Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 30, 2017) - Ashanti Gold Corp. (TSXV: AGZ) ("Ashanti" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has exercised its right to proceed with an option on the Anumso property (the "Project") under the terms of the Anumso Option Agreement (the "Option Agreement") with Goldplat PLC ("Goldplat") announced on September 15, 2016. See the Company's press release on September 15, 2016 - "Ashanti Gold Signs Formal Option Agreement for Anumso."
Ashanti has the right to earn a 75% interest in the Project by expending US$3.0M on exploration over 2.5 years. An initial 51% interest will be earned through expenditure of US$1.5M in the first 18 months, which started with and included a six-month review period. This review period is now over and Ashanti has elected to continue with the Option Agreement and is now obligated to either expend US$1.5M on the Project or pay the deficiency to Goldplat. An additional 24% interest can be earned through expenditure of an additional US$1.5M in the following 12 months or paying the deficiency to Goldplat.
The government of Ghana has a carried 10% interest in all minerals and mining concessions in Ghana, thus the 75% interest in Goldplat's 90% interest will reflect a 67.5% net interest for Ashanti. Ashanti will be the operator of the exploration and development program during the option period. Upon completion of its earn in rights, Ashanti and Goldplat will form a joint venture whereby each party will contribute proportionally to the Project's development, or have its interest diluted. If either party's interest is reduced to 10%, that interest is then converted into a 1.5% net smelter return royalty (the "NSR") which the other party can purchase by paying US$100,000 for each 0.1% of the NSR.
Ashanti filed a NI 43-101 report on Anumso in October 2016, which is available on www.sedar.com and the Company's website.
The Anumso Gold Project is a 29.63 km2 Mining Lease within two blocks that cover ≥ 5 km of strike length of the well-known auriferous Tarkwaian Banket strata within the highly productive Ashanti Belt of Ghana. The colonial Ntronang Mine, 7 km to the east of Anumso, lies along laterally continuous strata and is the only location outside of the famous Tarkwaian gold deposits in the southern Ashanti Belt where gold has been produced. In addition, since colonial times, artisanal miners have been engaged in producing gold from within the Anumso Mining Lease. These host rocks are famous in the southern Ashanti Belt for gold produced from the Iduapriem and Teberebie mines of AngloGold Ashanti and the Tarkwa and Demang mines currently in production by Gold Fields Ltd. Gold in these rocks is considered genetically similar to that in the conglomerate-hosted gold deposits of the ~2,800 million-year-old Witwatersrand deposits of South Africa, except these rocks are younger, being approximately 2,115 million years old.
Ashanti's CEO Tim McCutcheon said, "We are very excited about Anumso. Historic and Ashanti drill results have demonstrated very positive results. I strongly encourage our followers to review the NI 43-101 report on the Project."
ABOUT ASHANTI GOLD
Ashanti is a gold-focused, exploration and development company with projects in the northern Ashanti Belt of Ghana and the Kinieba Belt of Mali. The Company targets projects where it has a competitive advantage due to past work experience of the team and specific project know-how.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of
ASHANTI GOLD CORP.
"Tim McCutcheon"
Tim McCutcheon
CEO
For further information, please contact:
Ashanti Gold Corp.
2300 — 1177 West Hastings Street
Vancouver BC, V6E 2K3
Phone: 604-638-3847
Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance
Dr. Paul Klipfel, CPG (AIPG certification #10821), Ashanti's COO and Chief Geologist is a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian NI 43-101 and has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Dr. Klipfel is responsible for all aspects of the work including the Quality Control/Quality Assurance programs. Dr. Klipfel is not an Independent Person, as he is a shareholder of Ashanti.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, timing and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the commodity markets generally, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSXV acceptance, for its planned activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management Discussion and Analysis and filed with certain securities commissions in Canada. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.
