The Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) for Axmin’s Passendro gold project on the Bambari-Bakala Permits, Central African Republic, has been awarded to Senet of South Africa. Senet, which is currently building three gold projects in west Africa, will work in conjunction with consultants SRK (UK) (resources/reserves, mining, geotechnics, hydrogeology), AMEC Earth and Environmental (tailings, waste rock), SGS Lakefield of South Africa (metallurgy) and Golder Associates (UK) (environmental and social impact assessment) to compile the BFS for a 200,000 oz/y gold plant with submission of the completed study scheduled for mid-2007.

Axmin CEO, Dr Jonathan Forster comments “We are very pleased to have been able to assemble such a formidable team of consultants to undertake the Passendro feasibility study. Each brings extensive experience of developing gold projects in Africa that will be necessary for the development of the 200,000 oz/y Passendro project in a country where, as yet, there is no commercial scale mining sector. Importantly, not only does Senet bring its experience of gold plant design but it also has practical experience in three French speaking countries in west Africa, where it is currently constructing similar gold projects. With the combination of engineering skills available and the ongoing work by Axmin to target expansion of resources and reserves, I feel confident that Passendro will successfully progress towards development with significant increases in both reserves and resources.”

Feasibility study drilling at Passendro to expand reserves has been ongoing from early 2006 in anticipation of the positive engineering study at pre-feasibility level, which highlighted the economic robustness of a 3 Mt/y gravity-CIL plant. As a consequence, some 12,500 m of RC drilling and 8,000 m of core drilling has already been completed at Passendro for infill purposes which, in part, includes extending Axmin’s knowledge to depth. This data has recently been submitted to independent consultants SRK Consulting for a further update on resource and reserve estimates. Drilling will continue throughout the remainder of the year, both to enable necessary engineering and metallurgical studies to be completed, and for the expansion of resources and reserves to continue within the Passendro area in readiness for final reserve modelling for the BFS study in 2007.