Avocet Mining PLC announced positive results from its drilling campaign at Souma, Burkina Faso. These are the first results from an ongoing drilling and metallurgical test work programme that commenced in April 2015. The programme will determine to what extent Souma might provide satellite ore feed to Inata, with minimal capital cost, or would be best suited to a low cost standalone heap leach operation, benefiting from synergies with Inata.

Previous drilling has indicated that mineralisation at Souma is quartz hosted, and does not have the same carbonaceous ore types as seen at Inata. The objectives of the programme are to confirm that Souma's metallurgy is oxide and non-carbonaceous, and to upgrade the existing resource of 0.68 million ounces in order to generate a maiden ore reserve. These encouraging results are from an area towards the north of the Souma trend known as Dynamite, as shown in the figure below, and are expected to contribute to the programme's objectives of increasing confidence in the existing orebody (as set out in the Appendix) and growing the resources.

A total of 63 reverse circulation holes for a total of 2,921 metres have been drilled at Dynamite. The Dynamite drilling programme reduces the drill spacing to 12.5m x 10m, as mineralisation at Dynamite is hosted within a complex intersecting array of shears and requires close spaced drilling. As well as infilling previous drilling, additional holes were drilled at Dynamite that targeted a northeast cross-cutting trend with potential for extension of the zone.

The drill holes are designed to test only the weathered portion of the deposit that may be amenable to heap leach processing.