Aurum Mining PLC
13 December 2005
For immediate release 13 December 2005
AURUM MINING PLC
('Aurum' or 'the Company')
Re potential acquisition of majority stake in Geocentr
Aurum Mining plc (AIM: AUR), the company formed last year to acquire gold and
other mineral extraction projects in the Former Soviet Union (FSU), announced on
29 October 2005 that it had entered into a conditional agreement with Loyal
Wealthy Limited ('Seller') to purchase 51 per cent of the issued share capital
in Open Joint Stock Company Geocentr ('Geocentr'), a Russian company that owns
an exploration licence in the Russian Far East. Further to that announcement,
Aurum announces today that the acquisition of Geocentr has not completed within
the conditional agreement's terms and therefore will not proceed.
Aurum is disappointed that it was not possible to complete the acquisition but
the Company will continue to focus on its existing asset in the Kyrgyz Republic,
where the exploration potential has increased as described in an exploration
update announced on 6 December 2005. The Company will also continue to pursue
its strategy of seeking further acquisitions in the FSU, with the objective of
creating a portfolio of gold and other mineral assets.
As part of the conditional agreement entered into with Geocentr's Seller, it was
agreed that if the acquisition did not complete then the benefit of an
outstanding loan of $170,000 to Geocentr would be assigned to Geocentr's Seller.
As the acquisition has not completed, this loan will be reassigned.
Mark Jones, Aurum Mining's Chief Executive, said: 'Geocentr represented an
interesting exploration opportunity and the Board is disappointed that the
acquisition could not proceed but it is critical that we select only projects
that meet our stringent criteria. Meanwhile, we continue to be excited by our
Andash gold and copper project in the Kyrgyz Republic, which is both increasing
in exploration potential and moving closer towards production.'
For further information:
Aurum Mining plc Tel: 020 7478 9050
Sean Finlay, Chairman
Mark Jones, Chief Executive
W H Ireland Tel: 0121 616 2101
Tim Cofman
Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000
Mark Court/Amy Rajendran
Notes for editors
About Aurum Mining
Aurum Mining joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in May 2004 with
the strategy of seeking, evaluating and acquiring gold and other mineral
extraction projects in the Former Soviet Union (FSU). In January 2005 the
Company completed its first acquisition, giving the Company an exploration
licence over a gold and copper project in the Kyrgyz Republic. In its State
Register, the State Commission of Resources of the Kyrgyz Republic has included
21.7 million tonnes of C1 and C2 reserves from the project, amounting to gold
and gold equivalent of more than 1.5 million ozs.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange