(COMTEX) B: Birim Goldfields Inc.: Golden Star Begins Extensive Exploratio
Program on Dunkwa Royalty Property ( CCNMatthews )
B: Birim Goldfields Inc.: Golden Star Begins Extensive Exploration Program on Du
kwa Royalty Property ( CCNMatthews )
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, Mar 30, 2005 (CCNMatthews via COMTEX) -- Birim Goldfields
Inc. (TSX:BGI) ("Birim" or "the Company") wishes to inform its shareholders that
Golden Star Resources Ltd. ("Golden Star") has commenced an extensive US$1.1
million work program on Birim's original Dunkwa concession in Ghana which
includes the Mampon gold deposit.
Forecast exploration expenditure reported by Golden Star for the Dunkwa
concession for 2005 totals US$1.1 million. The programs will involve diamond
drilling, reverse circulation drilling ("RC") and Rotary Air Blast ("RAB")
drilling at Mampon and RC and RAB drilling along the projected strike of the
Main Crush Zone from Opon, in the southern portion of the concession to North of
Mampon. Total estimated drilling for 2005 is approximately 18,000 meters of RC,
3,000 meters of Diamond and 14,000 meters of RAB. The 2005 exploration programs
have been designed to prove up the Mampon reserves and collect relevant data for
the completion of permitting and detailed mine planning on this gold deposit.
The RC and RAB drilling programs are designed both to infill previous drilling
and to test new soil geochemical and geophysical targets.
Drilling has now commenced on the Mampon deposit with eight holes totaling 640
meters already completed in February. The metallurgical drilling program is
expected to be completed in March and samples will be selected and sent to
Ammtec Laboratories in Perth for processing. An additional 4 geotechnical holes
will be drilled following the completion of this program. Data collected from
the metallurgical and geotechnical programs will be used to complete the
feasibility study on this project.
In August 2003, Birim and Golden Star announced a transaction which entitles
Birim to receive royalty payments for all gold recovered from the Dunkwa
concession, which includes the Mampon gold deposit. The terms of the sale
transaction provided Birim with an initial royalty payment of US$3.4 million for
the first 200,000 ounces of gold recovered from the Mampon deposit. All Mampon
gold production exceeding 200,000 ounces and any additional production from
other deposits on the Dunkwa property is subject to a sliding scale net smelter
return ("NSR") royalty varying between 2.0 and 3.5 percent, dependent upon the
gold price as noted below:
Average Quarterly Gold Price (London P.M. Gold Fix) Royalty
--------------------------------------------------
Equal to and less than $300/oz 2.0%
Greater than $300/oz and equal and less than $350/oz 2.5%
Greater than $350/oz and equal and less than $400/oz 3.0%
Greater than $400/oz 3.5%
Birim Goldfields Inc. is a royalty-based exploration company and trades on the
Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol BGI.
