(Source: Business Wire)
AFRICAN QUEEN MINES LTD. (the "Company") is pleased to announce
that it has now entered into an Earn-in and Joint Venture Agreement (the
"Akan Agreement"), with Marshall Islands' private company AKAN
EXPLORATION LTD. ("Akan"), covering exploration, development and
exploitation of the Noyem Gold Project, which is the subject of the
Noyem-Nyafoman Prospecting License LVB 10244/1995 in Ghana (the
"License"). Simultaneously, the Company has entered into a Purchase &
Sale Agreement with Newmont Ghana Gold Limited ("NGGL"), the Ghanaian
subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: "NEM") ("Newmont"),
under which NGGL is transferring the License directly to the Company's
Ghanaian subsidiary AQ Ghana Gold Ltd. ("AQGGL"), to be held in trust
for the Joint Venture partners in accordance with the Akan Agreement.
The Noyem Gold Project. The License currently covers an area of
approximately 28.9 sq. km. located within the Birim North District of
Ghana's Eastern Region, approximately 130 km. NW of Accra. It is at the
northeastern end of Ghana's well-known, gold-producing Ashanti Gold
Belt, near Newmont's Akyem deposit which is presently under development
for potential production. It is also within approximately 100 km. of
AngloGold Ashanti's world-class Obuasi Mine and the old Konongo open pit
gold mine. In addition to its close proximity to Accra which facilitates
access, the Project is bisected in a NE-SW direction by a tarred road.
It has long been host to large numbers of artisinal miners and in
October, 2008, a shed-off area of 8.98 sq. km. adjacent to the current
license area was reserved for small scale mining. This will facilitate
exploration and development of potential large scale mining operations
on the License.
The License was initially acquired by NGGL together with a number of
other Ghana gold mining properties through Newmont's acquisition in 2002
of Australian-based Normandy Mining Limited ("Normandy"). Exploration
conducted by Normandy's predecessor Bonsai Gold Holdings, including
diamond drilling during 1996-1997, resulted in the definition by Bonsai
Gold Holdings of an historic inferred gold resource of approximately 1.1
million oz au (5.2 million tonnes @ 6.67 g/t au) down to 550 meters
within reefs of the Tarkwaian conglomerates in the Eastern portion of
the concession ("Noyem A"). Normandy carried out further exploration
programs on the property through 2000. The Tarkwaian is typically
represented by coarse clastic sediments including conglomerates,
sandstones, arkoses and subordinate argillites. The style of
mineralization at Noyem A is typically Tarkwaian-hosted palaeoplacer and
hydrothermal gold mineralization. The historic resource estimate was not
determined in accordance with N.I. 43-101 and the Company does not have
sufficient information to reliably base an opinion on the accuracy or
validity of the historic resource estimate.
