Tri-K Gold Resource increases 52% to 2.24 - Avocet Mining PLC

21 Deccember
20111
Avocet Mining PLCC
(“Avocet” or “the Coompany”)
announces
an a updated Mineral Re esource
of 2.24 million ounnces
on the e 100 per ccent
owned Tri-K Block k in northeaast
Guinea.
This
Mineral Resource increase ex xceeds the Company’s s stated tar rget of 2 miillion
ounce es by
year ennd.
The enlarged
resource
includ des 1.83 miillion
ounce es at Koulék koun, a 25 per cent in ncrease
on the pprevious
Mineral
Reso ource, and a maiden Mineral M Resource
of 0. 41 million ounces
gold at Kodiéran. In total this s is an incrrease
of 772 2,400 ounc ces or 52 peer
cent ove er the
previouusly
published
Mineral Resource aat
the same e cut-off of f 0.5g/t Au. .
The Minneral
Resouurce
has been
estimatted
and is reported
in accordancee
with the
Australaasian
JORCC
Code.
Kooulékoun
MMeasured
IIndicated
MMeasured
+
IIndicated
IInferred
Koodiéran
IInferred
Tootal
The Company owns 100% of Wega a Mining Guinée, , owner of the Koulékoun K gold project and Koddiéran
prospect
Notee:
rounding erroors
may occur.
Koulékkoun
Tri-K Gold RResour
rce inc creasess
52% % to 2.224
Million
Ou unces
Metrric
tonnees
Gra ade
(g/t Au)
-
-
-
21,610,0000
1.4 44 1,000,800
1
21,610,00
2 00 1.4 44 1, ,000,800
22,600,0000
1. 15
Gold
ounces
832,200
7,260,0000
1.7 76 411,100
51,470,00
5 00 1.3 36 2, ,244,100
Attribut table
ounces
-
1,000 0,800
1,000, ,800
832 2,200
411,100
2,244, ,100
The Kouulékoun
Minneral
Resou urce is hostted
in a 40-80m
thick k, steeply eaast-dipping
g zone of
north-nnorthwest-sstriking
porphyry
dykees
and adjacent
wall rocks,
cut bby
a steeply y north-
dipping northeast-striking
str ructure. Too
date, the main porph hyry zone hhas
been te ested
over a sstrike
lengtth
of 2,000 metres and
to a vertical
depth of o 350 mettres.
Resou urce
grades occur over a strike length
of 9500
metres an nd the mine eralisation is open at depth.
Gold grrades
are loocally
highe er (>2 g/t ggold)
in the e sub-vertic cally plunginng
pipe (80 0 metres
x 120 mmetres
acrooss)
formed d by the inttersection
of o the porph hyry dyke ccomplex
an nd the
northeaast-striking
structure, and diminiish
along st trike.
A late ddolerite
sill cuts the mineralised
ggeology
and
controls the t positionn
of the wa ater table.
As a ressult
the rocck
above th he dolerite iis
highly we eathered, whilst w rockss
in the footwall
are
fresh.
The upddated
Mineral
Resourc ce is based on 30,675 metres of reverse cirrculation
an nd 16,463
metres of diamondd
drilling or riented wesstward
on east-west e trending
driill
fences. The T
Companny
has mobbilised
a dia amond rig wwhich
is pre esently drilling
across s the northe east-
striking structure tto
allow the e more acccurate
estim mate of the Mineral Reesources
in this
zone. TThis
will enaable
the inc crease of reesources
to the higher r category oof
Indicated d Mineral
Resourcces
from Innferred
Mineral
Resourrces.
1

CSA Gloobal
estimaated
the up pdated Mineeral
Resource
using or rdinary krigging
and va alidated it
by a variety
of meethods
inclu uding the use
of the in nverse dista ance squareed
interpolation
methodd
as a checkk.
All estim mates are coonstrained
by geologic cally controolled
wire fr rames,
based uupon
a loweer
gold valu ue of 0.3 g/ /t gold. In estimating
e gold gradees
a top cut t of 30
g/t goldd
was applied
in the porphyry
annd
wall rock k mineralisa ation and 15
g/t gold along the
northeaast-striking
structure; less than tthe
50 g/t Au A and 20 g/t Au, respectively,
used u in
the prevvious
estimmate.
Density
data was
calculated d from diam mond core billets. The e Mineral
Resourcce
was classsified
as In ndicated annd
Inferred, , based upo on geologiccal
and grad de
continuity,
QAQC of sample assay a data, , and the quantity
of density d datta.
The significant
porrtion
of Infe erred Minerral
Resourc ces occurs in
the deepper
sections s of the
deposit,
away fromm
the high-grade
pipee,
which explains
the lower
gradee
of Inferre ed Mineral
Resourcces
when compared
with w the Inddicated
Mine eral Resour rces.
The Kouulékoun
Minneral
Resou urce will unnderpin
a pre-feasibilit
ty study scheduled
to
commence
in earlyy
2012, sub bject to whhich
a full fe easibility study
is expeected
to commence
later in the year.
Kodiéran
Separattely,
Avoceet
has estim mated a maiden
Inferred
Mineral Resource aat
Kodiéran n based
on 6,1990
metres oof
reverse circulation c aand
diamon nd drilling, which testeed
a zone of o
minerallised
granodiorite
that t is 140 meetres
wide, 600 metres
long and 250 metres
deep.
Drilling results were
reported d on 28 Febbruary
2011 1. The Com mpany has ssince
comp pleted an
additionnal
8,680 mmetres
of in nfill and steep-out
reverse
circulat tion drilling,
which has s visually
confirmmed
the minneralised
zo one, but asssay
results for this additional
inffill
and step p-out
drilling are not exppected
befo ore Februarry
2012.
Commeenting
on thhe
Mineral Resource R uupgrade
at Tri-K, T Brett t Richards, Chief Exec cutive
Officer for Avocet, , stated:
“The upddated
Mineraal
Resource at Tri-K has surpassed our o two milli ion ounce tarrget
for 2011;
growing the core ressource
at the e Koulékounn
gold projec ct as well as adding a neew
Mineral Resource
at
Kodiérann
. It also inncreases
our r Group Mineeral
Resource es from 5.4 million to 6. .2 million ou unces of
gold.
This incrrease
supporrts
our firmly y held view that Kouléko oun and the Tri-K districct
have the potential p
to suppoort
the devellopment
of a significant gold produc cing region.” ”
The informmation
in this annnouncement
that
relates to Exp xploration Result ts is based on in nformation revieewed
and audite ed by Mr.
Peter Flinddell,
(MAusIMM), , Executive Vice e President of Exxploration
for Avocet.
The infor rmation in this aannouncement
that relates
to the Kouulékoun
Mineral Resource is bas sed on informati tion compiled by y Mr. David Willi iams (MAusIMMM,
MAIG), Princip pal
Consultantt,
CSA; and the information in this announcemment
that relates s to the Kodiéra an Mineral Resouurce
is based on n information
compiled bby
John Milovanovic
(FAusIMM) ), Chief Resourcce
Geologist for Avocet. Messer’s
Flindell, Milovvanovic
and Will liams have
the experieence
relevant too
the style of mineralisation
and
type of depos sit under conside eration to qualiffy
as Competen nt Persons as
defined byy
the Australasiaan
JORC Code (2 2004) for the reeporting
of Exploration
Results, Mineral Resourrces
and Ore Re eserves.
Messer’s FFlindell,
Milovanoovic
and William ms consent to thhe
inclusion of th he technical info ormation in thiss
announcement t in the form
and contexxt
in which it apppears.
2

For furtherr
information pleasse
contact:
Avocet Minning
PLC Buchanan
Financial
PR
Coonsultants
Brett Richaards,
CEO
Mike Norriss,
FD
Angela Parrr,
IR
Boobby
Morse
Jaames
Strong
+44 20 77766
7674 + 44 20 7466 5000
+ 44 78 7260 4783
J.P. Morgann
Cazenove
Lead Brokeer
and
Sponsor
Michael Weentworth
Stanley
Neil Passmmore
Ar rctic Securities
Financial
Adviser &
Market
Maker
Ar rne Wenger
Pe etter Bakken
+44 20 75588
2828 + 47 2101 3100
SEB Enskildda
Financial Ad Adviser &
Market Makker
Fredrik Capppelen
+47 2100 88500
Backgrround
Avocet Mining PLCC
(“Avocet Mining” M or “ “the Compa any”) is a gold g miningg
and explo oration
companny
listed onn
the Londo on Stock Exxchange
(Ticker:
AVM. .L) and the Oslo Børs (Ticker:
AVM.OLL).
The Commpany’s
principal
activvities
are gold
mining and explorration
in Bu urkina
Faso (as
90 per ceent
owner of o the Inataa
gold mine e and 100 per p cent owwner
of eigh ht
exploration
licensees
in the Bé élahouro reegion
surrou unding Inat ta) and expploration
in Guinea.
The Inaata
deposit presently comprises c a Mineral Resource R of 3.36 millioon
ounces and a a
Mineral Reserve off
1.47 million
ounces. Inata Gold d Mine pour red its first gold in De ecember
2009 annd
is expeccted
to prod duce in exccess
of 160, ,000 ounce es of gold inn
2011.
Other aassets
in Weest
Africa in nclude exploration
permits
in Burkina
Faso (the most
advanceed
prospect
within Bélahouro
beeing
the Sou uma Projec ct, some 200
kilometres s from
Inata GGold
Mine, wwith
a Mineral
Resourcce
of 0.56 million m ounces),
Guineea
(the mos st
advanceed
being Kooulékoun
with w a Minerral
Resourc ce of 1.83 million m ouncces)
and Ma ali.
3