Aureus Mining Inc. - Eis Submitted for New Liberty Gold Project

TSX: AUE
AIM: AUE

TORONTO, July 3, 2012 /CNW/ - Aureus Mining Inc. (TSX: AUE) (AIM: AUE) ("Aureus Mining" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the submission of an Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") for the New Liberty Gold Project to the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia ("EPA"). The New Liberty project is located within the Company's 100% owned Bea Mountain Mining license, in Cape Mount County of Northern Liberia.

Highlights

• The EIS is a comprehensive document of two volumes (1,490 pages), which incorporates environmental and social baseline studies and was conducted over a twelve month period. The EIS study also contains environmental and social impact assessments which incorporate feedback received from regular consultations with relevant stakeholders and affected communities. The EIS relates to the proposed development of an open pit gold mining project and associated infrastructure, which covers a footprint area of approximately 8km².
  
  
• The EIS and associated Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA"), together the "ESIA", were prepared and undertaken by Golder Associates Ghana Limited and EarthCons Inc. of Liberia in consultation with Patrys Laubscher, the Company's environmental officer.
  
  
• The filed EIS document is subject to review and scrutiny by a technical review committee formed by EPA, under the laws of Liberia. The review period will include public hearings involving local communities, other interested parties, the Company and its environmental consultants. All of this work will be undertaken within the 90 day approval period, after which the Project should be issued with an environmental permit, expected September 2012, subject to the ESIA complying with all relevant regulatory requirements.
  
  
• The Company already holds a Class A mining license covering 457 km² which is valid for a twenty five year period. Once the environmental authorization has been granted, the Company will proceed to obtain all the other procedural authorisations related to construction, blasting, waste handling, water, emissions and all community affairs.

Commenting on the EIS submission, David Reading, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aureus Mining, said:

"The submission of the EIS is another key building block in developing New Liberty, Liberia's first commercial gold mine.  The project offers considerable economic benefits to the Grand Cape Mount County in the form of employment, local infrastructure redevelopment and mining related business opportunities. With a fully permitted New Liberty Gold Project and its definitive feasibility study also expected by the end of Q3, Aureus will soon be in a very strong position to finance the project and commence construction."

Qualified Person

The Company's Qualified Person responsible for preparing the ESIA document is Chris Fell who is the Regional Manager for West Africa of Golders Associates Ghana Ltd. Mr Fell holds a BSc in Forestry from the University of Stellenbosch and an Masters in Philosophy) in Environment and Development from the University of Cambridge.

About Aureus Mining

The Company's assets include the New Liberty gold deposit in Liberia (the "New Liberty Gold Project"), which has an estimated Reserve of 873,000 ounces of gold grading 3.1 g/t and an estimated Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource of 1,143,000 ounces of gold grading 3.6 g/t and an estimated Inferred Mineral Resource of 593,000 ounces of gold grading 3.2 g/t.  A technical update for the New Liberty gold project was released in February 2012, derisking and building on the robust PEA, filed in December 2010.  The project is expected to have an eight year mine life and annual production of 123,000 ounces for the first four years.

The New Liberty Gold Project is located within the Bea Mountain mining license which covers 457 km² and has a 25 year, renewable, mineral development agreement.  The Bea Mountain mining license also hosts the proximal gold targets of Ndablama, Gondoja and Weaju, which are the focus of exploration programs during 2012.  The contiguous Archaen Gold exploration licence is also a focus of exploration for 2012, with Leopard Rock being the main target.

The Company also has gold assets within exploration properties in Cameroon.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains certain forward-looking information.  All information, other than information regarding historical fact, that addresses activities, events or developments that Aureus Mining believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future is forward-looking information.  Forward-looking information contained in this press release includes, but may not be limited to, the future plans and objectives of Aureus Mining and their anticipated future growth, mineral resource estimates and the anticipated exploration and development activities of Aureus Mining.  The foregoing and any other forward-looking information contained in this press release reflects the current expectations, assumptions or beliefs of Aureus Mining based on information currently available to Aureus Mining.  With respect to the forward-looking information contained in this press release, Aureus Mining has made assumptions regarding, among other things: general business, economic and mining industry conditions; and it has also been assumed that no material adverse change in the price of precious and/or base metals occurs, no unusual geological or technical problems occur and no significant events occur outside of the normal course of Aureus Mining's respective business.

Such forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, including: risks normally incidental to exploration and development of mineral properties; uncertainties in the interpretation of results from drilling and test work; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with expectations; uncertainty of mineral resources estimates; adverse changes in precious and/or base metal prices; and future unforeseen liabilities and other factors including, but not limited to, those listed under "Risk Factors" in the Preliminary Prospectus of Aureus Mining Inc. dated April 20, 2011, a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and in the Aureus Mining Admission Document, a copy of which is available at www.aureus-mining.com.

Any mineral resource figures referred to in this press release are estimates and no assurances can be given that the indicated levels of minerals will be produced.  Such estimates are expressions of judgment based on knowledge, mining experience, analysis of drilling results and industry practices.  Valid estimates made at a given time may significantly change when new information becomes available.  While Aureus Mining believes that the mineral resource estimates in respect of their respective properties are well established, by their nature mineral resource estimates are imprecise and depend, to a certain extent, upon statistical inferences which may ultimately prove unreliable.  If such mineral resource estimates are inaccurate or are reduced in the future, this could have a material adverse impact on Aureus Mining, as applicable.  Due to the uncertainty that may be attached to inferred mineral resources, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will be upgraded to an indicated or measured mineral resource as a result of continued exploration.

Forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable law, Aureus Mining disclaims any obligation to update or modify such forward-looking information, either as a result of new information, future events or for any other reason.

SOURCE Aureus Mining Inc.