Name: Inata mine.

Location: The Inata mine is located within a highly prospective 1 660 km² land package in the Bélahouro district, about 220 km north-east of Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou.

Controlling Company: The Inata gold mine is 90% owned by Avocet Mining and 10% owned by the government of Burkina Faso.

Brief History: Avocet acquired its interest in Inata through its acquisition of Wega Mining in June 2009. The mine was commissioned that year and first gold was poured in December 2009. The current mine licence extends to 2027.

Brief Description: The Inata mine has six openpits, with mining currently focused on the North, Central and Far South pits.

Mining Method: Conventional openpit.

Products: Gold.

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: Mining is undertaken at Inata by conventional openpit methods using three owner-operated fleets of mining vehicles.

Geology/Mineralisation: The Inata mine’s mineralisation occurs within a well-defined shear zone, marking the boundary between the granitic and volcanic rocks of the Damba-Inata domain in the west, and the Sona sedimentary basin in the east. Gold mineralisation occurs within a subvertical shear zone that cuts along folded carbonaceous shales that are sandwiched between sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Quartz-feldspar porphyry dykes intrude along the shear zone and are contemporaneous with the later stages of gold mineralisation. Gold mineralisation is always linked to boudinaged, folded or brecciated quartz veins or disseminated in hematitic alteration haloes around quartz-carbonate-albite veins.

The deposit is deeply weathered, with the base of complete oxidation extending down to 60 m. A transitional zone of moderate oxidation extends down to more than 150 m.

Reserves: Total proven and probable reserves as at May 31, 2013, were 13.6-million tonnes, grading 2.17 g/t gold.

Resources: Total resources as at December 31, 2012, were 194.9-million tonnes, grading 1.39 g/t gold.

Prospects: In August 2013, Avocet Mining announced the new life-of-mine plan for the Inata mine. The announcement followed a phase of further drilling and the evaluation of additional areas within the Inata mining licence and metallurgical testwork on the ore at Inata. These two factors resulted in a net increase of 36%, or 253 000 oz, in the total ounces recovered, compared with the previously published life-of-mine plan.

On average, yearly production for the life-of-mine is currently 21% higher, at 116 000 oz, with the mine life now extending to 2021. From 2013 to 2016, when mining was previously scheduled to occur, total tonnes that would have been mined have been reduced by 7%, but ounces recovered have increased by 16%. As a result, cash costs during this period are on average 17% lower at $976/oz.

The new plan is, therefore, considerably more cash generative, with net cash flows (after capital expenditure) at current spot prices and hedging profile estimated to average about $17-million in 2014 and 2015 and $30-million from 2016 to 2019. In 2020 and 2021, when mining has ceased and the plant is processing stockpiled material, more than $100-million of net cash flow is forecast.

Contact Person: Investor relations, Rob Simmons.

Contact Details:
Avocet Mining,
tel +44 (0)20 7766 7676,
fax +44 (0)20 7766 7699, email ir@avocetmining.com, and website http://www.avocet.co.uk

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