Company News Archive
Disclosure of information required by AIM Rule 26
16 August 2007
Persian Gold today announces that the information required by Rule 26 of the AIM Rules for Companies (February 2007) is available under the heading "AIM Rule 26" within the overview section of the Company's website www.persiangoldplc.com.
AGM Reminder
16 August 2007
WHEN: Thusrday 23rd August 2007
TIME: 12:30 PM
WHERE: College Hill Offices, The Registry, Royal Mint Court, London EC3N 4QN
Dear Shareholder
Following the AGM, Mike Thomson and Monir Davoudzadeh will present an update on developments at Chah-e-Zard and Takestan along with introducing a new project.
I look forward to your attendance.
Yours sincerely
John J Teeling
Chairman
Information Meeting Reminder
16 August 2007
WHEN: Friday 24th August 2007
TIME: 12 Noon
WHERE: Reading Room, St. Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club, 9 St. Stephen’s Green (Between Grafton St. & Dawson St.), Dublin 2.
Dear Shareholder
Following the AGM in London, Mike Thomson and Monir Davoudzadeh will update Irish investors on progress at Chah-e-Zard and Takestan, along with introducing a new gold project.
I look forward to your attendance.
Yours sincerely
John J Teeling
Chairman
Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 December 2006
27 June 2007
Persian Gold plc, the AIM listed minerals explorer focused on Gold and Iran (AIM:PNG), is pleased to announce Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 December 2006.
Highlights
- Significant progress made on evaluating the Chah-e-Zard gold discovery in Iran.
- A second round of drilling and trenching will commence in weeks on Chah-e-Zard.
- Discussions are at an advanced stage to acquire a majority interest in a gold/porphyry late stage exploration project in Central Iran.
- Early stage prospecting has identified a gold in silica – alunite prospect in North Western Iran. Persian Gold is negotiating a concession on the area.
John Teeling, Executive Chairman of Persian Gold, Commented:
" We continue to make good progress in Iran. As one of the few companies exploring in a highly prospective country we see a flow of projects. We are building a portfolio of gold interests stretching from early to advanced stage exploration. The potential is good. "
Chairman’s Statement
The past year has seen solid progress in Iran. We drilled our Chah-e-Zard gold property and recovered gold in thirteen of the sixteen holes. Three of the holes produced particularly good results. The coming months will see a second phase of drilling and trenching on the ground as we attempt to zero-in on a commercial gold deposit. Our activities in Takestan, northwestern Iran, were curtailed while we sought trenching and drilling permits but in the interim, we evaluated a series of potential gold and precious metals projects. Some of these have promise and I expect to be able to report on them in the near future.
Let me refresh your memory as to why we explore in Iran. The central volcanic mineral belt of Iran is one of the last places on earth with the potential to produce large multi-million ounce gold deposits. Exploration in Turkey and Azerbaijan to the northwest and in Pakistan to the southeast has discovered new large gold occurrences. Over the past 28 years, there has been little exploration in Iran. World-class companies such as Rio Tinto, Anglo American and BHP were active but they only covered a small area of the 2000 km x 100 km belt, two thirds of which is desert. These companies have all but exited the country.
In 2003 Persian Gold was established to prospect for large scale low grade “Yanacocha type” gold deposits. Our first target was, and remains the one billion ton alunite deposit in northwestern Iran. We currently hold four licences covering 160 sq kms in the area. The work is early stage prospecting. Our presence in Iran attracted other projects in Iran. The first project we accepted was in Chah-e-Zard, about 350 kms south of Tehran near the city of Yazd. We joint ventured the property with the local concession holder on a 70/30 option basis where Persian Gold paid 100% of all costs up to Bankable Feasibility Study. We undertook detailed sampling which outlined an anomalous gold deposit of 1.25 km x 0.75 km. We trenched to estimate consistency across the deposit and drilled to identify the depth of the deposit. We subsequently tested the drill core to estimate the depth of the oxide and mixed oxide/sulphide zone. The latter test estimated the suitability of the ore for large scale heap leaching.
As the review of operations below shows, the overall results were positive. While there was widespread gold the overall grade was below 1 gram per tonne (g/t). The southwest section of the anomaly does contain good grades. Shallow drilling and more trenching will be carried out in this area in the coming months. We have re-negotiated the joint venture with our partner. The new agreement involves no cash commitment until a decision to mine is made after which Persian Gold will pay the first $6m of our partners’ capital expenditure on the mine. The percentage ownership remains 70/30 Persian Gold.
Other Projects:
We continue to evaluate other gold opportunities that have been offered to the company. Currently we are analysing:
- A porphyry gold/copper project south of Tehran.
- A porphyry gold/copper project in northeast Iran.
- A volcanic hosted alunite gold project in northwest Iran.
We anticipate acquiring at least two of these projects. The first project is similar to our Chah-e-Zard venture in that it is at an advanced stage. Earlier work done by a multinational identified a significant zone of gold. Persian Gold has sampled the ground and awaits results. If the results replicate the earlier findings, we will endeavour to complete a deal with the concession holder.
We have identified a large area in the northwest of Iran where soil sampling some decades ago indicated a significant gold bearing anomaly. This area contains significant quantities of silica-alunite. We are in discussions with the relevant people to obtain a license over the area.
Operating in Iran
There is widespread ignorance and uncertainty about operating in Iran. The country is very large (1.65m sq. kms) with a population of over 70 million people. Tehran, the capital, has 14 million people. Infrastructure is extremely good with plentiful power and transport links. People are well educated with experienced geologists, engineers and miners available. The rule of law operates while the terms for prospecting and exploration are clear.
Are there negatives? Certainly. Two thirds of the country is desert so water can be a problem. We ship water by tanker to the drilling sites at Chah-e-Zard. In the northern mountainous region snow is a problem in winter. There is an extensive bureaucracy which takes time to navigate. Finding experienced commercial managers is difficult. But explorers must go where discoveries can be made. Iran is likely to contain many gold zinc copper and other deposits. The trick is to find them.
Future
With some of the largest natural resource deposits in the world Iran is the place to be for explorers. Persian Gold is building a team of professionals both inside and outside Iran who can find, evaluate and analyse opportunities in gold. The Chah-e-Zard project has real near term potential to become a commercial gold mine. The Takestan, Zaajkan and Mashroom licences are at an earlier stage of exploration but potential still exists. The new projects under evaluation are exciting.
We believe that we are the only junior Western mining company currently active in Iran. As such, we have an early mover advantage. The authorities are welcoming and facilitating. The opportunities are there. It is up to us to grab them.
John Teeling,Chairman
27th June 2006
Results Download:
Persian Gold Preliminary 2006 Results RNS - 27th June 2007.pdf [48 KB]