VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 25, 2016 / Ashanti Gold Corp. (TSXV: AGZ) ("Ashanti" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Red Back Mining Ghana Limited ("Red Back") an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corporation ("Kinross") to earn an interest in three prospecting licenses located in the Ashanti Belt in central Ghana (the "Project" as further described in Figures 1 and 2).
The LOI provides Ashanti with the right to earn 100% of Red Back's interest in the Project by expending US$1.0M on exploration over two years (the "Option Agreement"). The Ghanaian government retains a 10% carried interest in all minerals projects in Ghana, therefore upon completion of the earn-in agreement Ashanti will have a 90% net interest.
The Option Agreement will be preceded by a due diligence and title curative period (the "Due Diligence Period") that may be up to 12 months from the date of the LOI. At any time during this 12-month period, Ashanti will have the sole and exclusive right to initiate the Option Agreement. Ashanti will be the operator of exploration and development programs on the Project during the Due Diligence Period and during the term of the Option Agreement. Upon completion of its earn-in rights, Ashanti will have acquired 100% of Red Back's interest in the Project, subject to Red Back retaining a 2% net smelter royalty.
The Project consists of three licenses: Kwahu Oda, Asankare, New Abirem. The project covers a total area of approximately 68 km2 in the prolific Ashanti Belt of Ghana. These licenses have been selected to build on previous work by Red Back. and Newmont Mining Corporation ("Newmont"). Their location is based on the presence of shear-zone-hosted gold targets similar to those found along the northwest and southeast margins of the Ashanti Belt. Directly to the south of the Project is Newmont's Akyem mine, which was commissioned in 2013 and produced 473,000 ounces of gold in 2015, making it one of the largest annual gold producers in the world.
On the Kwahu Oda license in 2003 Red Back drilled 2,495m Reverse Circulation ("RC") holes to an average depth of 29m. Highlight historical results for these RC holes for gold mineralization include: 10m @ 8.8 g/t, 11m @ 1.5 g/t, 8m @ 3.1 g/t, 7m @ 3.9 g/t, 5m @ 2.5 g/t. (This information is based on incomplete, previously unpublished historic data provided by Red Back. This information is historic in nature and is not part of any resource estimate). Numerous other soil and auger geochemical samples on each license remain untested.
Figure 1. Location map of the Project, Newmont's Akyem mine and Ashanti's Anumso Project within the broader Ashanti greenstone belt.
To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: http://www.accesswire.com/uploads/23181_figure1.jpg
Figure 2. Location map of the Kwahu Oda, Asankare, New Abirem licenses (the Project) relative to Newmont's Akyem mine and Ashanti's Anumso Project.
To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: http://www.accesswire.com/uploads/23181_figure2.jpg
Tim McCutcheon, CEO of Ashanti, commented: "With this LOI, and our previous transaction for Anumso announced last month, Ashanti Gold has now established a significant land package on the Ashanti greenstone belt to the north and south of one of the world's premier gold mines, Akyem."
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of
ASHANTI GOLD CORP.
"Tim McCutcheon"
Tim McCutcheon
CEO
For further information, please contact:
Ashanti Gold Corp.
2300 - 1177 West Hastings Street
Vancouver BC, V6E 2K3
Phone: 604-638-3847
Qualified Person and Historical Data
The information presented in this Press Release has been reviewed by Dr. Paul Klipfel CPG of Mineral Resource Services Inc. and a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian NI 43-101. Dr. Klipfel is not an Independent Person, as he is a shareholder of AGZ. The data presented has been generated by historic explorers, however the Company has not independently verified such data, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance thereon.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
This news release includes "forward-looking statements", including forecasts, estimates, expectations and objectives for future operations that are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company and are considered "forward-looking information for the purposes of Canadian Securities laws. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. There is no assurance the Company will be successful in negotiating a final agreement with Kinross, that the Company will be successful in raising the funds necessary to earn any interest in the Project, that the Company will be successful in maintaining tenure to the Project due to political or legal changes that are at the discretion of the Ghanaian government, that historic drill results will be verified by the Company, or that any economic resource will be located within the Project.
SOURCE: Ashanti Gold Corp.