ASX RELEASE AND MEDIA RELEASE MANAS RESOURCES RECEIVES KEY APPROVAL FOR SHAMBESAI GOLD PROJECT TEO AUTHORISATION PROVIDES COMMENCEMENT OF SCHEDULE TO GOLD PRODUCTION ? Approval of the TEO Study (Russian interpretation for Justification of Technical and Economic Conditions) for the Shambesai Gold Project has been received ? TEO approval is the key authorisation required for the commencement of detailed design, permitting, construction and gold production at Shambesai ? Permitting continues with social and environmental studies being conducted for a number of months ? Schedule now in place for construction to commence in 2013; gold production forecast for early 2014 ? New Kyrgyz Republic legislation recently enacted to simplify the permitting process for mine- development ? Shambesai has a projected net cash flow of US$208M after capital expenditure of US$37M from production of 245,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 2.8g/t gold over an initial 4 ½-year mine life (US$1,500 per ounce gold price) with average life-of-mine cash costs (C1 costs) of US$411 per ounce ? Debt financing options now being considered Australian-based gold exploration and development company Manas Resources Limited (ASX – MSR) is delighted to report that it has received approval for the TEO Study (Russian interpretation for Justification of Technical and Economic Conditions) at its 100%-owned Shambesai Gold Project in the Kyrgyz Republic, Central Asia. The approval was received from the Mineral Reserves Commission acting on behalf of the State Agency for Geology and Mineral Resources (SAGMR), the controlling authority on mining issues for the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. Manas Resources is now entitled to apply for and receive a production license for the Shambesai Gold Project and commence the License Agreement process with SAGMR. After the grant of the production license, a two-stage License Agreement process begins. License Agreement 1 requires the preparation and assessment of the detailed mine and process design, including the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA); as well as the issuing of the mining allotment (land allotment) and all the relevant operational and commercial permits based on the various sections of the approved detailed design and ESIA. License Agreement 2 commences upon completion of all of the requirements and commitments from License Agreement 1 and will provide State authorization to proceed with construction and ultimately production from the Shambesai Gold Project. Manas has been undertaking the ESIA work for a number of months now, including environmental monitoring for baseline submissions to the State Agency of Environment and Forestry. Initial discussions with the State and local community have also commenced with respect to rezoning Shambesai for an industrial operation and land allocation for the project. Once License Agreement 2 and all relevant permits have been received, Manas is entitled to commence construction at Shambesai. The License Agreement process is primarily procedural, therefore, current scheduling is for construction to commence at Shambesai during the first half of 2013 and gold production forecast for early 2014. Manas notes the Shambesai Gold Project has been included in the Kyrgyz Republic’s “Medium Term Social and Economic Development Program from 2013 to 2015” resolution with production scheduled for inclusion in the State budget in 2014. Manas is also pleased to report the President of the Kyrgyz Republic has signed new reforms for governance of the minerals sector with the stated intention of strengthening the relationship between the mining sector and government, increasing security, stability and clarity in mining legislation and harmonizing the associated regulations for the mining industry. These include amendments to the “Law on Subsoil Use” and the associated “Land Code” and “Tax Code”. A number of favourable reforms have been adopted and include broadening the definition of a “mining property” to include ownership rights of all assets during development and exploitation; the creation of a “single window” policy to remove the requirement to comply with various state bodies and organizations; and, most importantly, the simplification of obtaining the land (mining) allotment for mining ventures owned by foreign mining companies. This eliminates the requirement for a government resolution for mining allocation with various land owners (state, municipal and private). “I am extremely pleased with the support Manas has received from the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in regard to this key approval and its desire to see gold production from Shambesai as soon as possible,” Manas Resources Managing Director Stephen Ross said from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyz Republic. “The Mineral Reserves Commission of the Kyrgyz Republic and SAGMR are incredibly supportive of the quick development of the Shambesai Gold Project and we look forward to delivering a low-cost, high-margin gold operation to the Kyrgyz Republic.” The Shambesai Gold Project is a technically simple, low-cost vat leach and heap leach operation projected to process 3.2Mt of ore at 2.8g/t gold to recover 245,000 ounces of gold over 4 ½ years at life-of-mine cash costs (C1 Costs) of US$411 per ounce of gold. The capital costs to first production and gold pour are estimated to be US$32.6M with payback of this capital estimated to be within the first 10 months of operation. Life-of-mine capital costs are estimated to be US$37M. The project will have an average annual throughput of more than 600,000 tonnes of ore per annum producing on average 53,000 ounces of gold over the 4½ year mine life (ASX – 3 April 2012). Manas is now accelerating negotiations in regard to debt financing options for the Shambesai Gold Project and positive interest has already been received from a number of well-credentialed banks and mining finance institutions. Manas believes the low capital cost to first gold of US$32.6M and the extremely quick payback of this capital in less than a year places Shambesai in a strong position for attracting very favourable debt financing terms. Details of the Manas Resources 100% owned Kyrgyz Gold Projects can be found at the Company’s comprehensive website www.manasresources.com.
MSR Price at posting:
15.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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