Offer Documents Posted

    AfriOre Announces Mailing of Directors' Circular and Lonmin Offer Documents

 

     TSX/AIM:AFO

 

     ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands, Dec. 21 /CNW/ - AfriOre Limited

("AfriOre" or the "Company") (TSX/AIM:AFO) is pleased to announce that Lonmin

Plc ("Lonmin") has mailed the offer documents relating to the recommended cash

take-over bid for AfriOre at CDN$8.75 per share (the "Offer") to all security

holders of AfriOre. Jointly with this mailing, the board of directors of

AfriOre has mailed a Directors' Circular in support of the Offer. The Offer

will be open for acceptance until 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on

January 26, 2007, unless extended or withdrawn by Lonmin.

     The Offer remains subject to certain customary conditions described fully

in the offer documents, including that 66 2/3% of the AfriOre shares, on a

fully diluted basis, are tendered to the Offer. As reported in an AfriOre news

release dated December 18, 2006, the unconditional approval of the South

African Competition Commission has now been received and consequently AfriOre

believes that the principal regulatory condition to the Offer has been

satisfied.

     The board of directors of AfriOre supports the Offer and has received an

opinion, dated November 14, 2006, from AfriOre's Canadian financial advisor,

Westwind Partners Inc., that the Offer is fair from a financial perspective to

the shareholders of AfriOre, subject to no material changes prior to the

closing of the transaction. Directors, officers and certain shareholders of

AfriOre, who hold in aggregate approximately 9% of the outstanding AfriOre

shares, have agreed to deposit their shares under the Offer and not withdraw

them except in limited circumstances.

     The offer documents have been filed with all applicable securities

regulators and will be available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

     For further information about tendering procedures or the Offer,

shareholders of AfriOre may contact Innisfree M&A Incorporated at

1-888-750-5834 (English speakers in Canada and U.S.), 1-877-825-8777 (French

speakers in Canada and U.S.) or 00800-7710-9970 (from the United Kingdom and

other European Union countries, as well as Switzerland and Norway). Banks and

brokers may call collect at 212-750-5833.

 

     About AfriOre Limited

     AfriOre is listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Alternative

Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Company is focused on its

74%-owned, 4,095 ha Akanani Platinum Project, located on the Northern Limb of

South Africa's Bushveld Complex. AfriOre's Exploration and Management Team has

extensive experience in platinum and gold projects in Southern Africa.

AfriOre's Management has a successful history of creating shareholder value

through the exploration and advancement of projects.

     AfriOre has a treasury of approximately CDN$ 23.4M. The Company has

51,677,065 shares outstanding and 56,725,902 shares fully diluted. For

additional information on AfriOre visit the Company's website at

www.afriore.com.

 

     About Lonmin Plc

     Lonmin is the third largest platinum producer in the world. Domiciled in

the UK, the Company is listed on both the London and Johannesburg Stock

Exchanges, capitalised at approximately US$9 billion and is a constituent of

the FTSE 100. In the year to September 30, 2006, Lonmin's South African

operations produced 947,795 ounces of platinum and 1,807,044 ounces of total

platinum group metals. On October 9, 2006, Lonmin became the first platinum

major to convert its old order mining rights into new order mining rights for

the Group's Marikana operations, ensuring the viable future of these

operations which currently constitute around 95% of Lonmin's annual

production. Lonmin is advised by BMO Capital Markets.

 

 

For further information: AfriOre Limited Contact: Fiona Childe, Ph.D.,

P.Geo., VP Corporate Comm., Tau Capital Corp., Tel: [phone] x 227,

Email: fchilde(at)taucapital.com; Nominated Adviser to AfriOre Limited:

Richard Thompson, Freddy Crossley, Corporate Finance, Charles Stanley

Securities, Tel : [phone]; Lonmin Plc Contact: Alex Shorland-Ball, VP

IR & Communications, Lonmin Plc, [phone], Email:

Alex.Shorland-Ball(at)lonmin.com

(AFO.)



END