Gold Exploration in West Africa

[Ed Monton]

Birim Goldfields obtains three new Au licences in Ghana


2005-05-04 11:20 ET - News Release

Mr. Denis Simoneau reports

BIRIM GRANTED THREE NEW CONCESSIONS ON THE 20 MILLION OUNCE BIBIANI-SEFWI GOLD BELT, GHANA

Birim Goldfields Inc.'s wholly owned subsidiary, Birim Goldfields Ghana Ltd., has been granted three exclusive reconnaissance licences on the prominent Bibiani-Sefwi gold belt in Ghana. In each of these concessions, Birim holds 100 per cent of the available 90-per-cent equity, and the government of Ghana holds a statutory 10-per-cent free-carried interest.

The addition of these three new concessions (totalling 1,189 square kilometres) to the company's existing four-concession portfolio (of roughly 7,000 square kilometres) on the Bui belt establishes Birim as one of Ghana's largest mineral rights holders. It also reflects the company's continued commitment to gold exploration in this highly prospective region and reinforces the healthy relations that the company enjoys with the Ghanaian government.

The company's selection of the newly granted reconnaissance licences was based upon an in-house reinterpretation of the prospective geological settings in the Bibiani belt, combined with the proximity to growing development projects.

Birim's new Nkenkasu reconnaissance licence (650 square kilometres) straddles the northern extension of the Bibiani belt within the Birimian supergroup and contains numerous prospective structures that are known to be associated with pods of mineralization similar to those connecting the neighbouring chain of Newmont's Ahafo project deposits to the southwest. The Bia Tano reconnaissance licence (51 square kilometres) is located within the influence of the western-bounding shear of the Bibiani belt and lies close to the controlling structures that underlie the Ahafo mining leases. The Banda Ahenkro reconnaissance licence (488 square kilometres) was selected to identify resources that Birim believes could be associated with the important western-bounding shear structures of the Bibiani belt.

The Bibiani-Sefwi gold belt has produced a total of 3.2 million ounces of gold historically and contains at least 20 million ounces of gold. All of the historical production has come from Ashanti-AngloGold's operating Bibiani mine, which hosts a current resource of 1.9 million ounces gold. Current developing mines include Newmont's Ahafo project, which has a current total resource of 11 million ounces, and Red Back Mining Inc.'s Chirano gold project, which has a total current resource of 2.35 million ounces. There are also several other known pods of mineralization along this belt.