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Re: News Release - Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Update on New Liberty Gold Project in Liberia
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Mano River Resources Inc. ("Mano" or "the Company") the TSX-V and
AIM-listed exploration and development company focussed on gold,
diamonds and iron ore in west Africa, announces the start of a new
2,000m drilling campaign at its New Liberty Gold Project aimed at:
.. Increasing and further defining the current measured and indicated
resource of 1.4 million ounces
.. Expanding the current proven mineral reserve of 573,000 ounces
.. Drill testing to 500-600m below surface for possible deep
mineralisation
.. Providing further data to facilitate an underground mining plan to
follow initial open pit operation
The New Liberty Gold project lies within a 1,000km2 combined
exploration and mining licence termed a Mineral Development Agreement
("MDA") in Grand Cape Mount County, western Liberia, some 100km north
west of Monrovia. It is held as to 100% by Mano, subject to a 10% free
carried interest and a 3% production royalty, both held by the
government of Liberia.
2008 Exploration Programme
Subsequent to the completion of the New Liberty Feasibility Study in
early 2007, a review undertaken by Mano's new executive management
concluded that there was a need to define, from the outset, an
operation with a longer life than that envisaged in the study, which
had considered only an open pit operation. With a newly purchased high
capacity drill machine already on site, the Company has commenced this
month a 2,000m resource/reserve delineation
Diamond drilling programme,
focussing initially on the Larjor Zone.
The objectives of the drilling will be to enable mineral resources
currently classed as "indicated" in the Feasibility Study to be
reclassified as "measured" and potentially increase the resource base
with associated increase to mine life. The Company concludes that
whilst this will postpone production at the site the Company aims to
improve the attractiveness of the project for future financing.
At present, the NI 43-101 gold resource is estimated at 1.4 million
ounces (13.533 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources
grading 3.18 g/t). The two-phase programme will comprise a series of
close-spaced drill holes at a depth of 200-300m, together with one or
more holes drilled to 500-600m below surface to test for deep
extensions to the mineralisation. Shear-controlled gold deposits of
Archaean age, like New Liberty, are typically characterised by a
considerable third dimension at depth, which has yet to be investigated
at New Liberty.
The Company has also commissioned The Mineral Corporation of South
Africa to conduct an in-depth review of the entire exploration database
for the Company's licence area with a view to defining further gold
targets potentially capable of development into satellite deposits to
New Liberty. Any targets emerging from the study would be in addition
to the Weaju and Gondoja satellite deposits, where drilling has already
taken place with encouraging results.
Luis da Silva, CEO of Mano, comments: "After careful review of the
current feasibility study, it is the belief of the management that we
have the potential to sizeably increase the resource at New Liberty
with the current drilling programme. The Company also intends to revise
parts of the feasibility study to enable an underground operation to be
integrated with the open pit, resulting in a substantially longer life
of mine."
Guy PAS, Founder and Director further adds: "The potential longer life
mining operation envisaged will be of great benefit to the Liberian
economy, both locally and nationally, as well as help to ensure the
much-desired sustainable development through the nurturing of a wide
range of new skills in the workforce and building of infrastructure.
Moreover New Liberty is expected to be the country's first ever major
gold mine, putting Liberia firmly on the map of African gold producers
and hopefully serving as a model for others to follow.
At a national level, since Liberia's democratically elected President,
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, came to office in 2006, great progress has been
made aimed at political stability and economic recovery through
transparent institutions, thereby encouraging investment commitment to
the development of the country's natural resources."
Overview on the New Liberty Gold Project
The Feasibility Study for the open pit operation was undertaken by
independent consultants, MDM Engineering Pty Ltd of Johannesburg, South
Africa, together with Lower Quartile Solutions Pty Ltd of Perth,
Australia. The tailings dam design was carried out by Golder
Associates.
The geology of the deposit is a well-defined steeply dipping zone up to
30m thick of gold mineralisation hosted by metamorphosed ultrabasic
rocks. The base case for the Feasibility Study involved open pit
contract mining from three pits, Larjor, Kinjor and Marvoe, over an
initial estimated mine life of seven years. The average stripping ratio
was estimated at 11.5 to 1. The deposit exhibits simple metallurgy with
overall gold recoveries of 93% being indicated by the study testwork,
involving a process of initial gravity separation with a recovery of
30-40% of the gold, followed by standard carbon-in-leach treatment.
ENDS
Mano's Qualified Person responsible for reviewing the content of this
release is its Director, Dr Tom Elder, who hold a BSc and Doctorate in
Geology from the University of Durham in the UK, is a Fellow and former
Member of Council of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, and a
Fellow of the Geological Society.
For further information on Mano River Resources and its exploration
programme, you are invited to visit the Company's website at
www.manoriver.com or contact one of the following:
Mano River Resources Inc.
Luis da Silva
info@manoriver.com
Tel +44 (0) 20 7299 4212
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited
Edward Farmer
edward.farmer@panmure.com
Tel +44 (0) 20 7459 3600
GMP Securities Europe LLP,
an Appointed Representative of Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited.
James Hannon,
james.hannon@gmpeurope.com
Tel +44 (0) 20 7459 3606
Pelham PR
Charles Vivian/James MacFarlane
charles.vivian@pelhampr.com
Tel +44 (0) 20 7743 6670 / 6375
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not take
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
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Copyright (c) 2008 MANO RIVER RESOURCES INC. (MANA) All rights
reserved. For more information visit our website at
http://www.manoriver.com/ or send mailto:releases@manoriver.com
Message sent on Wed Jan 23, 2008 at 6:53:13 AM Pacific Time
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