16th Oct 2006 08:56
Jubilee Platinum PLC16 October 2006 Jubilee Platinum Plc ("Jubilee" or "the Company") Jubilee and TransAsia Minerals Limited Agree Joint Venture on Londokomanana and Itsindra Projects, Madagascar Jubilee announces that it has entered into a Project Agreement with TransAsiaMinerals Limited ("TransAsia" or "TML") with regards to its Londokomanana (theNorthern Permit area) and the Itsindra property ("Itsindra") - collectively "theProperties" - in Madagascar. Highlights • TML will expend an aggregate of US$10,000,000 - US$7,000,000 onLondokomanana and US$3,000,000 on Itsindra - on exploration over a three-yearperiod to acquire an undivided 51% interest in the Properties • TML agrees to subscribe immediately for US$1,000,000 worth of Jubileeshares equivalent to 481,000 Jubilee shares at £1.10 per share, the proceeds ofwhich are pledged for exploration and also to advance immediately further cashof US$1,000,000 for Londokomanana and Itsindra • TransAsia dilutes to 1% equity stake in the Properties if it defaultson full funding requirements or elects not to continue funding the Properties • Jubilee after being vested with 49% interest can elect to fund itsposition, sell its interest in the Properties, or dilute to 20% free carry toproduction • Jubilee will remain the operator of the Properties until completion ofearn-in Exploration on the Londokomanana property has included drilling, whichintersected a 48 metre wide structure of nickel ("Ni") - copper ("Cu")mineralisation (as announced on 4 January 2006). The Itsindra property is comprised of a large ultrabasic intrusive located 180kilometres southwest of the capital Antananarivo. Previous work on the propertyhas shown significant geophysic electromagnetic ("E-M") anomalies with acombined strike length in excess of 20 kilometres. Colin Bird, Chief Executive Officer of Jubilee, said: "This agreement providessignificant funding for our Madagascar exploration treasury without anysignificant dilution of our share register. Whilst the projects related to thisagreement are early stage, both show good potential with Londokomanana havingthe benefit of drillhole intercepts. The Londokomanana property shows highnickel potential and we will retain the contiguous southern Lavatrafo permitarea. TransAsia are an aggressive multi-commodity company group with ambitionsfor growth in nickel production. " Amon Aslanov Chairman of TransAsia said, "This agreement is our first step intothe African continent. We have identified the Jubilee projects in Madagascar asbeing highly prospective with good potential to become world class deposits.These fit very well into our strategy and we are confident that this agreementwill help drive our ambition of growth and development. We look forward toworking with Jubilee." About the Project Agreement: Jubilee and MRM Sarl ("MRM"), Jubilee's 85% owned Madagascan subsidiary, grantTransAsia the right to acquire undivided 51% interests in its Londokomanana andItsindra properties for funding of an aggregate of US$10,000,000 on exploration:US$7,000,000 on Londokomanana and US$3,000,000 on Itsindra over a period ofthree years. TransAsia will, within 5 working days of the agreement becoming effective,subscribe for 481,000 Jubilee shares at £1.10 per share -equivalent to US$1,000,000, the proceeds of which are pledged for initialexploration - and will also make immediate cash payments totalling US$1,000,000.TransAsia will then hold 51% interests in the Properties and Jubilee will hold49%. TransAsia will spend US$500,000 on Itsindra during the initial twelvemonths of exploration as part of the aggregate US$3,000,000 to be spent at thisproperty. TransAsia dilutes to 1% equity in the Properties if it elects not to continuefunding in full its funding requirements or funding its position to exploitationof the Properties. In the case of Itsindra, TransAsia can elect, after expendingUS$1,000,000, not to continue funding, in which case it will forfeit all itsinterest in that property. Jubilee, after becoming vested with 49% interests in the Properties can electeither to fund its position, or dilute to 20% free carried interest, or sell itsbeneficial interest in the Properties with TransAsia having first right ofrefusal to acquire 19% at 50% discount to FMV (Fair Market Value) and thebalance of 30% at FMV. Jubilee will be the operator until completion of the earn-in. As operator,Jubilee will be entitled to use 7.5% of the exploration funds for generalcorporate and management expenses. TransAsia will also be granted an option of first refusal in the event of athird party bona fide offer for MRM's southern Lavatrafo property (contiguous toLondokomanana) for a non-refundable option fee of US$100,000. MRM, is the legal owner of the Londokomanana and Itsindra properties. Jubileehas the legal right to buy back 10% of the local partner's 15% interest in MRMfor US$100,000 per percentage point. About TransAsia TML, a private company registered in the British Virgin Islands and with officesin Australia and Indonesia, is one of Indonesia's newest mining enterprises andpart of the Indonesian based PT TransAsia Resources Group. Established in June2004 with the acquisition of vast reserves of coking and steaming coal inKalimantan, TML has expanded its operations to include iron ore and nickel. TMLis developing large scale mining projects across the Indonesian archipelago andin Australia, incorporating various mineral deposits including bauxite andaluminium (Australia) and coking coal, iron ore projects and nickel (Indonesia)beginning with geological exploration through to mining operations. The companyhas been granted a range of government approvals including approval underAustralia's Foreign Investment Review Board. http://www.transasiaminerals.com About Londokomanana The Londokomanana property (exploration permit PR 5103) covers an area of 56square kilometres and is located some 165km north of the capital Antananarivo.Exploration to date includes drilling in the central Antsahabe area, whichintersected a 48 metre thick near surface, near vertical, mineralised structuregrading 0.62%Ni and 0.13% Cu (as previously announced on 4 January 2006); soilsampling, which has delineated highly prospective "mineralised corridors" in theMavoandro ultrabasic formation in the northern section of the property andarchival research, which has uncovered a significant but untested airborne E-Manomaly in the north-eastern part of the property. About Itsindra The Itsindra property comprises of two licence areas (exploration permits PR17783 and 14829) covering 194 square kilometres. It is located some 180kilometres southwest of the capital Antananarivo. A previous geophysic survey ofthe areas has shown the occurrence of E-M anomalies over a combined strikelength in excess of 20 kilometres. The areas lie across or along part of the 790 Ma (million years) aged Itsindrabasic/ultrabasic intrusive. The intrusive is believed to have formed probably ina continental arc setting in response to subduction of the Mozambique Oceanduring a pan-African event and can therefore be compared to basic intrusives ofthe Alaskan or Peruvian/Ecuadorian type. For further information please contact: Colin Bird Cathy Malins / Annabel LeatherJubilee Platinum plc Parkgreen Communications LtdTel +44 (0) 20 7584 2155 Tel +44 (0) 20 7493 3713 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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