Oxus Gold COO John Donald to retire on March 31 2010

Oxus Gold PLC (AIM: OXS) said chief operating officer John Donald will be retiring from the Oxus board with effect from 31 March 2010. He has agreed to consult for Oxus until 31 December 2010. The COO position will remain vacant pending completion of the CITIC Consortium funding it announced on 7 January 2010.
Jyoti Chandhok has resigned as company secretary with effect from 31 March 2010. Financial director Richard Wilkins will be appointed the company secretary thereafter.
On 7 January, Oxus said it had entered into conditional agreements with a consortium of Chinese investors to invest and arrange financing of a total aggregate amount of US$185 million to help develop the company's gold project in Uzbekistan and increase production to 0.3 Moz (million ounces) of gold annually after 2011.
The concert party consists of Baiyin Non-Ferrous Group Co Ltd, CITIC Construction Co Ltd and Chang Xin Yuan Su Equity Investment Fund Management LP. Baiyin and CITIC are ultimately owned and controlled by the government of the People's Republic of China. Chang Xin is a private equity fund registered in the People's Republic of China and managed by Long March Investment Consulting.

Under the terms of the financing, members of the concert party will make an investment in Oxus of US$85 million through an issue of new ordinary shares and convertible loan notes and will be granted warrants to subscribe for new shares in the company for US$20 million in return for an undertaking to arrange a further minimum of US$80 million in project finance.

The planned programme on the company’s 50% owned Amantaytau Goldfields joint venture (JV) in Uzbekistan will include the expansion of its existing open pit heap leach mining operations, the development of one of more underground mines and accelerated exploration. The Uzbek government controls the remaining 50 percent.

The proceeds are expected to allow AGF to target first production at the project for the middle of 2011 and an increase in annual production to 0.3 Moz.
The members of the concert party will subscribe to 573 million shares in Oxus at 6 pence each, which will represent a 59.7% shareholding in the company.

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