🕐09.10.12 - 08:27 Uhr

SULA IRON & GOLD - FIRST DAY OF DEALING ON AIM - SIERRA LEONE EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT



Sula Iron & Gold plc / Index: AIM / Epic: SULA / Sector: Natural Resources 9 October 2012 Sula Iron & Gold plc (Sula or the Company) First Day of Dealings on AIM Sula Iron & Gold plc, an iron ore and gold exploration company focussed in Sierra Leone, is being admitted to trading on AIM today.

The Company has raised �1.15 million before expenses by way of a placing of 19,166,674 new Ordinary Shares at 6 pence per share giving a market capitalisation of circa �7 million on admission to AIM.

The funds raised will be used to advance the Companys 153 sq km licence area in the mineral rich Sula Mountain Range in Sierra Leone, which is highly prospective for iron and gold.

Northland Capital Partners Limited and Merchant Securities Limited act as Joint Broker to the Company and Cairn Financial Advisers LLP is the Companys Nominated Adviser. Overview: * Objective to explore and advance its key 153 sq km licence area prospective for iron and gold - licence area is contiguous to AIMs biggest miner African Minerals operational Tonkolili iron mine which has a JORC compliant resource of 12.8 billion tonnes * Exploration confirms presence of Banded Iron Formation (BIF) at surface - magnetic anomalies extend into the property from African Minerals Tonkolili licence * Exploration target of 500 million tonnes at 30.4% iron for magnetite and 55% iron for hematite, given by independent mining consultants SRK * Gold prospectivity highlighted by extensive artisanal mining - grab samples at site with up to 4.92 g/t Au * Significant value uplift potential through detailed exploration programmes * Strong board and management team with in depth knowledge of Sierra Leone and a proven track record in developing African resource projects * CEO Nick Warrell has over 22 years mining experience in Sierra Leone having discovered various gold and platinum deposits, and founding Golden Prospect Mining, a former AIM company Sulas Chief Executive Nick Warrell said: "The combination of a highly prospective iron and gold licence area with an attractive address, good regional infrastructure and an excellent board and management team with a proven track record in developing resource projects in Africa and 22 years ground experience in Sierra Leone, distinguishes Sula as a compelling opportunity.

Excitingly, the BIF identified at the world-class Tonkolili iron ore mine extends into our licence area and artisanal workings indicate the potential for a primary epithermal gold deposit, with previous grab samples returning up to 4.92 g/t Au.

This gives the Company a dual commodity focus, which not only diversifies our exposure but provides significant potential for value up-lift as we embark on exploration programmes with a focus on iron ore initially and progressing onto gold. "Our near term objective is to further define the extent of the BIF and establish volumes and grades whilst exploring the oxidised hematite cap which may also be gold bearing.

By fast-tracking the exploration and development of our iron ore and gold licence area with the aim of delineating a JORC compliant resource, we believe we can rapidly advance the project up the development curve to enhance shareholder value." For further information please visit www.sulairongold.com or contact the following:
Brian Moritz Sula Iron & Gold plc + 44 (0) 7976 994300 James Caithie / Avi Robinson Cairn Financial Advisers LLP +44 (0) 20 7148 7900 John-Henry Wickes Northland Capital Partners Limited +44 (0) 20 7796 8800 Chris Theis Merchant Securities Limited +44 (0) 20 7628 2200 Felicity Edwards St Brides Media and Finance Ltd +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 Charlotte Heap St Brides Media and Finance Ltd +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
Further Information Introduction The Company is a mineral exploration and development company formed for the purpose of exploring and developing the Sula Licence granted to Blue Horizon, its wholly-owned subsidiary, by the government of Sierra Leone in August 2011. The Company has raised �1.15 million under the Placing. Investment Case The Directors believe that the key attributes of the Sula Project are as follows: � contiguous to a 12.8 Bt operational iron ore mine owned by African Minerals Limited; � dual commodity exposure - iron ore and gold - in a prospective, mineral-rich region; � iron ore exploration target of at least 500 million tonnes @ Fe content in excess of 30 per cent; � probable primary gold deposit and laterite-hosted secondary gold; � defined exploration programme and strategy to prove Mineral Resource; and � experienced team with in-depth knowledge of Sierra Leone and strong local support. The Sula Project Title, Location & Infrastructure Blue Horizon was granted the Sula Licence on 23 August 2011 and was registered on 24 August 2011 for a period of four years according to the Mines and Minerals Act 2009 of Sierra Leone.

The licence comprises some 153 km2 and is located within the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, 55 km south of Kabala, the nearest town, and 290 km north east of the capital Freetown: The Sula Licence has good infrastructure with access from Freetown along a tarred road via the regional centre of Makeni, followed by 80km on unpaved tracks.

The area is served by a circuit of dirt roads accessible by four-wheel drive vehicles.

The area also contains the outflow of Lake Sonfon, which dominates the local geography draining down through the centre of the area, flowing eventually into the Sende River and southwest towards the Atlantic Ocean. The Sula Licence contains an exploration camp adjacent to the village of Dalakuru.

The exploration camp has recently been completely renovated by the Company with the installation of running water, sanitation, cooking and multiple air-conditioned accommodation facilities, all of which are powered by a fully integrated diesel generator.

The camp is ideally situated and equipped to facilitate future exploration work within the Sula Licence. Region The Sula Licence is located within the northernmost part of the Sula mountain range, which is composed of a mixture of greenstone volcano-sedimentary metamorphosed units of the Sula-Kangari Greenstone Belt as well as the Late and Syn-kinematic granites. The Directors believe that the region is prospective for iron ore and gold, as evidenced by the work completed to date by the Group, the findings set out in the Competent Persons Report in Part III of the Admission Document and by the presence of a number of operators in the region. Adjoining Licences and Competitor Activity African Minerals Limited ("AML"), an AIM-quoted company registered in Bermuda, wholly owns the Tonkolili licence, which adjoins the Sula Licence to the south and which was upgraded to a mining licence in August 2010.

In December 2010, AML declared a JORC compliant Mineral Resource estimate comprising 12.8 Bt of iron ore.

AML has since constructed an integrated mine, rail and port infrastructure and, in November 2011, announced loading of its first Tonkolili iron ore shipment. In total, five contiguous orebodies have been drilled on the Tonkolili licence comprising over 21 km of strike length.

The northernmost of these are the parallel Kasafoni West and Kasafoni East orebodies which have a combined strike length of 12 km and have been reported to contain a total of 4.3 Bt of ore, 2.9 Bt of which has been classed as Inferred and 1.4 Bt as Indicated, with an average FETOT content of 30.4 per cent.

SRK ES considers that there is a possibility that these orebodies extend to the northeast into the Sula Licence. Publicly available airborne aeromagnetic data shows that one of the magnetic anomalies delineated by AML at the northern end of the Tonkolili licence extends northeast into the Sula Licence.

It is currently unnamed and undrilled.

This anomaly has now been confirmed by SRK ES by a ground magnetometer survey and field observations as being a BIF. Taia Lion Resources, Inc.

("TLR") is a private company registered in Canada and currently holds the Lake Sonfon mining licence, which borders the Sula Licence to the north and west.

TLRs licence covers a total area of 108 km2 and is licensed for the mining of gold.

It is understood that TLR is currently actively working on this property. The Sula Licence also borders other exploration licences to the east, west and south. Iron Ore Potential The prospectivity for iron mineralisation in the form of BIF supergene enriched oxidised zones is very good.

The Group commissioned a ground magnetometer survey over the south-western portion of the Sula Licence to delineate a BIF unit as seen in the south within the Sula-Kangari greenstone belt.

The results of the survey, field observations and a detailed understanding of Tonkolilis geological model demonstrate that a BIF exists within the southwest quadrant of the Sula Licence.

There is also a possibility that the already drilled Kasafoni East/West orebodies extend northwards into the concession although the anomalies are less strong and were not covered by the recent magnetometer survey. The potential size and grade of the deposit cannot be estimated at present.

However, a reasonable exploration target for the Sula Licence in terms of a BIF would be in the region of 500 million tonnes (0.5 Bt @ FETOT content of 30.4 per cent.).

The grade of a hematite cap would be expected to be in the region of 55 per cent.

FETOT. Gold Potential Gold mineralisation is present in the Sula Licence in the form of free gold in alluvial gravels, in clasts of vein quartz in the gravels, in quartz tourmaline veins and associated with gossanous sulphide concentrations or pods within the upper part of the laterite tropical weathering profile (duricrust). Artisanal alluvial mining is currently taking place in the western sector of the Sula Licence and varies in scale from subsistence panning of streams to large scale organised operations at Lagunda and Dalakuru.

Two samples collected by SRK ES from Lagunda yielded grades of 3.52 g/t Au and 3.40 g/t Au respectively, which are encouraging results from an alluvial washing operation. A grab sample of a sulphide pod collected by SRK ES yielded a grade of 4.92 g/t Au while a sample collected from the same site in the Yafarina river was shown to contain visible gold when crushed and washed.

All alluvial gold seen in the concession was small, at 375� to 3mm, bright yellow and angular. The Groups focus is primary gold mineralisation rather than secondary alluvial gold.

The alluvial gold seen in the Sula Licence appears to have the characteristics of gold which has just entered the alluvial system and SRK ES consider it to be proximal to its source.

SRK ES therefore considers it probable that a primary gold source lies within the Sula Licence and, given the geology of the area, this could be a mesothermal vein/lode deposit or related to a BIF. Exploration Programme Although notable exploration has been conducted on the Sula Licence, there remains significant work still to be done in following up discoveries made to date as well as evaluating previous untested parts of the Sula Licence. The Groups strategy is towards Mineral Resource definition through a detailed exploration programme involving geochemical sampling, geophysical surveys and exploration drilling.

The ultimate aim of the Company is to define a sufficient in-situ Mineral Resource to support a detailed feasibility study towards mine development and production. The Groups primary focus at this stage is the evaluation of the BIF potential of the Sula Licence.

Consequently two additional magnetometer surveys to further establish the extent of the BIF are planned in late 2012 at an estimated cost of �80,000. In addition, the completion and analysis of a geochemical sampling programme (soils and rock chips), for which approximately 1,000 samples have already been collected from the same area as the initial ground magnetometer survey, is planned.

The samples will be subjected to a multi-element analysis which will investigate any link between the BIF and gold mineralisation within the Sula Licence. Subject to the results of the above programme and to the availability of further funding by way of equity issue or joint venture agreements, the Groups further exploration programme will comprise scout drilling on the BIF and soil/rock chip sampling on the South West Sector of the Sula Licence, as recommended in the CPR, at an estimated cost of �500,000. Corporate Structure The Company was incorporated on 6 October 2011 for the purpose of being the holding company of the Group.

The Companys only subsidiary is Blue Horizon, which was acquired by the Company on 24 February 2012 in exchange for 50,000,000 Ordinary Shares.

Blue Horizon is the holder of the Sula Licence.

Further details of each of the Company and Blue Horizon are set out at paragraphs 2 and 3 respectively of Part VI of the Admission Document.
Details of the Placing The Company has raised �1.15 million (before expenses) by the issue of the Placing Shares at the Placing Price, together with warrants to subscribe for Ordinary Shares.

Placees will receive one Placee Warrant for every two Placing Shares subscribed for.

The Company has not applied to AIM for admission to trading of the Placee Warrants and does not intend to.

Further particulars of the Placee Warrants are set out in Part VII of the Admission Document.
Use of proceeds and reasons for the Placing and Admission The Net Proceeds are expected to be approximately �0.84 million.

The Directors intend that the Net Proceeds will be used to fund two further magnetometer surveys and to provide the Company with additional working capital. Further exploration and development of the Sula Licence, which will be dependent on the results of the initial exploration programme detailed in paragraph 2 of this Part I, would require further funding in due course, either through the issue of equity or joint venture agreements. The Directors believe that the benefits of Admission are that it will: � enable the Company to gain access to institutional capital to broaden its investor base and assist in raising additional working capital; � raise the Companys corporate profile as a company whose shares are traded on AIM; and � allow the Company to attract, retain and motivate high calibre personnel through the grant of share options in due course.
Current trading and prospects Since 1 April 2012, the Company has reached the following milestones:
� A ground magnetometer survey, which has confirmed the presence of a BIF on the Sula Licence, was commissioned by the Group and completed in June 2012; � The exploration camp on the Sula Licence area has been completely renovated and is now equipped to facilitate future exploration work; and � Relations with the local community have continued to be developed including through renovation of a local school, which has been named after Blue Horizon.
Directors and Employees A brief biography of each of the Directors is set out below: Brian Michael Moritz - aged 76, Non-Executive Chairman Mr Moritz is a Chartered Accountant and formerly the senior partner in the London office of Grant Thornton.

He specialises in identifying and bringing to the market junior companies in the natural resources sector in Africa.

He is a former chairman of Metal Bulletin PLC and African Platinum PLC, each of which was eventually sold for cash of approximately �300 million.

He is currently director and chairman of a number of junior mining companies, primarily operating in Africa. Nicholas (Nick) Sherriff Warrell - aged 65, Chief Executive Officer Mr Warrell is a respected mining entrepreneur who has headed up various exploration projects worldwide including the UK, Australia, South America and West Africa.

Early in his career, he established a tunnelling company, and then re-opened the Wheal Concord tin mine in Cornwall.

He also managed and subsequently owned the Gwynfynydd Gold Mine in Wales.

Mr Warrell first visited Sierra Leone in 1989, where he discovered gold and platinum deposits and founded Golden Prospect Mining Limited, which was initially floated on OFEX and later on AIM.

He is an Honorary Paramount Chief of the Diang Chiefdom which controls the area of the Sula Licence. Gavin John Burnell - aged 34, Non-Executive Director Mr Burnell has 11 years experience of advising smaller companies and is a Director of Corporate Finance at Northland Capital.

He is a founder and/or director of several public and private companies in varying sectors including Globo Plc (AIM: GBO), Magnolia Petroleum Plc (AIM: MAGP), Hot Rocks Investments Plc (PLUS: HRIP), Hellenic Capital Plc (PLUS: HECP), Rift Resources Plc, Woodland Capital Limited and Sports 1st Limited. Dr Christopher (Chris) Charles Wilson - aged 48, Non-Executive Technical Director Dr Wilson is an established geologist with over 20 years experience in prospect generation and area selection through to the design and management of resource definition drilling programs.

He has been Chief Executive Officer, President and a Director of Hunter Bay Minerals Plc (TSX.V: HBY) since May 2007 and also serves on the boards of Manado Gold Corp.

(TSX.V: MDO) and Silver Pursuit Resources Ltd (TSX.V: SPF).

Dr Wilson formed Exploration Alliance Ltd in 2007 and is its President Principal Consulting Geologist.

He is a Qualified Person (NI43-101 and JORC), a Chartered Professional Geologist, Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists. The Group employs 37 people in Sierra Leone, including Nicholas Warrell, Richard Magee, the exploration manager at the Sula Project, and Des Congdon, the operations manager.

The Directors will employ further staff as required in due course.
**ENDS**
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