| Tue 24 Oct 2006, 11:52 | | Great Basin - Secondary Listing Of Great Basin On |
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JSE
GBG
Great Basin - Secondary Listing Of Great Basin On The JSE Limited ("JSE")
Great Basin Gold Limited
(Incorporated in Canada and registered as an
External Company in South Africa)
(Registration No. BC436691)
(External Company Registration No. 2006/021304/10)
(Share code on the Toronto Stock Exchange: GBG)
(Share code on the American Stock Exchange: GBN)
(Share code on the JSE Limited: GBG)
("The Company" or "Great Basin")
SECONDARY LISTING OF GREAT BASIN ON THE JSE LIMITED ("JSE")
Shareholders are advised that the JSE has approved the listing of the entire
issued share capital of Great Basin with effect from the commencement of
trading on the JSE on 27 October 2006.
At the date of listing, the authorised share capital of Great Basin will
comprise of an unlimited number of ordinary shares with no par value, of which
112,665,213 ordinary shares have been issued. Great Basin will be listed in
the "Mining" sector, sub-sector "Gold Mining" of the JSE under the abbreviated
name "GB Gold".
Great Basin was incorporated in 1986 under the name of Baron Ventures Limited.
It subsequently changed its name to Sentinel Gold Corp then later to Pacific
Sentinel Gold Corp. In 1993, the Company merged with two publicly listed
corporations on the Vancouver Stock Exchange (predecessor to the Toronto
Venture Exchange) namely Big Creek Resources Limited and Casino Silver Mines
Limited under the name of Pacific Sentinel Gold Corporation. In 1997, the
Company merged with North Coast Industries Limited and changed its name to
Great Basin Gold Limited.
The Company currently has a primary listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange
("TSX") and a secondary listing on the American Stock Exchange ("AMEX") and as
at 20 October 2006 had a market capitalisation of C$214.1 million, based on
the TSX"s closing price of C$1.90 per Great Basin ordinary share; and a market
capitalisation of US$190.4 million, based on the AMEX"s closing price of
US$1.69 per Great Basin ordinary share. Applying an exchange rate of
ZAR6.69/C$1 on 20 October 2006, this translates to a market capitalisation of
ZAR1.4 billion on such date.
The Company is in the business of acquiring ownership of, and exploring and
developing precious metal deposits. Great Basin does not have any operating
revenue although, historically, it has had annual interest revenue as a
consequence of investing surplus funds pending the completion of exploration
programs. For the past three years Great Basin has focused on two projects,
namely the Hollister Development Block Project ("HDB Project") (a portion of
the Hollister Property, previously known as the "Ivanhoe Property") in Nevada,
United States, and the Burnstone Project in South Africa. The Company also
has a non-core asset, called the Casino Project in Yukon, Canada.
The HDB Project
In 1997, Great Basin acquired the 75% interest of Newmont Exploration Limited
in the Hollister Property in Nevada, USA and two years later, the Company
increased its interest to 100% through the purchase of all the shares of
Touchstone Resources Company, which held the remaining 25%. The Hollister
Property is located in the north-eastern part of the Carlin Trend,
approximately 80km from Elko, Nevada. The Company"s active exploration
efforts at the HDB Project resulted in the discovery and delineation of
several high-grade gold-silver vein systems, as well as the identification of
a number of other exploration targets, including evidence for potential Carlin-
style gold mineralisation at depth.
In 2001, Great Basin outlined an inferred mineral resource in an area known as
the Hollister Development Block ("HDB"). The HDB constitutes approximately 5%
(five percent) of the Hollister Property, and is subject to earn-in and joint
operating agreements with Hecla Mining Company, details of which are provided
in the Pre-Listing Statement. The Hollister Property hosts a number of gold-
silver vein systems with high indicated grades that are potentially amenable
to underground mining. This project is currently in the advanced exploration
stage. An updated Preliminary Assessment indicates positive economics for an
underground operation. The Federal Government of the United States and the
State Government of Nevada have jurisdiction over mining activities and
communities, habitat users and other interests that may be affected by mining.
In particular, the Bureau of Land Management has jurisdiction over the land on
which the Hollister Property is located.
Burnstone Project
Great Basin owns 100% of the Burnstone Project near Balfour in Mpumulanga.
The Burnstone Project hosts the Kimberley reef, a geological unit containing
moderate to high-grade gold mineralization that is potentially amenable to
underground mining. The Department of Mines and Energy ("DME") has
jurisdiction over the land on which the Burnstone Property is located.
The Burnstone Project consists of a number of old order prospecting rights
that were extended timely under the provisions of the Minerals and Petroleum
Resources Development Act and for which applications were made to the DME for
the conversion of those rights into prospecting rights. All the said
applications for conversion of old order prospecting rights were accepted by
the DME and, as of the date of this announcement, the DME has approved the
conversion of three of the seven old order prospecting rights the Company
applied for into new order prospecting rights. In terms of legal opinions
obtained by Great Basin, there are no legal reasons why the remaining rights
should not be converted. The extent of the prospecting rights is
approximately 30,000 hectares.
In terms of the technical report on the Burnstone Project Feasibility Study,
at an assumed gold price of US$450 per oz, the estimated results from a pre-
tax and 100% equity financed model are:
*a 14 year life for the mine, including a 4 year pre-operation period;
*an average annual production of 214,000 oz of gold at full production;
*a capital cost of US$144.5 million;
*an operating cost of US$36.63 per ton;
*a cash cost of US$254.42 per oz of gold; and
*capital and operating costs of US$323.11 per oz of gold.
The Company has secured the surface rights comprising the total proposed
mining area by way of options to purchase. These options have been exercised
and the transfer of the surface rights into the name of Southgold Exploration
(Proprietary) Limited, which is 100% owned by Great Basin, is pending. The
land in question comprises 2,273 hectares.
A portion of the Burnstone Project is subject to a 2% net smelter royalty in
favour of GFL Mining Services Limited. This comprises 2% (at a gold price of
above USD$450) of approximately 764,211 oz gold produced.
Great Basin is presently involved in discussions with Tranter regarding broad
based black economic empowerment participation in the Burnstone Project.
These discussions are subject to the necessary board and regulatory approvals.
The Casino Project
Great Basin owns a property which is non-core to the business of the Company,
located in Yukon, Canada. The Casino Project hosts a large-tonnage mineral
resource that is potentially exploitable by open pit mining, but no detailed
engineering studies have recently been performed to assess its current
viability. The territorial government of Yukon and the federal government of
Canada both have jurisdiction over a wide variety of activities and persons
affected by mining including local communities, habitat users and other
persons claiming to hold a stake in the outcome of mining activity.
Purpose of Listing on the JSE
The main purposes of Great Basin"s secondary listing on the JSE are to:
*provide a further funding mechanism through which Great Basin can structure
and fund opportunities in the Gold sector in both South Africa and southern
Africa, thereby facilitating growth;
*enhance South African investors" awareness of Great Basin, thereby enlarging
Great Basin"s investor base and increasing trade in its shares; and
*facilitate direct investment by South African residents in Great Basin.
Future Prospects
Great Basin plans to move from an emerging gold producer to a mid-tier gold
producer within three years through a well defined strategy of:
*developing its highly prospective projects into high-margin productive units;
*acquiring prospective companies and/or assets; and
*continually increasing of its resource base through focused exploration
programs.
Directors and Senior Management
The Great Basin is currently managed by the following directors of the
Company:
Name and nationality Business address Occupation/ Date of
function appointment
as Director
Executive directors
Ferdinand Dippenaar 138 West Street Chief December 2005
South African Sandown Executive
Sandton Officer
Jeffrey R. Mason Suite 1020 Chief February 1994
Canadian 800 Pender West Financial
Street Officer
Vancouver
British Columbia
Robert A. Dickinson Suite 1020 Co-Chairman May 1986
Canadian 800 Pender West
Street
Vancouver
British Columbia
Ronald W. Thiessen Suite 1020 Co-Chairman October 1993
Canadian 800 Pender West
Street
Vancouver
British Columbia
David J.Copeland Suite 1020 Director February 1994
Canadian 800 Pender West
Street
Vancouver
British Columbia
Non-executive
directors
Patrick R. Cooke Pangea Director April 2006
South African DiamondFields PLC
Unit C, Central
Park
Office Suites
Corner Main Street
and
Orchard Avenue
Bordeaux
Randburg
South Africa
T. Barry Coughlan Suite 1030 Director February 1998
Canadian 1780 West Pender
Street
Vancouver
British Columbia
Scott D. Cousens Suite 1020 Director March 1993
Canadian 800 Pender West
Street
Vancouver
British Columbia
David M.S. Elliott 311 West 42nd Director July 2004
Canadian Avenue
Vancouver
British Columbia
V6N 3H1
H. Wayne Kirk 6 Morgan Lane Director July 2004
American San Rafael, CA
94901
USA
Sipho A. Nkosi 30 Marshall Street Director August 2003
South African Johannesburg
South Africa
Walter T. Segsworth 5746 Maple Place Director January 2003
Canadian West Vancouver, BC
V7W IR
Robert G. Still Pangea House Director August 2003
South African C/o Main and
Orchard
Bordeaux
Randburg
South African
*In the Form 40F these directors are described as executive directors even
though they are not directly involved in the day to day running of the
Company.
This announcement is not a full pre-listing statement or prospectus. Copies
of the Pre-Listing Statement can be obtained during normal business hours,
between 08:00 to 17:00 from 25 October 2006 to 30 November 2006, from the
offices of Great Basin at 138 West Street, Sandton 2146, or from the company"s
website at www.greatbasingold.com.
Johannesburg
24 October 2006
Global Co-ordinator and sponsor Attorneys to Great Basin Auditors and
Reporting Accountants
J.P. Morgan Equities Limited Deneys Reitz Attorneys KPMG
Date: 24/10/2006 11:52:26 AM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
