Aureus Mining Inc. - Grant of Stock Options to Directors and Employees

Aureus Mining Inc.
TSX : AUE
AIM : AUE

TORONTO , Jan. 6, 2012 /CNW/ - The Board of Aureus Mining Inc. ("Aureus" or the "Company") announces that, pursuant to its Stock Option Plan, it has granted incentive stock options to certain directors and employees of the

Company. The share options were granted over a total of 1,741,000 common shares, representing approximately 1.48% of the issued share capital of the Company at an exercise price of C$1.05 per share, exercisable as follows: one third immediately; one third after one year; and one third after two years. The share options issued are capable of being exercised up to 4 January 2017 .

The allocation of stock options to directors was as follows:

These options were issued for nil consideration.

About Aureus Mining Inc.

The company's assets include the New Liberty gold deposit in Liberia (the "New Liberty Gold Project"), which has an estimated Indicated Mineral Resource of 751,000 ounces of gold grading 4.17 g/t (contained in 5,599,000 tonnes) and an estimated Inferred Mineral Resource of 762,000 ounces of gold grading 3.40 g/t (contained in 7,040,000 tonnes). A preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") of the New Liberty Gold Project filed in December 2010 outlined a robust open pit gold mine with a pre-tax NPV of US$234 million based on an $1,100 /oz. gold price and a 10% discount rate. The PEA outlined an 8.5 year mine life with approximate production of 100,000 ounces per year in the first five years. The New Liberty Gold Project is being advanced through to a definitive feasibility study.

The New Liberty Gold Project locates 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, Weaju, Silver Hills and Gondoja which are the focus of exploration programs during 2011.

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

Qualified Person

The Company's Qualified Person responsible for preparing this release is David Reading , who holds a MSc in Economic Geology from University of Waterloo, Canada and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. David Reading is the President and CEO of Aureus Mining Inc. and consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears and confirms that this information is accurate and not false or misleading.

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Authors: mining - Yahoo! News Search Results