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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2013
TSX.V: AQ
Frankfurt: QM0
EXPLORATION LICENSE FOR AFRICAN QUEEN'S NOYEM-NYANFOMAN GOLD PROJECT ON GHANA'S ASHANTI BELT EXPANDED AND RENEWED FOR TWO YEARS
Vancouver, British Columbia - AFRICAN QUEEN MINES LTD. (the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Exploration License (the "License") held by its operating subsidiary AQ Ghana Gold Limited covering the Noyem-Nyanfoman Gold Project within the Birim North District of the Eastern Region of Ghana (the "Project") has now been renewed for a period of two years through December 31, 2014. The renewal was signed by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Honorable Mike Allen Hammah (MP), upon recommendation of the Minerals Commission of Ghana. The area under license now comprises two non-contiguous blocks aggregating approximately 30.23 sq. km, namely Noyem A (Nyanfoman) which covers 23.55 sq. km and Noyem B (Apragya) which covers 6.68 sq. km.
The area now under license reflects the pillar coordinates and site plan approved by MinCom in order to include within the license area all of the ground relinquished by 19 small scale miners on the Noyem A gold reef under agreements with the Company in 2011. This covers an area of approximately 3.55 sq. km which has now been incorporated in the License, in addition to approximately 1.48 sq. km of open ground which has also been added. At the same time, the Company has now shed off 3.55 sq. km of ground with surface mining potential in the Noyem B block in order to provide an area for relocation of the small scale miners who have relinquished their claims on the Noyem A Reef. The effect of the License expansion and renewal is to return control of the Noyem A Reef and its historic resource area to the Company so as to enable it to proceed with development of a large-scale project.
The Project is characterized by palaeoplacer gold mineralization which is hosted within the basal conglomerates of the Tarkwaian Group's Banket Formation. The Tarkwa Gold Mine operated by Gold Fields Ltd. is also hosted within the conglomerates of the Banket Formation and has a combined gold resource of approximately 15 million ounces. Initial results reported from the Company's core drill program (PR dated November 13, 2012) are consistent with reported historic results from predecessors of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM) ("Newmont") and tend to confirm the presence in the region over a strike of at least 5.6 km of a relatively continuous gold-bearing reef varying in width from one to 5 m.
The Tarkwaian Group unconformably overlies the meta-volcanosedimentary sequences of the Palaeoproterozoic Birimian Supergroup which hosts the majority of Ghana's mesothermal gold deposits, including AngloGold Ashanti's 50 million ounce Obuasi Gold Mine and Newmont's 8 million ounce Akyem Gold Deposit. Between 1996 and 1997, Bonsu Gold Holdings Ltd. (a subsidiary of Gencor Ltd. and predecessor to Newmont) drilled a total of 2,019.50 m of core from 27 drill holes along the line of strike of the conglomerates of the Banket Formation, which constitutes the Company's Northern Limb target. The Bonsu program indicated a zone of elevated gold concentration within the Noyem Conglomerate Zone and lead to establishment of a significant historic high-grade gold resource. The Project is subject to a joint venture between the Company and Akan Exploration Ltd., a Cayman Islands company. The Company is designated as the manager and operator of the Project and essentially controls a 60% interest in the Project.
According to Irwin Olian, CEO of the Company, "We are delighted that the Ghana Ministry has now expanded and renewed our license at Noyem-Nyanfoman. This effectively vests us with control of the Noyem A Gold Reef and will allow us to proceed on behalf of our joint venture with our full development plans over the next two years."
About African-Queen
The Company is an exploratory resource company with diversified mineral properties in East and West Africa. It is exploring its properties in Ghana and Kenya for gold and other metals. In Ghana it has 30.23 sq. km. under license for gold under an agreement with another company. In Kenya it has approximately 850 sq. km. under license for gold and metals, and a further 737 sq. km. of gold and other minerals licenses under agreements with two other companies. The Company's operations in Ghana are carried out through its subsidiary AQ Ghana Gold Limited. Its operations in Kenya are carried out through its operating subsidiary AQ Kenya Gold Limited. The Company has its executive offices in Vancouver, Canada. The Company was incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada on April 30, 2008, and received certain southern African assets in a spin off transaction related to the acquisition of Pan African Mining Corp. by Asia Thai Mining Co., Ltd.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
AFRICAN QUEEN MINES, LTD.
"Irwin Olian"
Irwin Olian
Chairman & CEO
For more information, contact:
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Irwin Olian, President and CEO
E-mail: tigertail@africanqueenmines.com
Phone: (604) 899-0100
Fax: (604) 899-0200 |
Carrie Howes, Corporate Communications
Email: carrie@africanqueenmines.com
Phone: Germany - +49 (0) 21141 740411
U.K. - +44 (0) 870 490 5443
Canada - +1 416 900 3634
Dubai - +971 55 997 0427 |
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The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of the information contained herein. The statements made in this press release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from the Company's expectations.
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