Placing & Acquisition
Immediate release: 13 August 2004
White Knight Investments Plc
("White Knight" or the "Company")
Highlights
* Proposed placing of 60,000,000 new ordinary shares of 1p each ("Ordinary
Shares") to raise £1.5 million before expenses;
* Proposed issue of 99,000,000 new Ordinary Shares to complete payment of
consideration of Mistral Resource Development Corporation Limited
("Mistral");
* Proposed re-admission to AIM;
* Proposed appointment of Colin Bird, Trygve Kroepelien and Rob Still to the
board;
* Proposed change of name to Pan African Resources plc.
White Knight Investments Plc is delighted to announce a proposed placing of
60,000,000 new Ordinary Shares to raise £1.5 million gross. In addition, the
Company proposes to issue 99,000,000 new Ordinary Shares to complete payment
for the acquisition of Mistral.
On 3 December 2003, the Company announced that it had completed the acquisition
of Mistral Resource Development Corporation Limited, a company that is
undertaking two gold exploration projects, one in Ghana and one in Mozambique.
The project in Ghana is a farm-in agreement with Kenor whereby Mistral can earn
a 90 per cent. interest in the project (which consists of three licences). The
project in Mozambique is an option agreement with Pangea to acquire either the
benefit of a prospecting and mining option relating to a licence in Mozambique
or to acquire the entire issued share capital of the company holding that
licence.
Pursuant to the Mistral Agreement, on completion of the acquisition of Mistral
the Company issued 53,000,000 Ordinary Shares to the Mistral Vendors by way of
initial consideration, and agreed to issue up to a further 466,800,000 Ordinary
Shares subject to certain milestones (``Deferred Consideration Shares'') being
achieved in Mistral's exploration work.
Your Board is pleased to announce that agreement has been reached with the
Mistral Vendors that the number of new Ordinary Shares to be issued by way of
deferred consideration will be reduced to 99,000,000. The Mistral Vendors have
transferred their rights to receive the Deferred Consideration Shares to
Brampton Capital Overseas Limited (``Brampton''), a company incorporated in the
British Virgin Islands and wholly owned by the Mistral Vendors. Brampton has no
material assets or liabilities other than the right to receive the Deferred
Consideration. The Company has conditionally agreed to acquire the entire
issued share capital of Brampton in consideration for the issue of 99,000,000
new Ordinary Shares (``Brampton Consideration Shares''). In effect, this means
that the Company's obligation to issue the Deferred Consideration Shares will
be satisfied by the issue of the Brampton Consideration Shares.
The issue of the Brampton Consideration Shares will mean that the acquisitions
of Mistral and Brampton together constitute a reverse take-over of the Company
under the AIM Rules and so the issue of the Brampton Consideration Shares will
be conditional upon the approval of the Company's shareholders being obtained
at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company (``EGM'') to be held on 8
September 2004. If such approval is given, then trading in the Ordinary Shares
on AIM will be cancelled. Application will be made for the re-admission of the
Enlarged Issued Share Capital of the Company to trading on AIM as a new
applicant.
The Company proposes to raise £1.5 million by way of a Placing of a further
60,000,000 new Ordinary Shares at a price of 2.5p per share. The Placing has
been underwritten by Evolution Beeson Gregory but is conditional, inter alia,
on shareholder approval being obtained in respect of the acquisition of
Brampton and the issue of the Brampton Consideration Shares, the issue of the
Placing Shares and on Admission. It is proposed that the proceeds of the
Placing will be used to develop the Mistral exploration projects.
To reflect the Group's new direction, it is proposed that the name of the
Company be changed to Pan African Resources PLC with effect from Admission.
Roger Craddock, an experienced mining engineer joined the board on 1 July 2004
as Managing Director. Malcolm Burne stood down and Nathan Steinberg took over
as Chairman and Henry Bellingham stood down as a non executive director on 13
August 2004. On Completion, Colin Bird, will be appointed non-executive
Chairman. Nathan Steinberg will stand down as Chairman but remain as Finance
Director. Trygve Kroepelien and Rob Still will be appointed as non-executive
directors
As a result of the issue of the Brampton Consideration Shares and the Placing
Shares, the percentage shareholding in the Company of the Mistral Vendors will
be increased from 31.4 per cent. to 45.4 per cent. Under rule 9(1) of the City
Code on Takeovers and Mergers, the Concert Party (who are the beneficial owners
of Brampton), together with Pangea, Rob Still and Boston Life and Annuity
Company Limited, who are deemed to constitute a concert party for such
purposes, will be required to make a general offer to the other shareholders of
the Company to acquire their Ordinary Shares. However, the Panel has agreed to
waive this obligation, subject to the approval of the Company's shareholders
(other than members of the Concert Party) being given at the EGM, with a vote
being taken on a poll.
DIRECTORS AND PROPOSED DIRECTORS
Current Directors of the Company
The current directors of the Company are Roger Craddock and Nathan Steinberg
and it is proposed that both Directors will remain with the Company on
Completion.
Nathan Steinberg, aged 50, Chairman and Finance Director
Nathan Steinberg is a Chartered Accountant and a partner at accountancy firm
Munslows. Mr Steinberg specialises in advising high net worth individuals on
taxation and other financial matters and is currently on the board of AIM
quoted Golden Prospect PLC. He also advises a number of other AIM companies. On
Completion, Mr Steinberg will stand down as Chairman but will continue to serve
as Finance Director.
Roger Craddock, aged 57, Managing Director
Roger Craddock was appointed to the board on 1 July 2004. Mr Craddock is an
experienced mining engineer who has, since 2000, been working as an independent
mining consultant. Mr Craddock has been active in the mining industry since
1968, and between June 1999 and April 2000 he served as Chief Operating Officer
of Oxus Resources Corporation. He held a number of senior positions within the
Australian registered Normandy Mining Limited between 1990 and 1999.
Proposed Directors
Colin Bird, aged 60, proposed non-executive Chairman
Colin Bird, is a Chartered Engineer and a fellow of the Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy with more than 30 years' experience in resource operations
management, corporate management and finance. Colin Bird's experience covers a
number of sectors including gold, copper and coal in a number of locations. In
October 1995 he joined Lion Mining Finance Limited in London as Technical
Manager and is now Managing Director of that company. He is a director of the
listed Canadian mining company, Freegold Ventures Inc. and is technical adviser
to Pacific North West Capital which made a major PGM discovery close to
Sudbury, Canada and successfully assisted the admission of Franconia Minerals
PLC to OFEX in February 2002. He is chief executive of Jubilee Platinum PLC and
a director of Bullion Resources PLC, both of which are AIM quoted companies.
Trygve Kroepelien, aged 68, proposed non-executive director
Mr Kroepelien is an experienced mining industry executive and from 1987 until
31 December 2003 he was a director of Kenor ASA, a Norwegian mining company
that is now listed in both Toronto and Oslo under the name Guinor Gold
Corporation. Kenor ASA is the Company's joint venture partner in its Ghana Wa
project. Mr Kroepelien has also been a director of a number of other mining and
exploration companies.
Rob Still, aged 49, proposed non-executive director
Rob Still is a South African Chartered Accountant who was a partner in Ernst &
Young until his decision to enter the mining industry in 1985. Since then he
has served as a chief executive or a director of a number of junior and major
mining and exploration companies, in South Africa, Australia and Canada. He is
presently non-executive chairman of Zimbabwe Platinum Mines Limited and a
director of Toronto listed Great Basin Gold Limited, is chairman of the New
Africa Mining Fund and a director of several private SA incorporated companies.
He was previously a director of Pangea Exploration (Pty) Limited.
APPENDIX - INFORMATION ON THE PROJECTS
The Wa Gold Project, Ghana
Mistral acquired an option from Kenor ASA (``Kenor'') for 90 per cent. of the
exploration rights of the Wa Gold Project. The option agreement allows Mistral
to earn its interest in three increments, 50 per cent., 20 per cent. and 20 per
cent., through minimum agreed exploration expenditure and the issue of shares
and payments of cash to Kenor. Activities are managed by an exploration
committee over which Mistral has a casting vote.
Kenor (now called Guinor Gold Corporation) is the owner (85 per cent.) of the
Lero Gold Mine in the Dinguiraye area of north east Guinea. Kenor has been
successfully operating in Guinea since 1995 and has increased its resource base
to 3.7 million ounces. It is currently studying a proposed major expansion
which will increase production to 350,000 ounces gold per annum. Trygve
Kroepelien, who has only recently retired as managing director of Kenor, is
proposed to join the board of the Company.
The Project consists of three Prospecting Licences, Colette, Julie and
Josephine that cover a total area of 304 square kilometres. The Julie and
Colette Licences are contiguous. All three licences were extended by a decision
of the Minerals Commission of the Republic of Ghana on 23 January 2004, until
23 January 2005. At the end of the extension, in accordance with the terms of
the extension, Kenor is required to submit certain documents in order to obtain
a renewal of the licences: a comprehensive terminal report, a detailed
financial report, a site plan indicating exploration areas to be relinquished
and to be retained, evidence of payment of annual ground rents and an
environment permit. It is customary to allow the ministry a three month period
to review submissions and, accordingly, the Company expects to submit these
documents in the Autumn of 2004.
The transfer by Kenor of its interest in the Wa Gold Project is subject to the
approval of the Minerals Commission of the Republic of Ghana and to the payment
of a fee to the Minerals Commission. The Directors believe that the Enlarged
Group will obtain the appropriate rights and/or licences to carry out its
planned exploration programme in the Wa Gold Project.
Ghana is a world class gold producer, Africa's second largest after South
Africa. Gold deposits are associated with greenstone belts which trend
northeast/southwest in the south west of the country. These belts continue into
the north of the country and into Cote d'Ivoire and Burkino Faso.
The Wa Gold Project is located approximately 50 kilometres east of the regional
capital town of Wa, in the upper west region of Ghana. Wa lies close to the
borders of Cote d'Ivoire and Burkino Faso some 550 kilometres north north west
of the capital Accra.
The Wa Project is situated on a greenstone belt of Birimian metavolcanics and
metasediments which is at the junction of the north-south trending Lawra Belt
and the northeast/southwest trending Bole-Navrongo Belt. Both of these belts
continue into Burkino Faso where the Lawra belt develops into the high
potential Poura Belt.
The Wa region received little modern exploration attention until the mid 1990s
when Kenor and a few other exploration companies commenced activities. Five
prospects have been identified to date from initial exploration.
Julie Prospect
The Julie prospect (within the Julie Licence which covers an area of 74 square
kilometres) is located about 40 kilometres east of Wa. Soil geochemistry over
the prospect showed a distinctive east west trend. Follow up soil sampling and
trenching identified a shear zone within the granodiorite, which hosts two
persistent quartz veins. The shear zone is 40 to 80 metres wide, and dips to
the north at 25 to 50 degrees. The zone has been drill tested over 3.5
kilometres of strike using rotary air blast and reverse circulation drilling
for a total of 159 holes (7,507 metres) to a depth of 20 to 45 metres.
Based on existing data Kenor estimated a ``resource'' of 3,362,600 tonnes @
2.89g/t Au containing 311,500 ounces of gold to a depth of approximately 30
metres over 3.5 kilometres of strike of the shear zone. Further detail drilling
is required to properly define the resource and quantify higher grade zones
believed to be 17 associated with cross-cutting structures. Initial
metallurgical tests on drill samples have indicated that the mineralisation is
not refractory and is amenable to conventional leaching.
Based on the trench and drill results the Julie prospect clearly has a
considerable resource potential which to date has been established over 3.5
kilometres of strike but only to a depth of 40 metres. The geochemical anomaly
extends both to the east and west of this tested area providing further
potential.
On the prospect Galamsay activity includes the exploitation of north-south
trending quartz veins. This Galamsay activity suggests that the areas adjacent
to the north-south trending structures, where they intersect the east-west
shear zone are prospective and also need to be drill tested.
The Directors believe that there is potential to define a significant resource
at the Julie prospect by an infill drilling programme that will also test
continuity at depths greater than 30 metres, potential ore shoots associated
with cross-cutting structures and strike extensions to the west and east.
Kjersti and Janet Prospects
The Kjersti and Janet prospects are located in the northern part of the Julie
Licence area.
The Kjersti prospect consists of a large but scattered gold anomaly
predominantly hosted within the Birimian sediments. Seven trenches (1,048
metres) and a widely spaced grid of 52 rotary air blast and reverse circulation
drill holes confirmed the presence of three shear zones. The western zone gave
some promising intersections, the best being 2 metres at 2.2 g/t Au, 1 metre at
5.9 g/t Au and 1 metre at 3.5 g/t Au. There is some Galamsay activity.
The Janet Prospect also consists of a large scattered anomaly over upper
Birimian sediments. Two follow up trenches gave anomalous gold intercepts up to
0.92 g/t Au.
The Directors believe that there is insufficient data at either of these
projects to explain the large gold anomalies and that a number of targets still
require testing. The potential of these two prospects will be further
investigated in the planned work programmes.
Josephine Prospect
The Josephine Prospect (within the Josephine Licence which covers an area of
148 square kilometres) is located some 25 to 30 kilometres to the south east of
Wa. Initial mapping and soil geochemistry have located two distinct areas of
mineralisation some four kilometres apart, i.e. Josephine North and Josephine
South. Some 898 metres of follow up trenching and 28 rotary air blast and RC
drill holes have been completed on the two prospects to date.
At Josephine North, north west - south east trending shear zones have been
traced for over one kilometre. They were defined by a very strong soil anomaly
commonly peaking at over 1000pbb Au. The shear zones are developed within
biotite shist metasediments near the contact with a biotite granodiorite. The
shear was test by 9 trenches and 17 reverse circulation drill holes on sections
between 80 and 100 metres apart. The drill holes average 30 metres apart on
section, were inclined at 50 to 60 degrees with depths between 22 and 110
metres. Some significant intersections were found in both drill holes and
trenches. Some of the better results obtained were 5 metres at 5.37 g/t Au, 5
metres at 16.6 g/t Au, 5 metres at 1.4 g/t Au and 8 metres at 1.59 g/t Au.
A ``resource'' of 1,046,000 tonnes @ 1.82 g/t containing 61,400 ounces has been
estimated over a strike length of 280 metres. This indicates the resource
potential for this prospect which will require further drilling to better
define and quantify its significance.
The mineralisation is open at depth and to the northwest, also possibly to the
south east where it is felt that the drill holes were incorrectly located.
Galamsay activity has been quite extensive in the area including surface
excavations, shafts and winzes on two 0.5 metre thick quartz veins. A grade of
20 g/t gold was recorded from a grab sample on the main winze.
At Josephine South a soil anomaly was found by geochemical sampling and a north
east - south west shear zone has been traced for approximately one kilometre.
However the contact zone is very complex and only a few rotary air blast holes
have been drilled in the prospect.
The Directors believe that the Josephine Licence is probably the least
understood of the Wa licences and that the area would benefit from more
comprehensive geological mapping with particular attention on structural
features before the potential of the licence can be fully understood and
further drill tested.
However results from trenching and initial drilling to date indicate that
Josephine North has a significant resource potential.
Colette Prospect
The Colette prospect (within the Colette Licence which covers an area of 82
square kilometres) is located some 12 kilometres east of the Julie prospect.
Initial mapping and soil geochemistry indicated a large anomalous area situated
around two shear zones that have developed at or near the contacts with the
upper Birimian volcanics. Extensive Galamsay activity exists in both zones and
seems to be concentrated on east-west trending silicified units or quartz
veins.
Some 1,513 metres of trenches where developed across the anomaly but due to a
limited understanding of the regolith and mechanical (downhill) dispersion of
quartz vein materials a number of the trenches were mis-located. A total of
3,919 metres of rotary air blast and reverse circulation drilling (118 holes)
have also been completed but on very widely spaced fences. The best
intersections were 12 metres @ 4.15 g/t gold and 2 metres @ 6.38 g/t gold.
The gold anomaly at Colette has been interpreted to overlie stratigraphic
contacts between Birimian volcanics and sediments typical of the setting for
some of the larger deposits found elsewhere in Ghana. The Directors believe
that initial exploration on the Colette Licence has produced interesting
results and that reassessment of the original data plus additional structural
and regolith mapping will lead to a more focused drill programme to further
test the potential of the anomalies. Drilling of the southern contact of the
anomaly has been limited to only two drill fences over a strike of 1,500 metres
(the better results from drilling to date include 7 metres @ 3.98g/t gold and
12 metres @ 4.15 g/t gold). In addition the east end of the anomaly, which is
on the intersection of the granitoids and the Birimian volcanics and sediments,
has yet to be tested.
Potential of the Wa Gold Project
The project is at a relatively early stage of exploration. Soil geochemistry
surveys have been effective in identifying broad gold anomalies and discrete
gold prospects. These prospects have been confirmed by bedrock trenching and
drilling.
Potentially economic gold mineralisation has been identified at Julie and
Josephine North and both areas are considered to have significant resource
potential.
The Colette Prospect may represent a target more typical of the style of
mineralisation associated with the economically significant deposits in
southern Ghana where the anomalies are interpreted to overlie the favourable
Birimian contact area between sediments and volcanics.
There has been limited drill assessment of the project and the full potential
of the gold anomalies has still to be tested. A detailed work programme has
been prepared to fully assess the currently delineated prospects by an
extension of the geological and regolith mapping followed by an extensive
reverse circulation and diamond drilling programme. It is also planned and to
review and rework existing and new regional reconnaissance data using the
latest interpretation techniques. This may lead to the acquisition of further
licences in this largely unexplored area of Ghana.
The Manica Gold Project, Mozambique
The project is based around a current exploration licence held by Explorator
covering an area of 44 square kilometres. Licences are granted for a five year
period with right to renew for a further five years. The licence is currently
valid from 20 October 2003 for five years. To date, the Group has invested over
US$1 million on exploration development of this project.
Mistral acquired an option from Pangea Exploration (Pty) Limited (``Pangea'')
for 80 per cent. of the Manica Gold Project. Pangea is a company which is owned
as to 33 per cent. by a trust connected with the family of Rob Still, a
Proposed Director. This is in the form of an acquisition agreement in which
Pangea assigned to Mistral all of its rights and obligations under a
prospecting and mining option agreement between Explorator and the shareholders
of Explorator and Pangea. Pangea retains a 20 per cent. Carried interest in the
Manica Gold Project. Pangea has the right to acquire either such licence or all
of the issued share capital of Explorator under its agreement with Explorator,
and Mistral has the same rights under its respective agreement with Pangea.
Mistral therefore has all the rights against Explorator that Pangea was granted
under its agreement with Explorator. The transfer by Explorator of its interest
in the Manica Gold Project is subject to the approval of the Ministry of
Minerals Resources and Energy of the Republic of Mozambique and to the payment
of a fee to the Ministry. However, a legal opinion has been obtained which
states that Ministerial approval is not required in the event Mistral obtains
such licence by acquiring Explorator, pursuant to the aforementioned agreement.
The Directors believe that the Enlarged Group will obtain the appropriate
rights and/or licences to carry out its planned exploration programme in the
Manica Gold Project.
Pangea manages the exploration in Mozambique through a joint venture agreement
with Mistral. The Directors believe that Pangea is a well reputed company and
its principals are closely associated with Pangea Goldfields Inc. (acquired by
Barrick Gold Corporation in July 2000), Tan Range Exploration, a Toronto based
company, whose business strategy is to acquire royalty interests from its very
significant mineral property holdings in the Lake Victoria Goldfields in
Tanzania and Southern Mining, a South African company, which has brought the
Australian mining company Western Mining Corporation into the Corridor Mineral
Sands Project in Mozambique. Under the terms of its agreement with Pangea the
Company has a ``right of first refusal'' to acquire from Pangea any African
gold projects which Pangea has sourced and developed.
The Manica Gold Project is situated at the eastern end of the Ozi/Mutare/Manica
(OMM) greenstone belt of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The belt is part of the
Archaean Zimbabwe shield and has produced more than 80 tonnes of gold to date.
Approximately 12 tonnes of gold has been produced from the Mozambique section
of the belt and 65 tonnes has been produced from the former Rezende Mine and
surrounding operations on the Zimbabwe section of the belt, some 40 kilometres
west of the project area.
The gold mineralisation of the Manica greenstones has been dated at 2.6 to 2.7
billion years, in line with the age of other Archaean lode gold deposits
elsewhere in the world, i.e. the Lake Victorian greenstone belts of north
western Tanzania and the important greenstone belts of western Australia. The
mineral prospects in the project area appear to be approximately on strike with
the Rezende Mine where the mineralisation is hosted by a shear zone in
granodiorite. A granitoid intrusion outcrops in the vicinity of the old
Vinganca and Guy Fawkes mines in the project area. The metamorphic grade of the
greenstone belt in the Mutare/Manica section is lower-greenshist facies, which
is considered to be very favourable for the existence and retention of ancient
hydrothermal gold lode deposits. The geological environment appears highly
encouraging for the prospectivity of the two main target areas, the Andrada
zone which stretches from the old Fair Bride to the Dot's Luck workings and the
Mutambarico zone a few kilometres to the north which covers approximately 10
kilometres from the old Boa Esperanca open pit to the Guy Fawkes mine, in the
project area given their strong similarities with the style and setting of
other significant Archaean greenstone hosted gold deposits.
The project area is located immediately north of the town of Manica and close,
70 kilometres, to the regional capital of Chimoio in Manica Province, east
Central Mozambique. Manica is located on the border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe,
with the Zimbabwean town of Mutare close by. Manica, Chimoio and Mutare are all
in the Beira - Mutare Corridor between Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The corridor is
a major link between the two countries and carries road, rail and power links
as well as a fuel pipeline route.
Currently the Manica Gold Project has two main target areas, the Andrada and
the Mutambarico Zones.
The Mutambarico Zone, Boa Esperanca - Guy Fawkes mine
The Boa Esperanca - Guy Fawkes zone is located some 6 to 9 kilometres north
west of the town of Manica. The main target is a ten kilometre long shear, with
several old mine workings and some current artisinal workings. Satellite
imagery, geochemical sampling and geological mapping show an alignment of the
old workings along a major west north west trending kilometre wide duplex
structure. Mineralisation is either hosted in banded iron formations, highly
sheared banded iron formations or in quartz veins in talc shists.
More than 7 kilometres of the strike of the shear have been soil sampled and
mapped to date. An extensive mineralised system has been confirmed by the
delineation of very extensive soil gold anomalies along the lower bounding
shear.
Recently some areas of the zone have been drill tested. 9 reverse circulation
holes (808 metres) were drilled at Boa Esperanca and 14 reverse circulation
hole (1,378 metres) plus 2 diamond drill holes (453 metres) were drilled at Guy
Fawkes. The best intersection at Boa Esperanca was 3 metres at 1.13 g/t Au
however further strike extensions still have to be tested.
In the Guy Fawkes area the best intersections were 3 metres at 4.05 g/t Au and
3 metres at 4.13 g/t Au plus 4 metres at 2.45 g/t Au from one of the diamond
drill holes. Due to access and depth limitations of the reverse circulation rig
most of the reverse circulation holes may have been stopped short of the target
20 mineralisation. However results to date indicate that the structure is open
and plunges at a shallow angle in the east but dies out to the west as the main
shear breaks up into numerous lesser shears.
In addition to the above, reverse circulation drill targets have been defined
at Vinganca, below and along strike from old open pit workings and at Palhada
where soil anomalies up to 1,400pbb gold have been found.
The Andrada Zone, Fair Bride - Dot's Luck Prospect
The Fair Bride - Dot's Luck zone is adjacent to the Boa Esperanca - Guy Fawkes
area and some 4 to 6 kilometres northwest of the town of Manica. The main
target is a 7 kilometre strike length of banded iron formations which has
supported a number of old mines including the Dot's Luck open pit and, 7
kilometres to the west, the Fair Bride open pit and shaft. Mineralisation at
Fair Bride occurs as thick shoot-like goldbearing stockworks in lens that
plunge vertically or very steeply to the north east. The lens is contained in
vertical ferruginous to black manganiferous shales and is weathered to 50/60
metres below surface.
At Dot's Luck drilling by the East Germans and subsequently by Lonrho gave an
estimate of approximately 300,000 tonnes at 2.5 to 3.0 g/t Au. However no
original data is available.
Recent exploration programmes have consisted of soil sampling, geological
mapping and limited RC drilling programme consisting of 37 widely spaced holes
(total 2,270 metres). This work showed that the gold anomalies were mainly
concentrated to the east of the zone where gold mineralisation appears to be
associated with multiple parallel reefs near the Fair Bride/Try Again workings.
In 2003, an IP and resistivity survey justi¢ed a further 12 reverse circulation
(1,011 metres) and this led to a diamond drill programme of 8 holes (1,306
metres) and a further 14 reverse circulation holes (1,358 metres).
The drilling at the Fair Bride Prospect has demonstrated that the gold
mineralisation is closely associated with arseno-pyrite and was intersected
primarily within the ``sedimentary units'', such as the greywackes, phyllites
and banded iron formations. It is further apparent that gold mineralisation
occurs within ``lenses'' along a shear zone, especially where the shear changes
direction (i.e. a ``structural jog'') within the shear. This zone is up to 50
metres wide on the north contact of the shear zone.
There are significant intersections within this zone over a 600 metre strike
length and to depths of up to 120 metres below surface. Multiple intersections
occur over widths of up to 50 metres in some holes. The best drill intersection
encountered at Fair Bride was over 18 metres at 6.7 g/t Au.
Potential of the Manica Gold Project
It is evident that both target zones, i.e. Dot's Luck - Fair Bride and Guy
Fawkes - Boa Esperanca have not yet been fully explored and tested. The
Directors believe that there is considerable potential to delineate significant
resources in these zones.
The nature, occurrence and geometry of the gold mineralisation as delineated at
Fair Bride, needs to be utilised and tested as an exploration model along the 7
kilometre strike length of the zone with the objective to demonstrate the
potential for a minimum of 500,000 ozs of gold.
In the Guy Fawkes - Boa Esperanca area more work is required to interpret the
shear zone and the controls on mineralisation and so identify new drill targets
along the 10 kilometres of this shear zone.
A detailed work programme has been planned to achieve the above objectives.
This includes further magnetic and induced polarisation surveys covering areas
of the two shear zones not already surveyed, an orientation arsenic soil
geochemistry survey to test the method in areas with alluvial cover, further
structural mapping and then reverse circulation drilling (with possible diamond
drill follow up) of identified targets in both zones.
A copy of the circular will be posted to shareholders. All definitions referred
to above are as in the Admission Document dated 13 August 2004.
For further information please contact:
Nathan Steinberg
Director, White Knight Investments Plc
Tel. 07768 116 866
Adam Reynolds / Ben Simons
Hansard Communications
Tel. 020 7245 1100