TSX-V Ticker: SWA
SWA.WT
VANCOUVER,
May 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Sarama
Resources Limited ("Sarama" or the "Company") is
pleased to report that it has been granted a new Mineral
Reconnaissance Licence, covering ground immediately along strike
from a 9km-long, high-tenor gold-in-soil anomaly at its existing
Cape Mount exploration property in Liberia. The Company has also been
successful in having the terms for two of its other Liberian
Mineral Exploration Licences extended.
Highlights
- New Mineral Reconnaissance Licence granted in the Grand
Cape Mount County, expanding Sarama's contiguous land package in
this highly prospective area to 384km².
- The new Mineral Reconnaissance Licence area (the "Cape
Mount East" licence) covers the eastern strike extension of a
9km-long, high-tenor gold-in-soil anomaly delineated at Sarama's
adjacent Cape Mount Exploration Licence.
- Sarama's reconnaissance exploration programs on this new
licence to commence immediately.
- Sarama's Gbarpolu Mineral Exploration Licence has been
granted an extension of 2 years.
- Sarama's Grand Bassa Mineral Exploration Licence has been
granted an extension of 2 years.
Grant of New Mineral Reconnaissance
Licence
Sarama has been granted a new licence, referred
to as the Cape Mount East Mineral Reconnaissance Licence, by the
Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy of Liberia. The licence covers an area of
approximately 68km² and is located in the Grand Cape Mount County,
adjacent to the Company's Cape Mount Exploration Licence.
This addition increases Sarama's contiguous landholding in the
region to approximately 384km² (refer Figure 1).
The new licence gives Sarama the exclusive right
to explore for gold, base metals and diamonds during an initial
term of six months. Subject to certain statutory obligations
being met, the licence is renewable for a further six months, after
which time, the Mineral Reconnaissance Licence will be eligible for
conversion to a Mineral Exploration Licence.
The addition of the licence significantly
strengthens the Company's position in this highly prospective
region which hosts Aureus Mining Inc's ("Aureus") high-grade
'New Liberty' development project (Mineral Resources of 1.7Moz @
3.5g/t Au - refer Aureus' corporate presentation, March 2013).
Sarama's exploration work to date has delineated
a 9km-long, high-tenor gold-in-soil anomaly on its Cape Mount
exploration property and given the anomalous zone's coincidence
with a regionally extensive east-west striking iron formation and
associated rocks, the Company believes there is significant
potential to extend the defined gold-in-soil anomaly to the east
across the new Cape Mount East exploration property. Of note
is the location of Aureus' high-grade Weaju gold prospect on this
geological unit, along strike from Sarama's new Cape Mount East
property (refer Figure 1). The Company plans to commence
reconnaissance field work at the new property immediately.
Extension of Gbarpolu and Grand Bassa
Mineral Exploration Licences
Following application by the Company, the
Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy of Liberia has extended the terms of the Gbarpolu
and Grand Bassa Mineral Exploration Licences.
Along with the Cape Mount Mineral Exploration
Licence, the Gbarpolu and Grand Bassa Mineral Exploration Licences
are the subject of an earn-in agreement whereby Sarama can earn up
to a 90% equity in the PedSam Mining Limited ("PedSam"), the
Liberian holding company for the licences. This can be
increased to 100% if the holder of the residual 10% interest opts
for a net smelter return.
The initial three-year terms of the Gbarpolu and
Grand Bassa Mineral Exploration Licences expired on the
31st March 2013 and under
Liberia's Minerals and Mining Law
(2000) (the "Mining Law"), having satisfied statutory
exploration expenditure and environmental requirements, PedSam was
eligible to apply for a term extension to the licences to continue
exploration activities.
The extended Mineral Exploration Licences
contain the same conditions as their predecessors, are valid for a
period of two years and give PedSam the exclusive right to explore
for gold and base metals. The Gbarpolu Mineral Exploration
Licence also provides for PedSam to explore for diamonds.
Pursuant to the Mining Law, the surface areas covered by the
original licences were required to be reduced by a minimum of 50%
for the extension term, and as such, the Gbarpolu and Grand Bassa
exploration properties to which PedSam holds title, now cover areas
of approximately 200km² and 299km² respectively. Sarama's
first-pass exploration programs concluded that the relinquished
areas were of low geological prospectivity.
Sarama's initial exploration work on the
properties has yielded encouraging results, including the
delineation of several kilometre-scale gold-in-soil anomalies
within the retained areas at both properties which the Company
intends to progress towards drill target definition.
Relinquishment of Voinjama Mineral
Reconnaissance Licence
In line with Sarama's property assessment
process and following the completion of preliminary exploration
work on the Voinjama exploration property, the Company has decided
not to renew its Mineral Reconnaissance Licence and has initiated a
relinquishment process with the Ministry of Lands, Mines and
Energy.
With the above addition, extensions and
relinquishment, Sarama's exploration landholdings in Liberia now total approximately 883km² (refer
Figure 2).
Sarama's President and CEO, Andrew Dinning commented:
"We are pleased to have acquired the Cape
Mount East licence which, based on our exploration work at the
adjacent Cape Mount property, hosts several areas with high
exploration potential for immediate investigation. Sarama is
well funded with a cash balance of approximately US$11M and now that the licence extensions have
been granted at Gbarpolu and Grand Bassa, we look forward to
continuing our exploration programs which to date, have yielded
encouraging results across all our current properties in
Liberia."
For further information on the Company's activities, please
contact:
Andrew Dinning or Paul Schmiede
email: info@saramaresources.com
telephone: +61 8 9363 7600
About Sarama Resources Ltd
Sarama Resources Ltd is a Canadian company with a focus on the
exploration and development of gold deposits in West Africa. The board of directors and
management team, a majority of whom are founders of the Company,
are seasoned resource industry professionals with extensive
experience in the exploration and development of world-class gold
projects in Africa.
The South Houndé Project in south-west
Burkina Faso is the Company's
flagship property and is currently the focus of an aggressive
exploration program to increase the size of its maiden discovery
and to test gold-in-soil anomalies located in a 30km-long
structural corridor. Recent drilling programs at the South
Houndé Project have intersected significant mineralisation in
several prospect areas which the Company is actively following
up. The Company has built substantial early stage exploration
landholdings in prospective and underexplored areas of Burkina Faso (3,100 km²), Liberia (>880 km²) and Mali (>560 km²) and is aggressively
exploring across the property portfolio.
Figure 1: Sarama's Exploration Properties in
Cape Mount Region
Figure 2: Sarama's Exploration Properties in
Liberia
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING
STATEMENTS
Information in this news release that is not a statement of
historical fact constitutes forward-looking information. Such
forward-looking information includes statements regarding the
Company's planned exploration programs. Actual results,
performance or achievements of the Company may vary from the
results suggested by such forward-looking statements due to known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such factors
include, among others, that the business of exploration for gold
and other precious minerals involves a high degree of risk and is
highly speculative in nature; few properties that are explored are
ultimately developed into producing mines; geological factors; the
actual results of current and future exploration; changes in
project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as
those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed
documents.
There can be no assurance that any
mineralisation that is discovered will be proven to be economic, or
that future required regulatory licensing or approvals will be
obtained. However, the Company believes that the assumptions and
expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are
reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other
things, the Company's ability to carry on its exploration
activities, the sufficiency of funding, the timely receipt of
required approvals, the price of gold and other precious metals,
that the Company will not be affected by adverse political events,
the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and
effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain further
financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
information.
Sarama does not undertake to update any
forward-looking information, except as required by applicable
laws.
QUALIFIED PERSON'S STATEMENT
Scientific or technical information in this news release that
relates to the Company's exploration activities in Liberia is based on information compiled or
approved by John Mpambije. John Mpambije is an employee of
Sarama Resources Ltd and is a Chartered Professional Member in good
standing of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and
has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style
of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is
undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National
Instrument 43-101. John Mpambije consents to the inclusion in
this report of the information, in the form and context in which it
appears.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Sarama Resources Limited