Application for new exploration licence

RNS Number : 3021P

Sula Iron & Gold PLC

05 June 2015

 

5 June 2015

Sula Iron & Gold plc

("Sula" or the "Company")

Application for new exploration licence and

Update on CSR programmes

Sula Iron & Gold plc, the exploration and development company focused on coltan, gold and iron ore in Sierra Leone, is delighted to announce that it has made an application, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Blue Horizon (SL) Limited ("Blue Horizon") to the Sierra Leone National Mineral Agency for a new exploration licence, adjacent to the Company's existing 153 sq. km. Ferensola licence ("Ferensola").

The new exploration licence area, known locally as Tanyareh, which means "prosperity" in the local dialect, covers an area of 19 sq. km. and is believed to be highly prospective for coltan and gold. The Tanyareh licence borders Ferensola to the south east, and is easily accessible from Sula's existing operations.

Key highlights of the Tanyareh licence application include:

·     An initial 4 year exploration licence

·     Licence application process expected to take up to 3 months

·     Prospective for coltan and gold

·     Licence to be held by Sula's wholly owned subsidiary, Blue Horizon, which also holds the Ferensola licence

Update on Corporate Social Responsibility Programmes

Land infill

Blue Horizon, Sula's wholly owned subsidiary in Sierra Leone, has always maintained a programme of proactive and, importantly, relevant support to the local community in which it operates. As part of its latest initiatives, Blue Horizon has carried a programme to refill land opened by third party artisanal miners in the Dalakuru region (the base of our current exploration operations). The elders of the local tribes had been concerned that the children of Dalakuru may fall into these abandoned mine shafts, many of which are hidden by elephant grass, which may prove fatal. The completion of this programme was honoured by a ceremony on 25 May attended by the EPA Senior Environmental Officer of the North, Mr Ibrahim M. Turay, the Senior Mines Monitoring Officer, Koinadugu district, Alhaji Hassan Bangura, and the Environmental Officer of the Koinadugu District Council, Eric M. Tommy, amongst others.

New school in Kania, Diang Chiefdom

The Company has referenced in earlier announcements the work it has carried out to construct a new school in Kania and is pleased to announce that the new school is on track for completion for opening after the August rains. The capacity of the school will be approximately 200 children and, due to the high quality of the building's construction, the local MP and Koinadugu District Council will be petitioning the SL Government to adopt the school as an official Government school, thereby bringing it into the national system. It is believed that the Minister or Deputy Minister of Education will formally open the school, which will be named The Blue Horizon RC School.

For further information on Sula's Corporate Social Responsibility ("CSR") activities, please visit our website at www.sulaironandgold.com.

Commenting on the Tanyareh licence and the CSR programmes, Nick Warrell, CEO of Sula, said:

"We are very excited to have been able to make this application for the Tanyareh licence, being in an ideal location, adjacent to our Ferensola project. We believe Tanyareh to be highly prospective for coltan and also for gold, which complements our existing exploration programmes within Ferensola. This licence should give us additional exploration opportunities, particularly with regard to coltan and is expected to further assist in our continuing discussions with potential strategic partners and offtakers, which are progressing. There remains strong interest from third parties in the potential of our exploration activities."

"We believe that Sula continues to lead the way with our highly involved CSR programmes in Sierra Leone. As previously mentioned, we remain on track to generate drill targets on our gold project and advance our Ferensola coltan project to the point where bulk sampling for metallurgical testing can commence. We understand that, should the results of our current and future coltan exploration programmes prove successful, metallurgical bulk samples of up to an aggregate 2,000 tonnes can be exported for analyses. Furthermore, it would then be our intention to apply for a small scale mining licence for both Ferensola and Tanyareh, should the Tanyareh licence application prove successful, over an area of up to 100 hectares."

"We look forward to updating the market on strategic news in due course."

To view a full version of this announcement, including maps, please visit the Company's website at: www.sulaironandgold.com.

Sula Iron & Gold plc Nick Warrell / Matt Wood		[phone]
Strand Hanson (Nominated Adviser) Simon Raggett / James Harris / James Dance		[phone]
VSA Capital Limited (Broker) Bhavesh Patel / Richard Buckle		[phone]
Yellow Jersey PR (Financial PR) Dominic Barretto / Kelsey Traynor		[phone]

 

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