Mano River Resources Inc.: Mining Licence Granted for New Liberty Gold Project in Liberia

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - Aug. 10, 2009) - Mano River Resources Inc. ("Mano" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:MNO)MANA the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSX-V") and AIM listed exploration to production company focused on gold, iron ore and diamonds in West Africa is pleased to announce it has been granted by the Government of Liberia its Class 'A' Mining licence within the Bea Mineral Development Agreement ("MDA"). Highlights - Class 'A' 25 year Mining Licence granted on 29 July 2009 - Bankable Feasibility Study for underground mine planned for completion by the end of 2010 - Up to 10,000m drilling programme planned to assist feasibility study - Current resource of 1.4 Moz, (NI 43-101) 13.533Mt measured and indicated at 3.18 g/t gold with further potential Luis da Silva, President & CEO of Mano commented: "This represents another positive step forward towards commercial production from Liberia's first ever hard rock gold mine. The support from the Government of Liberia is evident to achieving the Company's goals and we are now in a position to undertake the confirmation drilling in advance of completing a bankable feasibility study in 2010 for an underground mine targeting 100,000oz pa. We are in the process of finalising a new geological model with a firm of independent consultants, incorporating the positive drilling results received in 2008 from below 200m, including 23m grading 4.95 g/t and 26m grading 5.04 g/t. In addition the Company will also be looking to further grow the resource base on the Bea MDA through advancing exploration of the satellite gold deposits at Weaju and the Silver Hills and Gondoja prospects, which lie in close proximity to the New Liberty Gold Project." Mineral Title The Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy of The Republic of Liberia has, after a detailed review, granted the Class 'A' Licence whereby, having satisfied all necessary exploration requirements under the Law, the Company is entitled to mine in the production area it has selected within the Bea MDA. This production area reduces the ground holding from 1,000 km2 to 457 km2. The 25 year renewable mining licence became effective on 29 July 2009 and is held through the Company's 100% owned subsidiary incorporated in Liberia, the Bea Mountain Mining Corporation. Confirmation Drilling Following the review of the geological data by AMC Consultants (UK) Limited ("AMC") in the second half of 2008 whereby the recommendation was for an underground mining method at the New Liberty gold deposit. AMC was then mandated in July 2009 to incorporate the new drilling data from 2008's deeper drilling campaign. The 2008 drilling (holes K115-K130) produced some of the best intersections achieved to date at the New Liberty gold deposit, as illustrated in Table 1, below. Table-1: Ranking of Top 20 Intersections at New Liberty gold deposit /T/ -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- Top 20 Intersections -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- Hole From To Length Au Ranking ID (m) (m) (m) (Mean g/t) -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- 1 K63 55 92 37 8.45 -------------------------------------------------- 2 K10 32 82 50 4.30 -------------------------------------------------- 3 K13 20 46 26 6.20 -------------------------------------------------- 4 K2 24 40 16 8.81 -------------------------------------------------- 5 K126 144 170 26 5.04 -------------------------------------------------- 6 K96 43 62 19 6.76 -------------------------------------------------- 7 K116 210 245 35 3.59 -------------------------------------------------- 8 K70 48 100 52 2.23 -------------------------------------------------- 9 K115 205 228 23 4.95 -------------------------------------------------- 10 K3 36 62 26 4.10 -------------------------------------------------- 11 K24 56 78 22 4.80 -------------------------------------------------- 12 K47 54 86 32 3.29 -------------------------------------------------- 13 K49 47 57 10 10.08 -------------------------------------------------- 14 K52 47 61 14 6.97 -------------------------------------------------- 15 K14 26 34 8 12.10 -------------------------------------------------- 16 K95 10 24 14 6.92 -------------------------------------------------- 17 K69 60 74 14 6.63 -------------------------------------------------- 18 K98 41 79 38 2.40 -------------------------------------------------- 19 K129 223 255 32 2.66 -------------------------------------------------- 20 K20 56.09 77 20.91 3.90 -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- /T/ The modelling by AMC will enable the Company to optimally target its next phase of confirmation drilling. This will consist initially of diamond drill holes totalling between 8,500m and 10,000m to depths of 300m below surface, to enable further modelling of the deposit. The Company will also consider drilling additional holes to -500m towards the end of the drilling campaign. The model will be 'live', whereby new drilling data will be actively inserted into the 'wireframe' to adapt the ongoing drilling as necessary. Completion of this drilling is expected by the end of 2009. Qualified Person Mano's Qualified Person responsible for preparing this release is its former Director and CEO, Dr Tom Elder, who holds a BSc and Doctorate in Geology from the University of Durham in the UK, is a Fellow and former Member of Council of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy of the UK, and a Fellow of The Geological Society. Quality Control and Sample Preparation Mano has a rigorous Quality Control Program (QCP) inserting a minimum 5% of standards, blanks and duplicates into the sample stream. The Company employs independently owned and managed OMAC Laboratories for all its assay requirements, including the preparation of pulps to 90% -100 micron at their in-country preparation facilities in Liberia, followed by XRF at their main laboratory in Loughrea, Ireland. OMAC is accredited to ISO 17025 by INAB (Irish National Accreditation Board) which is a member of ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation), and is a signatory to the ILAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement. OMAC operates an internal QA/QC check assay programme using in-house standards, reagent blanks and duplicates. For further information on Mano River Resources and its exploration programme, you are invited to visit the Company's website at www.manoriver.com. NOTES TO EDITORS Drilling programme of 2008 During the first half of 2008, the Company drilled deeper holes in order to ascertain with confidence the continuity of the ore body at depth. This drilling consisted of 15 additional holes (identified as K115-K130) totalling 4,485m in an effort to intersect the structure at approximately -200m and -550m, below surface. One hole, number 123, was abandoned. Three of the Top 10 intersections and four of the top 20 intersections resulted from this campaign. Table-2: Full Results of the 2008 Deep Drilling Campaign - drill collars & mineralization intervals /T/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From To Length Au Hole ID Easting Northing Depth (m) (m) (m) (Mean g/t) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K115 10775 9580 266 205 228 23 4.95 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K115 Including 212 224 12 9.12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K116 10725 9600 256 210 245 35 3.59 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K116 Including 218 235 17 7.03 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K117 10825 9600 251 201 211 10 0.30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K117 Including 204 208 4 0.54 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K118 10750 9360 605 557 581 24 0.36 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K118 Including 565 568 3 1.62 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K119 10875 9605 247 169 173 4 0.49 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K119 and 227 231 4 0.28 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K120 10796 9360 564 506 525 19 1.18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K120 Including 517 520 3 6.21 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K121 10675 9603 258 173 200 27 0.67 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K121 Including 184 194 10 1.45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K122 10925 9605 241 156 161 5 0.43 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K124 11498 9551 250 148 181 33 1.40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K124 Including 172 180 8 4.85 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K124 and 191 200 9 1.45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K125 11558 9550 250 139 145 6 0.24 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Including 155 158 3 0.83 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K126 11618 9550 250 144 170 26 5.04 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Including 158 170 12 10.39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and 187 193 6 0.69 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and 201 207 6 1.33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and 204 206 2 3.72 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K127 11675 9550 250 136 150 14 2.58 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Including 137 148 11 3.18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and 173 202 29 0.41 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and 190 197 7 1.01 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K128 12260 9390 256 162 163 1 0.87 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Including 174 176 2 0.21 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and 179 180 1 0.49 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K129 12122 9400 255 162 164 2 0.25 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and 172 173 1 0.26 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and 197 203 6 1.44 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Including 223 255 32 2.66 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and 226 245 19 4.37 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- K130 11934 9450 255 211 253 42 0.33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Including 231 237 6 1.06 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and 250 253 3 0.99 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- /T/