14th Jul 2005 13:04
Mano River Resources Inc14 July 2005 NEWS RELEASE 14 July 2005No: 2005/17 TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) Trading Symbol: MNOLondon Stock Exchange - AIM Trading Symbol: MANA MANO ANNOUNCES PROGRESS ON ITS KONO DIAMOND PROJECT IN SIERRA LEONE Mano River Resources Inc. ("Mano") the TSX-V and AIM-listed company withextensive mineral licences in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, is pleased toreport progress on its Kono Diamond Joint Venture ('the 'Joint Venture') withPetra Diamonds Limited (formerly Crown Diamonds) ('Petra') relating to theexploration and planned production of diamonds from diamondiferous kimberlitedykes (the "Lion" dykes) within Mano's three contiguous licence areas in theKono diamond district of Sierra Leone. Highlights are: - 1 A 200kg bulk sample taken by Petra returned a gem quality 0.22 caratdiamond supporting the previously indicated average grade of 94 carats perhundred tonnes ("cpht") from Mano's previous sampling 2 Manufacture by Petra of a 75 tonne per hour ("tph") production (DMS orDense Media Separation and crushing circuit) plant to be completed by September2005 and to be commissioned on site during Q1 2006 3 Preliminary diamond production from treatment of kimberlite bulksamples expected Q1 2006 4 Petra advises it plans to accelerate expenditure and development of theproject so as to bring production on line as early as possible Exploration developments Petra personnel visited the Kono site in April 2005 to plan for theestablishment of the 75 tph production plant as well as to undertake furthergeological work on the dykes. Dykes were opened up to depths of 10 metres andsamples taken. A 200kg sample of kimberlitic material taken from the Lion 5 dykereturned a gem quality 0.22 carat diamond. Petra's site visit confirmed that thestrike length of the Lion dykes exceeds the current total strike length of Petra's South African kimberlite dyke operations Petra has advised it believes the Kono project has the potential to yield highgrades of approximately 100 cpht, as indicated by the original Mano mini bulksample of Lion 5 which returned an average grade of 94 cpht, and results fromthe 200kg sample referred to above. Site establishment The necessary equipment to establish initial facilities on site will be shippedfrom South Africa and is on track to be commissioned on site by Q4 2005. Petra'ssite establishment team will transfer to Sierra Leone in August and the sitefacilities should be fully established by November. Exploration/Production plans Petra is currently manufacturing the 75 tph production plant (DMS and crushingcircuit) at its facility in South Africa. Petra plans to ship the productionplant in October and it should be commissioned on site in Q1 2006. Several exploration shafts will be established. Whilst the primary purpose ofthese is for exploration of the dykes, diamonds will be produced for quality andprice evaluation. These shafts and facilities have been designed to facilitate aseamless transition to full-scale mining at a later stage. The production plantfacility will be positioned centrally between the Lion dykes in order to reduceore transportation costs from the exploration/mining sites. Financial Under the terms of the Joint Venture, by spending a total of US$3 million overthe next 3 years, Petra will acquire a 51% equity interest in the Kono Project.Petra plans to accelerate expenditure and development of the project in order tobring production on line and earn its 51% interest well within the 3-year timeperiod. All costs expended to date are in line with expectations.Future developmentsThe next nine months will focus on;1 commissioning of the plant and associated infrastructure on site2 establishment and sinking of the exploration shafts3 extraction of bulk samples and limited diamond production Adonis Pouroulis, Petra's Chairman, comments, "We are pleased to announce thatthe commissioning of the plant and associated exploration activities are ontrack and we expect early stage production to begin in the first quarter of nextyear. The working relationships with our JV partner Mano and the Sierra Leonegovernment and authorities are excellent and we look forward to working with allparties to expedite production from the Kono project." Guy Pas, Mano's Chairman, adds, "This would be the first time ever in SierraLeone's history that kimberlite dykes will be commercially mined and we areconfident that Petra, as a world leading dyke miner, will turn them into a longterm sustainable contribution to this country's recovering economy. Whileconflict diamonds reduced official Sierra Leone annual diamond exports to a mereUS$10 million just 5 years ago, today, with much credit to the KimberleyProcess, official exports saw a record June 2005 of US$22 million, for a 1sthalf total of US$76 million. Moreover, the right export channels contributed toan average price per carat for the 1st half of 2005 of just under US$280 percarat, which demonstrates the exceptional quality of Sierra Leone's diamonds." About Mano Mano is a well-funded exploration company focused on the discovery of diamond,gold and iron ore deposits in the Archaean terrain of the highly prospective,under-explored, West African Mano River Union (MRU) countries of Sierra Leone,Liberia and Guinea. Mano considers the region has the potential to develop intoa world-class diamond, gold and iron ore mining province. The Company has over25,000km2 under licence, close to one million ounces of gold in resource, acluster of diamondiferous kimberlite pipes and the Kono dykes, and jointventures in place with Petra Diamonds, Trans Hex Group, BHP Billiton, GoldenStar and Navasota and which, if they are all fully exercised, will involve atotal of over US$16m in third party expenditure. With increasing marketrecognition of the recent positive evolution in the regional politics, Mano isstarting to capitalise on its position as the pre-eminent gold and diamondexplorer in the sub-region. On behalf of the Board of Mano River Resources Inc. Tom Elder President and CEO 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: Tom Elder President and CEO UK +44 (0) 1235 810 740 Raz Hussein Controller Canada +1 (604) 689 1700 Gary Middleton St. Swithins PR Ltd UK +44 (0)20 7929 4391 The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not take responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Petra Diamonds