First metal from Vysokovoltnoye Heap Leach Project
LONDON: 12 October 2005 - Oxus Gold plc (“Oxus” or “the Company”) is pleased to report that it has produced the first bar of silver from the Vysokovoltnoye gold and silver heap leach project in Uzbekistan.
Mining of ore started in early September, following the first mine blast on 24 August, and was initially stockpiled pending the commissioning of the process plant. The ore was placed on the heap leach pads at the beginning of this month and mineralised solution was fed to the plant last week. Full production is scheduled for next month and planned mine production is 21,035 ounces of gold and 2,469,083 ounces of silver per annum.
The capital cost of the project is $9.1 million, which has been kept to a minimum due to the existing infrastructure at AGF. It is expected that the cash costs of metal production will be approximately $160 per ounce.
Vysokovoltnoye has mineable reserves of 1.66 million tonnes at grades of 127g/t Ag and 1.13g/t Au for ore body number 7 and 2.33 million tonnes at grades of 27g/t Ag and 1.24g/t Au for ore body number 4. Ongoing work aimed at defining extensions of the zones may increase the resource base for future growth. Both ore bodies have very low stripping ratios.
Vysokovoltnoye is an open pit mine and is located within the Amantaytau Goldfields’ (AGF) licence area and is 30 kms away from AGF’s existing Amantaytau mining operations, Oxus’ first mine in Uzbekistan. AGF is owned jointly by Oxus and the Uzbekistan Government.
Mr Bill Trew, chief executive of Oxus, said today: “We are very pleased to have produced our first silver from Vysokovoltnoye so quickly, after starting ore production less than two months ago. This is a notable achievement and a key step in our strategy of developing five mines in five years.
“We are also on the way to becoming a significant silver producer. Between AGF and Marakand Minerals, the Group has total resources of more than 704 million ounces of silver, and reserves of over 45 million ounces. We expect to produce more than 3 million ounces in 2006.”
Directors’ Shareholdings:
Oxus announces that on 7 October 2005 the Company issued for nil consideration options over ordinary shares of 1p par value to directors as set out below:
| Director | Options granted | Exercise price | Total shares under option |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Trew | 2,000,000 | 54p | 4,000,000 |
| Jonathan Kipps | 1,300,000 | 54p | 2,600,000 |
| Richard Wilkins | 1,300,000 | 54p | 2,600,000 |
| Oliver Prior | 250,000 | 54p | 500,000 |
| Douglas Sutherland | 250,000 | 54p | 500,000 |
Adjusting for the issue of ordinary shares following the exercise of these options, the new issued share capital would be 297,808,821 and the new shareholding in the Company for each director would be as follows:
| Director | Total | % |
|---|---|---|
| William Trew | 10,338,872 | 3.47% |
| Jonathan Kipps | 5,642,756 | 1.89% |
| Richard Wilkins | 6,716,239 | 2.26% |
| Oliver Prior | 556,420 | 0.19% |
| Douglas Sutherland | 658,420 | 0.22% |
The new options are exercisable 50% at any time following the first gold pour at the Jerooy project in the Kyrgyz Republic and 50% at any time following cumulative Group gold production of 500,000 ounces until 9 October 2010.
Contacts:
Bill Trew, CEO Oxus Gold:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7907 2000
Keith Irons, Bankside:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7367 8873 / 07885 356 639
Back to main list