mines and an increase of 0.3Moz to Barberton Mines.

As at 30 June 2015
					Tonnes		Grade		Contained Gold
			Category		(million)		(g/t)		kg		Moz
Mineral Resource			Measured		6.5		10.35		67,471		2.2
			Indicated		273.7		2.33		637,457		20.5
			Inferred		38.6		7.43		286,990		9.2
Pan African Resources			Total		318.8		3.11		991,918		31.9

The decrease in Mineral Resources can be attributed to inflationary cost drivers in the reporting of the 2015 Mineral Resources. The 0.3Moz positive variance in contained gold at Barberton Mines was a result of adding new mineral resources from the extension of the MRC orebody on Fairview Mine.

Group Gold Mineral Reserves

The Group's attributable Mineral Reserves increased from 10.1Moz in June 2014 to 10.4Moz in June 2015 - an annual increase of 0.3Moz, or 3.0%. Of this variance, 0.3Moz increase can be attributed to Barberton Mines.

As at 30 June 2015
					Tonnes		Grade		Contained Gold
			Category		(million)		(g/t)		kg		Moz
Mineral Reserve			Proved		3.9		7.27		28,474		1.0
			Probable		81.0		3.62		293,478		9.4
Pan African Resources			Total		84.9		3.79		321,952		10.4

The total increase in the Mineral Reserves can be attributed to the conversion of Mineral Resources at Barberton Mines, the extension of MRC orebody at Fairview Mine.

Platinum Group Elements

Group PGE Mineral Resources

The Group's attributable PGE Mineral Resources did not change materially in the year under review.

As at 30 June 2015
					Tonnes		Grade		Contained PGE’s
			Category		(million)		(g/t)		kg		Moz
Mineral Resource			Measured		1.6		2.46		3,937		0.1
			Indicated		3.2		3.66		11,574		0.4
			Inferred		1.2		2.90		3,446		0.1
Pan African Resources			Total		6.0		3.14		18,957		0.6

Group PGE Mineral Reserves

The Group's attributable PGE Mineral Reserves decreased from 0.52Moz in June 2014 to 0.50Moz in June 2015 - an annual decrease of 20,000oz or 3.9%. This was due to the re-mining of the Buffelsfontein tailings dams in the current year.

As at 30 June 2015					Tonnes		Grade		Contained PGE’s
			Category		(million)		(g/t)		kg		Moz
Mineral Reserve			Proved		1.6		2.46		3,937		0.1
			Probable		3.2		3.56		11,574		0.4
Pan African Resources			Total		4.8		3.20		15,511		0.5

Group organic growth

Group: Exploring the orebody - exploration drilling

Operation	Total metres	No. of boreholes	Average channel width (cm)	No. of intersections above cut-off	Average grade (g/t)	Total expenditure (Rm)
Barberton Mines	11,491	157	130	72	19.79	8.5
Evander Mines	632	12	132	8	16.30	0.6
Phoenix Platinum	–	–	–	–	–	–

Highlights:

Exploration drilling projects at Barberton Mines yielded positive results, confirming the down dip extension of the high grade 11 Block of the MRC ore body by a further 170 meters. This extension to the MRC orebody resulted in an annual increase in Barberton Mines’ Mineral Reserves by                    236,162 oz, thereby extending the life of mine of Barberton Mines to 20 years.

The Fairview MRC orebody has been the primary gold contributor towards gold produced at Barberton Mines. This orebody is an epigenetic hydrothermal lode-gold deposit with a strike length that ranges between 70m – 120m and also extending to depth. Gold mineralisation is associated with arsenopyrite and pyrite with an average reserve grade of 35 g/t declared for the MRC. The mineralised widths range between 7m – 15m.

Recent borehole results of the 11 Block are detailed hereunder:

Borehole number	Channel width (cm)	Grade (g/t)
Bh 5940	687	53.30
Bh 5816	691	120.03
Bh 5849	1626	50.22
Bh 5864	1383	43.82

Accessing the orebody - on-reef development

Operation	Total on-reef development (m)	Average grade (g/t)
Barberton Mines	1,041	5.01
Evander Mines	528	22.72
Phoenix Platinum	–	–

Barberton Mines: Developing the orebody - capital ore reserve projects

Project	Y/E 30 June 2015 (m)	Y/E 30 June 2014 (m)	Y/E 30 June 2013 (m)	Potential resource target (oz)
Sheba – pillar development	824	351	317	23,599
Sheba – Edwin Bray to Thomas and Joe’s Luck area	5 (equipping incline shaft)	171	102	13,246
Fairview – 11 Level Royal Reef	0 (equipping old main shaft)	0 (equipping old main shaft)	0	17,000
Fairview – 1# ore reserve opening	84	154	179	14,821
Fairview – 3 Shaft deepening	26	0	228	1,600
Fairview – 64-68 Level	447	295	601	840,704
Sheba Western C	295	71	0	32,022
Royal Sheba	165	0	0	206,750
Consort – 33-45PC	258	193	252	10,000
Consort – MMR pillar development	0	173	129	(new target area)
8-3 #	327	253		900

Evander Mines: Developing the orebody - capital ore reserve projects

Project	Y/E 30 June 2015 (m)	Y/E 30 June 2014 (m)	Y/E 30 June 2013 (m)	Potential resource target (oz)
2 Decline 24–25 Level	904	685	554	1,200,000
25 A block ventilation	10	925	124

Growth projects:

An internal technical team from Evander Mines has been assigned to assess the merits of progressing the Evander South Project to the level of a feasibility study. The Evander South Project is a potentially attractive mining opportunity whereby the Kimberley reef can be exploited at shallow depths, commencing at 300m below surface.

In light of the positive results of the Evander Tailings Retreatment Plant, the Company is progressing studies on the viability of constructing “Elikhulu”, a tailings retreatment plant which can potentially treat slimes at a processing capacity of up to 12 million tonnes per annum at a head grade of 0.28g/t from the Winkelhaak, Leslie and Kinross tailings storage facilities. The total mineral resource for Elikhulu is 165Mt at 0.28g/t (1.5Moz).

The Sheba and New Consort tailings dams will provide potential future sources of tailings which will support the increased Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant (“BTRP”) life of operation to 15 years (2014: 12 years). The BTRP has a mineral reserve of 0.6Moz (13.4Mt at 1.5 g/t). The BTRP payback period was 18 months from commissioning on 1 July 2013, therefore the increase in the BTRP life of operation is expected to result in further surplus free cash flows.

Reporting in compliance with SAMREC Code

To meet the requirement of the South African Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves ("SAMREC Code") that the material reported as a Mineral Resource should have "reasonable and realistic prospects for eventual economic extraction", Pan African Resources has determined an appropriate cut-off grade which has been applied to the quantified mineralised body. In determining the cut-off grade, Pan African Resources uses a gold price of R500 000/kg. At our underground mines, the optimal cut-off is defined as the lowest grade at which an orebody can be mined such that the total profits, under a specified set of mining parameters, are maximised. The Mineral Resource optimiser tool that was accordingly developed in-house was applied to the Mineral Resource inventory.

The optimiser programme requires the following inputs to convert the Mineral Resource to the Mineral Reserve:

• the database inventory of all mineral resource blocks;
• an assumed gold price - ZAR400 000/kg;
• planned production rates for each mine;
• mine call factor;
• plant recovery factors; and
• planned cash operating costs and other efficiency factors, which are calculated using historical achievements as a baseline.

The Mineral Reserves represent that portion of the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources above cut-off in the life of mine plan, and have been estimated after consideration of the modifying factors affecting extraction. A range of disciplines has been involved at each mine in the life of mine planning process including geology, surveying, planning, mining engineering, rock engineering, metallurgy, financial management, human resources management and environmental management.

Note: Mineral Resources are inclusive of the Mineral Reserve, unless otherwise stated. Rounding of numbers contained in this announcement may result in minor computational discrepancies.

Competent Person

The competent person for Pan African Resources, Mr Barry Naicker, the group Mineral Resource Manager, signs off the MR&MR for the Group and has reviewed and approved the information contained in this announcement in writing. He is a member of the South African Council for Scientific Professions (400234/10). Mr Naicker has 14 years of experience in economic geology and mineral resource management.

He is based at 1st Floor, The Firs, cnr. Cradock and Biermann Avenues, Rosebank, 2196, Gauteng.

Contact Details

Corporate Office
The Firs Office Building
1st Floor, Office 101
Cnr. Cradock and Biermann Avenues
Rosebank, Johannesburg
South Africa
Office: + 27 (0) 11 243 2900
Facsmile: + 27 (0) 11 880 1240

Registered Office
Suite 31
Second Floor
107 Cheapside
London
EC2V 6DN
United Kingdom

Office: + 44 (0) 207 796 8644
Facsmile: + 44 (0) 207 796 8645

Cobus Loots	Deon Louw
Pan African Resources PLC	Pan African Resources PLC
Chief Executive Officer	Financial Director
Office: + 27 (0)11 243 2900	Office: + 27 (0) 11 243 2900

Phil Dexter	John Prior / Paul Gillam / James Black
St James's Corporate Services Limited	Numis Securities Limited
Company Secretary	Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker
Office: + 44 (0)207 796 8644	Office: [phone]

Sholto Simpson	Matthew Armitt / Ross Allister
One Capital	Peel Hunt LLP
JSE Sponsor	Joint Broker
Office: + 27 (0)11 550 5009	Office: [phone]

Julian Gwillim	Daniel Thöle
Aprio Strategic Communications	Bell Pottinger PR
Public & Investor Relations SA	Public & Investor Relations UK
Office: [phone]	Office: + 44 (0)203 772 2500

www.panafricanresources.com