African Minerals plc

"African Minerals has been active in Sierra Leone since 1996. The Company refocused its initial search for alluvial diamonds after discovery of the Tonkolili iron ore deposit.

"In February 2005 the Company was admitted to AIM, raising £20m. In 2008 the company discovered the major Tonkolili magnetite resource, and carried out significant fundraisings for its development. Through 2010 and early 2011 it raised over $1.1Bn to fully fund its Phase I development of the project, which entered production in Q4 2011.

"In March 2012 the Company completed a landmark $1.5bn transaction with Shandong Iron and Steel Group ("SISG") in return for a 25% shareholding in the Tonkolili project companies. The SISG transaction is the largest ever foreign investment in Sierra Leone and the largest single investment by a Chinese State Owned Enterprise in Africa.  A portion of the funds from the investment have been used to repay the $417.7m Standard Bank secured loan facility and the remainder will principally be used to accelerate the development of Phase II."

Board
Accessed March 2013:


 * Vasile (Frank) Timis - Executive Chairman
 * Keith Calder - Chief Executive Officer
 * Miguel Perry - Chief Financial Officer
 * Gibril Bangura - Executive Chairman, AML Sierra Leone

Contact
Web: http://www.african-minerals.com

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