Pelangio Exploration Inc.

Ghana – Timmins – Red Lake ● World-class Gold belts

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Message: NR option Ghana...expansion hot area...they see $$
Tue Aug 3, 2010
Pelangio Exploration Enters Letter Of Intent To Acquire Option On 100 Km2 Land Package In Ghana

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TORONTO, Ontario, (August 3, 2010) - Pelangio Exploration Inc. (PX:TSX-V) ("Pelangio" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding letter of intent (the "Letter") to acquire an option on three concessions (collectively, the "Manfo Property") on the Sefwi greenstone belt in Ghana, West Africa.

Highlights of the Manfo Property include:
  • 100 km2 land package located approximately 14 kilometres south of the Ahafo mine operated by Newmont Mining Corporation ("Newmont");
  • extensive historical exploration work by both Newmont and AngloGold Ashanti Limited;
  • five significant geochemical soil anomalies confirmed during Pelangio due diligence;
  • trench results encountered during Pelangio due diligence of: 1.4 grams per tonne (g/t) over 18.0 metres within a broader envelope grading 0.5 g/t over 66.0 metres; 0.55 g/t over 30 metres; and 0.32 g/t over 60 metres;
  • commission and commencement of initial 1,800 metre diamond drill program.
"Optioning the Manfo Property exemplifies Pelangio's strategy of acquiring major land positions in world-class mining camps, this time on the Sefwi Belt in the neighbourhood of the Ahafo, Chirano and Bibiani mines," stated Ingrid Hibbard, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "Historical work on the property and our early-stage due diligence have identified a number of significant drill-ready targets that will be drilled immediately. Prospective land packages of this size are seldom available in Ghana and this option is a testament to the abilities of our team on the ground."

"The Manfo Property is the perfect complement to our Obuasi Property as we prepare for our second phase drill program, which we expect to start later this fall," Ms. Hibbard continued. "The second phase program at Obuasi will follow up on the encouraging results of the first phase and test new targets that we continue to develop through prospecting and surveying."

Geological Background on the Manfo Property

The geology of southwestern Ghana is dominated by greenstone belts composed of mafic volcanic rocks and intervening basins typically consisting of fine-grained, deep marine sediments metamorphosed at greenschist facies. Both components are intruded by granitic rocks and separated by major structures. The Sefwi Belt, which hosts the Manfo Property as well as the Ahafo, Bibiani and Chirano gold deposits in its central portion, is one of the largest and most productive of the Ghanaian Birimian age greenstone belts.

The Manfo Property is underlain primarily by metasediments, volcaniclastics, and small granitoid bodies. A major northeast trending fault corridor, approximately three kilometres wide, traverses the east side of the property. This fault corridor serves as the regional contact between the greenstone volcano-sedimentary package to the west and a regional synvolcanic intrusive to the east. The geochemical targets identified to date lie within this fault corridor. The fault hosts the Bibiani deposit 35 kilometres to the south and is similar in orientation and age to the Kenyasi fault, which hosts gold deposits at Ahafo, the nearest of which, Subika, lies 14 kilometres to the north of the Manfo Property. Gold occurs in structures with sheared and laminated smoky quartz, and with sulphides in sheared, siliceous, carbonate and sericite-rich metasediments.

Previous exploration on the Manfo Property was carried out by Ammercosa, Gold Fields, Hebron, Ashanti, AngloGold Ashanti and Newmont between 1998 and 2008. Airborne and ground geophysics, stream sediment and soil geochemistry, geologic mapping and structural and mineralization modeling culminated in exploratory reverse circulation drill programs by both AngloGold Ashanti and Newmont.

Pelangio's due diligence on the Manfo Property consisted of soil sampling, structural mapping, trenching and the identification of historical drill collars, with the intention of confirming the historical data available. During due diligence, Pelangio reaffirmed the delineation of five large geochemical anomalies as defined by soil sampling that consistently returned values in excess of 40 parts per billion. The anomalous areas and their dimensions are described as follows (and illustrated in the map, above):
  • Nfante East (800 metres x 350 metres; open to the northeast and southwest);
  • Nfante West (700 metres x 150 metres; open to the southwest);
  • Pokukrom East (1,300 metres x 300 metres);
  • Pokukrom West (200 metres x 150 metres);
  • Sika North (two areas: 700 metres x 100 metres and 500 metres by 100 metres).
The Company also completed three trenches on the Manfo Property during due diligence, with one trench (SUTR001) completed at Pokukrom West and two trenches (SUTR002 and SUTR003) at Pokukrom East. The assay results of the trenching are as follows:

AreaTrench IDLength (metres)Au g/t
Pokukrom West SUTR001 66.0 0.50
including 18.0 1.39
Pokukrom East SUTR002 30.0 0.55
Pokukrom East SUTR003 60.0 0.32


These trenches followed up on Pelangio's soil sampling results and successfully confirmed historical trenching results.

Exploration Plans

Pelangio has commissioned Burwash Contract Drilling of British Columbia to conduct a diamond drill program on the Manfo Property using a man-portable drill rig. The Company has planned and commenced an initial program comprising 13 diamond drill holes totaling approximately 1,800 metres. These drill holes are designed to further confirm historical exploration results and to follow up on the results of Pelangio's due diligence.

Terms of the Option Agreements

As noted above, the Manfo Property comprises three contiguous concessions that are named Subriso, Sempekrom and Twabidi, respectively. Pelangio entered into the Letter with a private Ghanaian corporation (the "Optionor") that holds the prospecting licenses in respect of the Manfo Property. The Letter sets out the terms and conditions of definitive option agreements (the "Option Agreements") in respect of the concessions, which Pelangio expects to enter into in due course following the satisfaction of further due diligence and certain legal and regulatory conditions. Pursuant to the Letter, and as will be set out in the Option Agreements, in order to acquire a 100% interest in the Manfo Property, Pelangio will be required to:
  1. pay the Optionor aggregate cash consideration totaling US$435,000 over a three year period, as follows:
    1. US$330,000 upon the fulfillment of certain standard legal and regulatory conditions (the "Effective Date");
    2. US$25,000 upon the first anniversary of the Effective Date;
    3. US$35,000 upon the second anniversary of the Effective Date; and
    4. US$45,000 upon the third anniversary of the Effective Date;
  2. expend a total of US$2,000,000 on the Manfo Property over a three year period, as follows:
    1. US$400,000 prior to the first anniversary of the Effective Date;
    2. US$600,000 prior to the second anniversary of the Effective Date; and
    3. US$1,000,000 prior to the third anniversary of the Effective Date; and
  3. grant the Optionor a 2.5% net smelter royalty ("NSR") on the Manfo Property, subject to Pelangio's right to repurchase 1% of the NSR for a payment of US$4,000,000.
Pelangio has the right to accelerate payment of the cash consideration and complete its work commitments on the Manfo Property prior to the end of the third anniversary. Additionally, Pelangio (or its successor or permitted assign) will pay the Optionor a discovery bonus totaling the sum of (i) US$1,000,000 plus (ii) US$1.00 per ounce of proven and probable gold reserve set out in the first positive feasibility study published or released in respect of the Manfo Property.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Qualified Person

All trench samples were collected by contractors working for Pelangio. The trenches were excavated in the same location as trenches completed by previous explorers of the property as part of the Company's due diligence review. The samples were collected on a metre by metre basis starting at the western edge of the trench and working towards the east. The average dimensions of the samples were 4 cm deep by 5 cm wide and 1 metre long with an average weight of roughly two kilograms. The samples were then taken to a secure storage facility at the Pelangio compound in Tepa and subsequently dispatched in sealed bags to ALS Chemex Laboratories in Kumasi, Ghana. The samples were dried and crushed by ALS Chemex and a 150-gram pulp was prepared from the coarse crushed material. Routine gold analysis was conducted by ALS Chemex using a 50-gram charge and fire assaying with atomic absorption finish. Quality control procedures included the systematic insertion of blanks, duplicates and sample standards into the sample stream at the rate of one per every 25 samples. In addition, ALS Chemex inserted one preparation blank and certified reference material for every 20 samples and one duplicate analysis every 20 samples.

All soil samples were collected in the field by contractors working for Pelangio. Roughly two kilograms of sample material was collected at each location and sent to SGS Laboratories in Tarkwa where it was dried, crushed and separated for analysis. Two types of analysis were conducted on the samples: a one-kilogram acid leach and a 50-gram fire assay with atomic absorption finish. A certified lab blank was inserted into the sample stream every 25 samples as part of Pelangio's quality control procedure, while SGS completed a duplicate assay every 20 samples.

About Pelangio

Pelangio is a junior gold exploration company with approximately $6 million in working capital that is active in two of the top-ranked mining jurisdictions in the world, Canada and Ghana. The Company's primary goal is to discover Obuasi mine-style gold ore shoots on its 290 km2 Obuasi Property located on strike and adjacent to AngloGold Ashanti's Obuasi mine, which has produced over 30 M oz of gold since 1897. The Company's recently acquired Manfo Property on the Sefwi greenstone belt also holds near-term potential for significant exploration success.

For additional information, please visit our website at www.pelangio.com or contact:

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