Certej Environmental Impact Study Completed - Permitting Process Underway
6 February 2008 - European Goldfields Limited (TSX / AIM: EGU) is pleased to announce that the final Environmental Impact Study (EIS) to develop its Certej gold/silver project in Romania has now been completed.
European Goldfields already holds a mining permit for Certej, which is currently being exploited on a small scale by way of an existing open pit. The EIS addresses a proposed increase in mine production at Certej and the processing of ore on site.
The EIS has been carried out over a 12-month period in order to accumulate all the required base line data during the different seasons. The EIS is a detailed multi-discipline study comprising over 1,000 pages subdivided into a number of volumes assessing the environmental, social and health impacts of the project on the mine area.
In December 2007, European Goldfields also applied for a Zone Urban Plan (PUZ), which indicates that the project is now in the advanced stages of the public permitting process. This follows the submission of a Technical Feasibility Study to the Romanian authorities in March 2007 and the grant by the local county council of a General Urbanisation Certificate in September 2006. This certificate confirms the designation of Certej as an industrial mining area and attests to the local community's support for the project.
The PUZ is a detailed urbanisation plan for the project and its approval involves an initial review of the EIS. The PUZ must be approved through a full public consultation process by local authorities, county councils and public utilities before the EIS can be approved by the regional Romanian environmental authorities in Timisoara.
The PUZ is expected to be approved by the end of Q1 2008, following which the EIS will be formally submitted to the environmental authorities.
The environmental permit and an updated mining permit are expected in Q3 2008 following a standard public consultation process with local communities, which is expected to start 45 days after submission of the EIS. Customary construction and public utility permits are expected to follow by end-2008 when the detailed engineering design has been completed for the site plant.
The EIS has been prepared with the contribution of several Romanian institutes of international reputation, namely the National Institute of Research and Development for Industrial Ecology (ECOIND), the National Institute of Research and Development for Environment Protection (ICIM), the Technical University of Construction Bucharest and the Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj. The EIS was prepared to the regulatory framework established by Romanian and EU legislation.
Full feasibility study to be completed in Q2 2008 - European Goldfields is in the final stage of completing a full feasibility study for the Certej project, which will be used for internal approval and presentation to banks and other sources of potential financing of the project. The only major pending study is the engineering study for the process plant and associated infrastructure by Aker Kvaerner Engineering Services, scheduled for completion in Q2 2008.
Mining and processing - The deposit will be mined by open pit methods with a strip ratio of 3.1:1. The project will involve the mining and processing of 3.0 million tonnes of ore per annum over at least eleven years. This is expected to yield approximately 160,000 oz of gold and 820,000 oz of silver per year in dor�, reflecting an average total process recovery of 81% for gold and approximately 75% for silver.
The metallurgical process involves the production of a gold-bearing concentrate followed by the production of gold and silver as dor� on site by means of the Albion Process.
The Albion Process is a combination of ultra-fine grinding of concentrates and oxidative leaching at atmospheric pressure. The liberated gold and silver is then recovered as dor� by the conventional Carbon in Leach ("CIL") process.
The residues from the flotation and gold plants will be disposed of in two separate but adjoining tailings management facilities (TMFs), which are ideally located and designed for this project. The EIS confirms that the Certej project and its TMFs will have a negligible impact on the local water streams, flora and fauna.
About European Goldfields
European Goldfields Limited is a resource company involved in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in Greece, Romania and South-East Europe.
Greece - In addition to owning 80% of the Certej project in Romania, European Goldfields holds a 95% interest in Hellas Gold S.A. Hellas Gold owns three major gold and base metal deposits in Northern Greece. The deposits are the polymetallic operation at Stratoni, the Olympias project which contains gold, zinc, lead and silver, and the Skouries copper/gold porphyry project. Hellas Gold commenced production at Stratoni in September 2005 and commenced selling an existing stockpile of Olympias gold concentrates in July 2006. Hellas Gold is applying for permits to develop the Skouries and Olympias projects.
For further information please contact:
European Goldfields:
David Reading
, Chief Executive Officer
e-mail: info@egoldfields.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7408 9534
Buchanan Communications:
Bobby Morse / Ben Willey
e-mail: bobbym@buchanan.uk.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000
Renmark Financial Communications:
Tina Cameron : tcameron@renmarkfinancial.com
Barbara Komorowski : bkomorowski@renmarkfinancial.com
Media - Fran�ois Tr�panier : ftrepanier@renmarkfinancial.com
Tel: +1 514 939 3989
Fax: +1 514 939 3717
www.renmarkfinancial.com
RBC Capital Markets:
Andrew K Smith / Sarah Wharry
e-mail: andrew.smith@rbccm.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7029 7882
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements and information contained in this document, including any information as to the Company's future financial or operating performance and other statements that express manag
ement's expectations or estimates of future performance, constitute forward-looking information under provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws. When used in this document, the words "anticipate", "expect", "will", "intend", "estimate", "forecast", "planned" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs and timing of development of new deposits, permitting time lines and expectations regarding metal recovery rates. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. The Company cautions the reader that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risk
s, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual financial results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from its estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to: changes in the price of gold, base metals or certain other commodities (such as fuel and electricity) and currencies; uncertainty of mineral reserves, resources, grades and recovery estimates; uncertainty of future production, capital expenditures and other costs; currency fluctuations; financing and additional capital requirements; the successful and timely permitting of the Company's Skouries, Olympias and Certej projects; legislative, political, social or economic developments in the jurisdictions in which the Company carries on business; operating or tec
HNICAL DIFFICULTIES IN CONNECTION WITH MINING OR DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES; THE SPECULATIVE NATURE OF GOLD AND BASE METALS EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING THE RISKS OF DIMINISHING QUANTITIES OR GRADES OF RESERVES; THE RISKS NORMALLY INVOLVED IN THE EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT AND MINING BUSINESS; AND RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING. FOR A MORE DETAILED DISCUSSION OF SUCH RISKS AND MATERIAL FACTORS OR ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, SEE THE COMPANY'S ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2006, FILED ON SEDAR AT WWW.SEDAR.COM. THE COMPANY DOES NOT INTEND, AND DOES NOT ASSUME ANY OBLIGATION, TO UPDATE OR REVISE ANY FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WHETHER AS A RESULT OF NEW INFORMATION, FUTURE EVENTS OR OTHERWISE, EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY LAW.
