May
26, 2008
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NEWS
RELEASE
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Release #5-2008
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Monument Acquires Second Mill
for Future Production Plant Upgrade
Vancouver, B.C. Monument Mining Limited (TSX-V:MMY and FSE: D7Q1) ("Monument"
or the "Company") announces that it has reached an
agreement to acquire a 1.0 M tpa mill from Avocet Mining PLC
("Avocet"), its 19.4% shareholder, in readiness for
an intended upgrade of its planned Stage I gold treatment plant
construction program at its 100% owned Selinsing Gold Mine project
("Selinsing") in Pahang State, Malaysia.
The Stage I 400,000 tpa gold treatment plant is
designed to initially produce approximately 40,000 ounces of gold per
annum with a crushing circuit installed suitable for a planned Stage II
plant extension to increase production. In addition to the first 400,000
tpa mill purchased last year for the Stage I Selinsing CIL gold treatment
plant, this second mill will be reserved for the Stage II future plant
upgrade.
Monument is taking advantage of the immediate
availability of the 1.0 M tpa mill from Avocet. The acquisition and
relocation of the mill to the Selinsing site is readily and economically
feasible since the twin of this mill has recently been installed in
Avocet's plant upgrade at the nearby Penjom Gold Mine in Pahang State,
Malaysia, approximately 40 Kilometres away from Selinsing. The long
waiting times for equipment delivery and constant price increases under
the current industry climate makes this acquisition attractive.
The
$3,250,000 consideration for the mill will be paid by issuance of 8,125,000
units of Monument's equity at $0.40 per unit, on the same terms as the
private placement announced on May 13, 2008, subject to necessary
regulatory approvals. Each unit represents one share and one share
purchase warrant exercisable for $0.50.
Monument
has recently announced it will raise $28.0 million by way of private
placement and $10.0 million by way of a Convertible Note in order to
build its planned Stage I 400,000 tpa CIL gold treatment plant, develop
the Selinsing open pit gold project, as well as acquire two new
convertible RC/diamond drill rigs for exploration expansion at Buffalo
Reef and elsewhere and eliminate the present $9.0 million
debt.
Subject
to closing the financing, the 400,000 tpa CIL gold treatment plant is
expected to be in production in the first half year of 2009. The planned
Stage II plant upgrade will not happen for approximately 6-12 months
after the commissioning of the 400,000 tpa CIL gold treatment plant and
will be subject to the future exploration success of Buffalo Reef, which
at present does not have a NI-43-101 resource report issued. It is
expected this report will be commissioned at the completion of the
present drilling program projected later in 2008. The Buffalo Reef
exploration and drilling program has presently completed approximately
6,500 metres of RC drilling out of a combined RC/Diamond drilling program
totaling 12,400 metres.
Robert F. Baldock, President and CEO
Monument Mining Limited
Park Place, Suite 500, 666 Burrard
Street
Vancouver B.C. Canada V6C 3P6
The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way
passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction
and has neither approved nor
disapproved the contents of this news release.
Not for
distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States.
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy
or accuracy of the information contained herein. Certain
disclosures in this release, including management's assessment
of the Company's plans and projects, constitute forward-looking
statements that are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other
factors relating to the Company's operation as a mineral exploration
company that may cause future results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in such.
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