Stock Exchange Announcement
Date:
14 January 2008
On behalf
of:
Target Resources plc
Target Resources plc
(“Target” or the “Company”)
Grant of new
Exclusive Prospecting Licences
Target Resources plc
(AIM:TGT), the alluvial diamond and gold mining company operating in Sierra
Leone, announces that it has acquired the following Exclusive Prospecting
Licences (“EPL”), each for a term of two years from 31 December
2007. The licenses are the first awarded under the mineral licensing
programme of the new Sierra Leone Government.
- The first EPL is for Gold and other minerals covering 520.45 sq. km
(200.94 sq. miles) in the Tane and Gbonkolenken Chiefdoms in the
Tonkolili District of the Northern Province
of Sierra Leone
(“Northern Province”).
This licence lies between
the Kangari Hills on its east side and the Pampana and Nasi
Rivers on its west and north side with
the Teye River running near its southern
boundary.
The recovery of alluvial
gold from this area by small scale miners commenced in the 1930s and is still
ongoing under the Government Supervised Artisanal Gold Mining Scheme. The
Pampana, Wungi and Teye
Rivers have been proven
to contain interesting concentrations of alluvial gold in their channels, flanking flats
and terraces.
The licence area covers
part of the largest greenstone belt in Sierra Leone, which is recognised
as being highly prospective for gold. This is supported by a United Nations
funded sampling programme in the headwaters of the Nasi River
in the 1980s, which highlighted a number of primary gold anomalies in the area.
- The second EPL is for Diamonds, Gold and other precious minerals and
metals covering 253.57 sq. km (97.88 sq. miles) in Faiyama Area, Nomo
Chiefdom, Kenema District in the Eastern
Province of Sierra Leone.
This licence lies along a
30 mile length of the Moro River which forms the border with Liberia in the south east of Sierra Leone. It was
previously held by Gondwana Investments SA but was not explored. The full
width of the river is included within the licence.
This area is known for
coloured or so-called “fancy” diamonds, which gain high market
value. These diamonds have been and are still being recovered in the
Makpele Chiefdom downriver from the licence area, and are thought to be derived
from a primary source different from those known in the Kono and Tongo fields.
The presence of primary
diamond sources (kimberlites) has been revealed by recent work on the land across the Moro
River in Liberia, by Mano River Resources
Inc.
Commenting on the new licences, Dr
Nissim Levy, Managing Director, said:
“We
are delighted to have obtained these important licences right at the start of
the new government’s mineral licensing programme, and believe the awards
demonstrate the strength of our relationship with the new government in Sierra Leone.
In our opinion, they add substantially to Target’s growth prospects and
we look forward to maximising the full potential of these licences for our
investors.
“We
are also pleased to confirm that we are on schedule with our machinery
acquisition programme which will facilitate enhanced production from our Kono
licences.”
The technical aspects of
this announcement have been reviewed by Mr M. B. Mansaray, consulting geologist
to Target in Sierra Leone.
Mr Mansaray graduated in 1973 with a B.Sc in Geology, from the University of Sierra Leone. Since then he has
worked for the Sierra Leone Ministry of Mineral Resources, and he is currently
the Director of its Geological Survey Division. His experience spans over
30 years in the practice of geology combined with extensive field exploration
and reconnaissance geological mapping with special interest in the exploration
for gold, base metals and diamonds.
- ENDS -
Enquiries:
Target Resources
plc
020 7258 2300
Dr Nissim Levy, Managing Director
www.target-resources.co.uk
Broker & Nominated Adviser
Arbuthnot
Securities
020 7012 2000
John Prior, John
Toll
Financial PR to Target
Redleaf Communications
020 7822 0200
Emma Kane / Adam
Leviton
al@redleafpr.com
Investor Relations
4C Communications
Limited
020 8949 7171
Carina Corbett
About Target
¡
Target is an alluvial diamond mining and exploration
company operating in Sierra
Leone.
¡
The Company’s shares were admitted to AIM in
July 2006.
¡
Target is among the first large scale mining ventures
to be established in Sierra
Leone since the end of the civil war in
2002.
¡
The Company has 4,263 acres (17.25 sq km) under mining
leases in the rich diamond and gold area of Kono, which is recognised as the
most productive area for diamond mining in Sierra Leone.
Target Resources Plc
16th Floor, Marble Arch
Tower, 55 Bryanston Street London, W1H 7AA
Tel +44 (0)20 7258 2300,
Fax +44 (0)20 7258 2321
Email: info@target-resources.co.uk
Web: www.target-resources.co.uk
Registered in England
and Wales Company No 5566717