Aron Tesfay

Leeds City College and Street Work Soccer have teamed up with City to run a weekly football centre in East Leeds for youngsters aged between 6 to18 years.

It has gone from strength to strength since its establishment six months ago with more than 2,000 youngsters now involved in the project and 13-year-old Eritrean Aron Tesfay recently established in the under13s Platt Lane Academy squad.

Aron, who is originally from Eritrea in Africa and now lives in Lincoln Green with his uncle, was spotted while playing at the College at a Street Work Soccer session. He was fast-tracked for a six-week trial at City’s Academy which resulted in his recent signing.

He attends training sessions three times per week and will be supported with his education through the College link with his school, (Primrose High School) which is close to the College, and the education team at the club.

By coming together, Leeds City College, Street Work Soccer and the Blues hope to help address the issue of social inclusion, providing an alternative and appropriate leisure opportunity for inner city youngsters while helping to promote and engage them in education.

“What this project does is help channel young people’s energy into sport as opposed to less anti-social activities, the continued success of this project means the future looks bright for young players in the Leeds inner city area,” said Paz Shan, Director of Street Work Soccer.

Dawn Craven, Curriculum Manager for Sport & Fitness at Leeds City College added: “It is about presenting opportunities to young people – not all of these players will be lucky enough to pursue a professional career but they can build a successful career through education and we provide the options at looking to achieve that.”

City’s Yorkshire Regional Recruitment Officer Dave Harrison said: “Hopefully Aron will be the first of many talented young players to come through this project.

“We are now looking forward to continuing to work with the Street Work Soccer and Leeds City College, which has provided the perfect venue for this partnership and for coaching talented and enthusiastic players.”

PDAC

Analyst and Chief Commentator Peter Grandich from Agoracom was invited to comment on small cap mining stocks by BNN Market Call during the PDAC 2010 Mining Conference in Toronto.

He said the market is overreacting and the share price of mining companies in Eritrea is undervalued as a consequence of negative media coverage.

This overshadows some of the progress being made by mining companies such as Sunridge Gold and Nevsun Resources in Eritrea.

Nevsun, for instance, has completed its non-brokered private placement financing and is planning to go into production in late 2010 despite all the dramatic ups and downs in recent years.

Grandich believes that the worst of the bad news is behind them and that better days lie ahead, unless further tidal waves of bad press will continue to dominate the media.

He says that the UN has adopted sanctions not against the country as a whole, but against certain politicians and the military in Eritrea. He will update his rating on Nevsun and Sunridge Gold later this month after the UN has announced its decision, whether it is going to continue, increase or remove the sanctions on Eritrea.

“If Sunridge’s projects would be somewhere else in the world it probably would be three to four times the price of today.

Its being penalized for being there, but if you are a believer like me eventually things will get better and they should be doing well in the long run,” says Grandich.

When he was asked to rate Eritrea on a risk scale against other places in the world he replied,

“You have to put it to the most riskiest when the UN has brought sanctions against them, but the good thing is the likelyhood of things getting better is high as things cannot get much worse.”

Experts believe the fact that Nevsun Resources managed to solve the question of financing will remove most of the fears that came from the UN sanctions against Eritrea.

Watch the episode on http://watch.bnn.ca/market-call/march-2010/market-call-march-9-2010/#clip274281

ASMARA, March 10 (Reuters – By Jeremy Clarke) – Eritrea accused the United States on Wednesday of trying to destabilise the Horn of Africa nation and halt its economic growth, local media reported.

Relations between the government and Washington remain antagonistic. The U.S. Embassy suspended its consular services in February and the ambassador has not been formally recognised by Asmara despite being in the country for more than two years.

Asmara accuses the United States of masterminding the sanctions resolution imposed on Eritrea last December by the United Nations Security Council, which says Eritrea is supporting an insurgency in war-ravaged Somalia.

Asmara denies involvement in the violence and demands substantial proof be produced. Last month, pro-Eritrea protests were held in various world capitals against the resolution.

“A concerted resistance on part of the Eritrean people has once again demonstrated the futility of past, present and future American agenda,” the Eritrea Profile said in an editorial.

“(The United States) attempts to create chaos and division on top of incapacitating Eritrean economy and political strength,” the state-run, twice-weekly Profile said.

The violence in Somalia has killed at least 21,000 people since the beginning of 2007.

Asmara permits no independent Eritrean media. The Eritrea Profile is running a sustained campaign blaming Washington for the sanctions. The Profile has not run a word this year that questions a government policy or decision.

Reporters Without Borders says Eritrea has been the worst violator of press freedoms in the world since 2007, ranking it below North Korea for three years in a row. (Editing by David Clarke and Giles Elgood)

DOHA Mowasalat, the sole public transport company of Qatar, will supply 40 buses to Eritrea, in 2010.

An agreement to this effect was signed on Monday by Mowasalat Chairman Jassem Saif Ahmed al Sulaiti and the Eritrean Ambassador to Qatar HE Syed Ali Ibrahim Ahmed. The buses, including luxury coaches, will be delivered to Eritrea within six months or by the end of the year.

Mowasalat will also give special training to drivers and technicians to manage and maintain the Karwa buses. Talking to mediapersons, Sulaiti said, “We have great pleasure in supporting Eritrea’s public transport network.

The cooperation in this sector will go a long way in strengthening ties between the two countries.

We hope Mowasalat can supply more buses to Eritrea in the near future.” “As a public transport network, Mowasalat has earned enough popularity in the MENA region.

The quality, environment-friendly approach and its technical advancements have always kept the company abreast with international standards,” Ahmed said.

During his recent visit to Qatar, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki had undertaken a tour of Karwa city.

Sulaiti said, “The Eritrean government signed this agreement with Mowasalat after a detailed study about our technology and quality of buses. They are very satisfied with our environment-friendly buses and internationally acclaimed technology”.

When asked about Mowasalat’s move to interlink bus services to other GCC countries, Sulaiti said, “Mowasalat has enough strength and capability to start the services to other GCC countries.

However, as the laws and regulations of other countries are different, we cannot give a specific date or time when it will be started”.

He said that as part of providing better facilities to commuters, Mowasalat will open more air-conditioned bus shelters across Doha before summer. Waleed Raslan Alabdulla, deputy general manager of Mowasalat also attended the function. Source: (Qatar Tribune)

Eritrea Mining

(The Northern Miner – Gwen Preston) Asmara, Eritrea — Despite brimming with geologic promise because of its location within the prolific Arabian-Nubian Shield, Eritrea has remained underexplored for years.

Continued violence and turmoil in the young nation left the international exploration community highly wary until recently. And the country’s location did not help: Eritrea is part of the Horn of Africa, sharing borders with Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti, and not too far from Somalia.

But its location could soon become a benefit. Eritrea boasts a long Red Sea coastline and recently revived its major port, known as Massawa, both of which make it a point of interest for the Middle East and Asia.

Across the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia is busy building a $2-billion smelter complex that is in need of ore, Asian markets are but a short ship voyage away, and Indian smelters would also enjoy access to concentrates from a nearby nation.

Mineral exploration companies from the Middle East, Asia and India are all in Eritrea, searching for the next high-grade volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit. But it is a Canadian company, Nevsun Resources (nsu-v), that is leading the charge: Nevsun found the country’s first major VMS deposit and is now halfway through building a mine at Bisha.

At every step in its eight years in Eritrea, Nevsun has shouldered the challenge of being a first mover. In working from a mining code that had never before been tested by the building of an actual mine, Nevsun and the Eritrean government formulated a mine development agreement that defined the realities of mining in Eritrea and will be used as a template for all mine agreements in the country to come.

The United Nations’ late-2009 decision to impose limited sanctions on Eritrea, because of the country’s unwillingness to abide by regulations on its dealings with Djibouti and alleged arms dealings with Somalian rebels, looked set to derail Nevsun’s efforts earlier this year. Bank insurers balked at the sanctions and the company’s recently-negotiated debt facility fell through.

Nevsun’s determined management team went to the equity markets instead, and raised the funds it needs to complete Bisha mine construction. And, of course, with equity funding the mine’s cash flow will no longer be impeded by financing costs and debt repayment.

So Bisha is on track, on budget, and set to become Eritrea’s first operating mine before the end of the year.

Bisha mineralization

The Bisha mine is in Eritrea’s arid west, 250 km by road from its capital city Asmara. Flying from Asmara to Bisha reveals a varied landscape, from dry rolling plains to high, steep hills.

The clean modern buildings of the Bisha mine camp seem out of place in the seemingly empty desert. But close by lies the Bisha deposit, a significant VMS discovery and the basis of Eritrea’s first mine.

Discovered in 2003, Bisha is a layered VMS deposit. Lenses of mineralization are stacked one atop another in a steeply plunging orebody that is more than a kilometer long on surface but narrows as it descends. Nevsun has tracked the deposit to 450 metres depth; below that it remains open.

The top layer comprises gossan that is stripped of base metals but enriched in precious ones, especially gold. The 35-metre-thick oxide layer starts at surface and carries an average grade of 7.99 grams gold per tonne and 32.85 grams silver per tonne throughout its 4 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves.

Those 4 million tonnes will carry the Bisha mine through its first 2.5 years of operation. Working with what nature provided, the Nevsun team devised a mine plan that moves through three stages as the open pit reaches the three key mineralized layers. After churning through oxidized, gold-bearing gossan for just over two years to produce 900,000 oz. gold and 1.5 million oz. silver, the Bisha open pit will hit the supergene layer and the mill will shift gears to focus on copper.

Supergene layers occur at the base of oxide layers, which end at the water table. When the VMS deposit at Bisha originally formed, it would have been made entirely of sulphide minerals. As the deposit moved towards the surface, however, the upper layer encountered the water table. Percolating groundwater oxidized the primary sulphide minerals and then carried the minerals downwards. At the base of the water table, the oxidized minerals reacted again, converting back to sulphide minerals but this time forming secondary sulphides, which have higher metal contents than primary sulphide minerals.

The result is a layer of secondary sulphide mineralization enriched in base metals. At Bisha, the top of the VMS deposit originally held gold, silver and copper. Precious metals do not readily mineralize as sulphides or oxides, so the leaching process does not affect them much. But copper is almost always leached from oxide zones and at Bisha it has been perfectly re-deposited in a copper-rich supergene layer. The layer reaches from 35 to 65 metres depth, totalling 6.35 million proven and probable tonnes, and carries an average grade of 4.4% copper as well as 0.83 gram gold and 35.98 grams silver.

The supergene layer will feed the Bisha mine for three years, producing 538 million lbs. copper plus 80,000 oz. gold and 3 million oz. silver. Finally, the mine will start to tap into the primary sulphide portion of the deposit, which means the mill will shift focus again, this time to zinc.

According to Nevsun’s current plan, the Bisha open pit will reach 200 metres depth. To that depth, the pit’s primary sulphide layer contains 9.7 million proven and probable tonnes grading 7.21% zinc, 1.14% copper, 0.76 gram gold and 54 grams silver.

However, Nevsun knows the deposit continues to more than twice that depth at the south end. At the north, mineralization ends at just over 100 metres depth but halfway along the deposit’s 1.2-km strike, the zone suddenly opens up at depth. The deepest intercept to date returned 128 metres grading 0.66 gram gold, 49.1 grams silver, 0.96% copper, and 7.36% zinc, starting 289 metres downhole and including 84 metres of 0.71 gram gold, 63 grams silver, 0.92% copper, and 11.1% zinc.

The pit was planned using conservative metal prices, specifically US$400 per oz. gold, US$1.05 per lb. copper, and US50¢ per lb. zinc. With current prices significantly higher — 2.5 times higher for gold, more than three times higher for copper, and double for zinc — Nevsun is remodelling the pit to extend the mine life by going deeper.

Deepening the pit to chase the steeply-plunging deposit farther would increase the strip ratio, but Nevsun does not expect the increase to be dramatic. While details of the remodelled pit have not yet been released, the company has said deepening the pit to 400 metres from 200 metres would increase the strip to 5 to 1 from 4 to 1.

In addition, Nevsun has partially defined a zone adjacent to the Main Bisha deposit that could reduce the strip ratio back down. Known as the Hangingwall Copper zone, the additional mineralization is being considered waste rock in a pit remodel because it does not carry a defined resource.

Previous drilling returned several promising intercepts from the Hangingwall zone, such as 56.5 metres grading 0.81% copper, 19.3 metres of 2.11% copper, and 12 metres of 2.64% copper. The area has not been drilled since 2006. If Nevsun decides to deepen the pit, the company would better define the Hangingwall zone and the new resource would reduce the wasterock increase.

Plans for the pit may still be changing but plans for the mill, which is more than 50% complete, are solid.  The operation will churn through 5,500 tonnes of ore each day or 2 million tonnes a year. Nevsun actually oversized the plant, making it capable of processing 3 million tonnes annually, to give the company room to ramp up production if it wants.

During phase one, when the feed is oxide, ore will be crushed and leached in cyanide tanks, with gold then recovered via conventional carbon-in-leach technology and poured into doré bars. Before phase one is complete, Nevsun will install the flotation system needed for phases two and three. Copper and zinc will be recovered via flotation.

After producing 900,000 oz. gold and 1.54 million oz. silver in phase one, Bisha will shift to producing 180 million lbs. copper and 1 million oz. silver a year for three years. In the 4.5 years of phase three, the mine will kick out roughly 240 million lbs. zinc, 44 million lbs. copper, and 1 million oz. silver annually. Metal concentrates will be trucked from Bisha to the port at Massawa, roughly 400 km away by road.

The operation’s cash costs are fairly low. Including by-product credits, in phase one it will cost US$210 to produce an ounce of gold, in phase two it will cost US67¢ to produce a pound of copper, and in phase three it will cost US54¢ to produce a pound of copper and US50¢ for a pound of zinc. Nevsun’s original feasibility study for Bisha, completed in 2006, pegged capital costs at $250 million. With the mine almost

complete, Nevsun recently revised that number, but only slightly, to $260 million.

The company has already spent more than $130 million at Bisha. And with the recent close of a $117-million private placement, plus funding from the Eritrean government’s 30% participating stake in the mine, Nevsun has all the cash it needs to finish building the mine.

Eritrean partner

Yes, the Eritrean government has a stake in Bisha. The country’s mining code gives the government an automatic, carried 10% stake in every mineral project. The code also gives the government a right to buy another 30% participating stake in any project and, in late 2007, the Eritrean government decided to step up its ownership of Bisha.

It took several months for Nevsun and the government to finalize the terms of the deal. But by the end of 2007, the partners had become just that, with the signing of a mining agreement for Bisha. The agreement required the Eritrean government to start contributing its 30% share of costs right away but the government did not immediately have to hand over a chunk of cash to pay for its ownership position.

Instead, that payment is due when Bisha ships its first gold. When that shipment happens, an independent agency will essentially complete a new feasibility study on Bisha using actual capital costs. That study will determine the project’s value and the Eritrean government will have to pay for its 30% interest based on that valuation.

The Eritrean national mining company, ENAMCO, has already contributed $80 million towards Bisha. ENAMCO has handed over $25 million towards its ownership position, contributed $35 million towards construction costs, and loaned $20 million to Nevsun. The construction contribution is not applicable against the purchase price, so when the first gold is poured and the valuation completed, ENAMCO’s payment will be calculated as 30% of the project’s net present value (NPV), minus $45 million.

The valuation will use consensus life-of-mine metal prices, determined as the average of 10 predicting houses. Using current metal prices, the project generates a NPV of roughly US$1 billion.

“Of course the negotiations were difficult — there is a lot at stake,” says Cliffs Davis, Nevsun’s president and CEO. “But afterwards, one of the government’s key negotiators came over and said to me, ‘We hope that payment is a big one,’ because of course that would mean the project is set to provide the government with considerable cash through taxes, royalties, and its own portion of revenue. So the better the project, the better for both us and them.”

The reality of operating in Eritrea also impacted Nevsun’s financing efforts. In mid-2009 the company lined up a $235-million credit facility to develop Bisha. The loans were to come from a consortium of South African and European lenders. Everything was ready to go when the UN imposed sanctions on Eritrea in December.

According to the UN Security Council resolution, the sanctions stem from concerns that Eritrean nationals are providing “support to armed groups undermining peace and reconciliation in Somalia” and worries that the Eritrean government has “not withdrawn its forces following clashes with Djibouti in June 2008.” The sanctions are very specific; the U.N. imposed an arms embargo on the country, and placed travel restrictions and asset freezes on its political and military leaders. The news immediately pushed Nevsun’s share price down to the $2.55 area, from closer to $3.20. But Nevsun is actually not too concerned.

“Except for the impact of the market’s misconceptions, we don’t think the UN sanctions will have any significant implications on the abilities of mining companies to conduct business here,” says Davis. “The sanctions are very specific and the United Nations does not want these to become more general.”

The sanction did create one significant problem for Nevsun: the European lenders involved in the credit facility required support from the German government, which can give a partial guarantee to lenders. Nevsun waited several months for the Europeans to try to insure the loan but, by early February, the company realized time was running out. Nevsun was funding Bisha development with cash until the loans became available and the company’s cash position was dwindling.

So Davis found a way around the problem. A few days into February Nevsun announced a $117-million private placement; within two weeks the company had closed the deal, selling 52 million shares at $2.25 apiece. The funds will be sufficient to carry Nevsun and Bisha through commissioning into cash flow positive operations.

Expansion potential

The current Bisha mine plan only calls for mining the Main deposit but, in addition to the potential Hangingwall zone resource expansion, chances are good that Nevsun will define more resources in the area to extend the mine life. The company has already identified two new VMS discoveries within its Bisha mine licence.

Nevsun discovered the Northwest zone, which is 1.5 km north and slightly west of the Main Bisha deposit, in 2003 when a few initial drill holes returned low-grade massive sulphides. In 2005 the company returned to the area and pulled two significant, well-mineralized massive sulphide intercepts from the ground, including 22.1 metres grading 1.42% copper and 4.67% zinc in hole NW8.

In 2006 Nevsun punched four more holes into the Northwest zone that returned sphalerite-rich intercepts from the zone’s southwest. The results, such as 22 metres of 7.08% zinc and 12 grams silver, led Nevsun to believe the Northwest zone actually comprises a main, lower-grade massive sulphide body with a second, zincrich lens sitting just to the southwest. With all its energy focused on permitting and building the mine, Nevsun has not been able to return to the Northwest zone since 2006 but plans to ramp up expansion exploration once the mine is operational.

The second area that offers expansion potential is the Harena zone, which lies 9.5 km southwest of the Bisha Main deposit. Harena is developing into a third nearsurface massive sulphide zone with the potential to provide additional feed to the Bisha mill.

Discovered through geophysics and initially drilled in 2005, Nevsun returned to Harena in late 2009 to conduct infill drilling and recently released the results. The northeast-striking, 400-metre-long zone seems to carry gold, silver, copper and zinc.

Collared at the northeast end of the zone, hole 29 returned 7 metres grading 2.71 grams gold, 51.86 grams silver, 1.01% copper and 0.14% zinc from 62 metres depth. From 100 metres to the southwest hole 32 cut 37.4 metres grading 0.13 gram gold, 9.72 grams silver, 0.37% copper, and 3.51% zinc, starting 63 metres downhole and including 5.2 metres averaging 2.62 grams gold, 134.42 grams silver, 1.95% copper and 1.35% zinc. Then a line of holes across the centre of the zone, another 100 metres to the southwest, produced three promising intercepts: Hole 35 hit 31 metres of 2.41 grams gold and 12.71 grams silver; hole 36 returned 37.7 metres averaging 0.32 gram gold, 27.18 grams silver, 0.74% copper and 3% zinc; and hole 37 cut 23.5 metres of 0.61 gram gold, 30.52 grams silver, 1.09% copper and 4.5% zinc.

The Country Question

Eritrea is a difficult country to understand. Its history tells part of the story but the country’s trajectory since its very recent independence and its generally closed door policy makes its recent past appear dark and veiled to outsiders.

Eritrea was under Italian control, first as a colony and then as a province, from the late 1800s until 1941 when British armed forces expelled the Italians. The British controlled the country only until 1951 when, pursuant to a UN mandate, Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia. Eritreans initially welcomed the federation but, before long, Ethiopia started to exert more control over its northern neighbours than they wanted. Then, in 1962, Ethiopia annexed Eritrea as its 14th province.

The Ethiopians’ lack of regard for the Eritrean population soon prompted an independence movement that led to war. The bloody, 30-year war did not end until 1991. In 1993, following a UN-supervised referendum, Eritrea declared its independence and gained international recognition.

At first, the international community welcomed Eritrea as a prime candidate for a much needed African success story. The long liberation war had hard moulded Eritreans into a determined population led by a political party, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF), that enjoyed popular support and endorsed liberal democracy, human rights and free markets.

Sadly, the dreams of 1993 and the reality of modern Eritrea are much different. Eritrea’s conflict with Ethiopia reignited in 1998 and led to another horrible war, this one lasting three years. In the aftermath of that war, a group within the government started to question the president’s authority and decisions. A dissident movement started to gain momentum, with independent newspapers and social groups challenging the EPLF’s monopoly on power.

But the dissident movement met a rapid end in September 2001 when the President ordered a nation- wide clamp down. Government forces arrested hundreds of critics, closed down all private media outlets, and placed limits on the general public’s activities.

The constitution, ratified by the government in 1997, has still not come into effect. The government has used the threat of war with Ethiopia as an excuse to repeatedly postpone elections, which were originally scheduled for 1998 but still have not occurred. The country today runs as a singleparty state.

Organized political opposition is forbidden, and military service is compulsory — at age 16 teenagers leave for two years of training and many Eritreans, especially men, stay in the service for the rest of their lives.

Eritrea’s troubles as an independent country are reflected in various international rankings of democracy and human rights. The country places 164th out of 179 countries on the United Nations’ Human Development Index. On the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2008, Eritrea took the last rank in the world for the second year. Transparency International ranked Eritrea 126th out of 180 countries on its Corruption Perceptions Index. And in the Freedom of the World survey for 2008, in which Freedom House evaluates the state of global freedom as experienced by individuals, Eritrea is classified as being “Not Free,” and grouped with the world’s most repressive societies.

Within the country, however, the feeling is not one of repression. Perhaps the realities are well shielded, but, to a Western reporter, the country and its people appear functional and reasonably happy.

For the country with the biggest per capita defence budget in Africa, the military presence is surprisingly minimal. There are checkpoints at the entrances and exits to major cities, but their lack of guns and use of a thin rope as the main barrier make them feel more like a formality than a threat.

Foreigners require visas to enter the country and travel documents to move around within it. Eritreans are free to move around within the country but require permission to leave. The country is just about crime-free — a foreigner can walk the streets of the capital city in the middle of the night and usually be perfectly safe.

The main occupation in Eritrea is agriculture, most of which is sustenance farming. Half the population is Christian and half is Muslim; the two groups live in peace. There is as much

Western garb as traditional clothing and there is more female representation in the Eritrean National Assembly than there is in Canada’s parliament.

One of the most interesting aspects of this African nation is its determination to be self-sufficient.

From the time of independence, Eritrea has shunned foreign aid, choosing instead to try to develop the abilities to care for its own people. In terms of food it generally succeeds, even exporting some livestock and grain, though a drought last year necessitated some food aid.

And there are essentially no nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the country. The lack of NGOs is in part because of Eritrea’s focus on independence, though the primary reason is that the EPLF has thrown most of them out.

Perception and reality clash constantly, in the eyes of an outsider visiting Eritrea. Is the government not actually as repressive as the rest of the world thinks it is? Or is the repression very real but hidden from view?

In a short stay those questions remained unanswered. In terms of its developing mining sector, however, those Eritreans involved in it appear thoughtful and reliable. The government knew very little about mining just eight years ago and now is poised to hold a 40% stake in a brand new, promising mine. Nevsun’s experiences dealing with the government have been positive, if sometimes slow, and the company truly believes it has found a solid partner in ENAMCO.

By the end of the year, Bisha’s mills should see their first ore and Nevsun will have done its all to define mining in Eritrea.

NGEx

(NGQ-TSX) NGEx Resources Inc. (“NGEx” ‘ or the “Company”) is pleased to report that the initial diamond drill program at the Aradaib prospect has resulted in an exciting new copper/zinc discovery.

Aradaib is a new volcanic hosted massive sulphide prospect in northwestern Eritrea on trend with the Company’s growing Hambok copper/zinc deposit and Nevsun’s Bisha deposit now under development.

The first hole, ARD-10-001, tested a gossan outcrop highly anomalous in gold, copper, zinc, silver and lead returning a 17 meter interval of massive and semi-massive sulphides. Significant assay intervals are shown in the following table:

Weighted averages from ARD-10-00

NOTE: The above intervals are drill hole lengths.  There is currently insufficient information to determine the true widths of the intervals

The sulphide interval is overlain by gossanous oxidized sulphides and altered hanging wall rocks, with locally intense kaolinite, alunite and hematite alteration from which metals have been leached.

A second hole, ARD-10-002, drilled 230 meters to the northeast, intersected altered host volcanic rocks with pervasive disseminated and stringer sulphides, returning a 3 meter interval of 1.30% Zn from 60.0 meters depth. The remainder of the hole was strongly anomalous in copper and zinc. Recent geological mapping together with the results of ARD-20-002 indicates that the sulphide body intersected in ARD-10-001 plunges moderately to the south.

Commenting on the Aradaib discovery, Wojtek Wodzicki, President and CEO stated, “The Aradaib discovery drill hole is the best the Company has drilled in Eritrea. The intercept is notable for its thickness, gold content, high zinc and copper grade, and could represent a very significant new gold-rich massive sulphide discovery in a new and unexplored area. The mineralization is open on strike and down dip and recent prospecting has found additional significant mineralized outcrops along a four kilometer trend. We are very excited about this discovery and plan to follow it up with an aggressive drill program over the coming months.”

The Aradaib prospect is located on NGEx’s Kerkebet River exploration license and is 75 kilometers north of Nevsun Resources’ Bisha deposit (presently under development) and NGEx’s Hambok massive sulphide deposit. Nevsun’s Bisha deposit contains primary sulphide reserves of 9.71 Mt of 7.21% Zn, 1.14% Cu as well as an oxide cap of 4.02 Mt of 7.99 g/t Au and 33 g/t Ag and a supergene enriched zone of 6.35 Mt of 4.4% Cu (Nevsun Resources website). NGEx’s Hambok deposit has an NI 43-101-compliant indicated resource (at a 0.75% zinc cutoff) of 10.7 million tonnes grading 0.98% copper, 2.25% zinc, 6.84 g/t silver, 0.20 g/t gold and an additional inferred resource (at a 0.75% zinc cutoff) of 17.0 million tonnes of 0.85% copper, 1.74% zinc, 5.89 g/t silver, 0.19 g/t gold (Hambok NI 43-101 Technical Report, January 23, 2009 available on www.sedar.com).

The Aradaib prospect consists of a series of gossan and massive barite outcrops over a strike length of over 300 meters and was discovered by NGEx crews during a reconnaissance exploration program. Grab and trench samples collected from barite and gossan outcrops prior to drilling returned assays including 4.2 g/t and 8.9 g/t gold (barite outcrops) and 0.37 g/t gold from a 12 meter trench across the gossan. Base metal values from gossan grab samples were highly anomalous with values up to 1589 ppm copper, 523 ppm zinc and 1735 ppm lead. The highest gold values are associated with barite rich horizons that have not yet been drill tested.

Recent regional mapping and prospecting along strike from Aradaib has discovered altered felsic volcanic rocks with lenses of massive barite anomalous in copper and zinc as far as 2.5 kilometre south of the discovery drill hole as well as altered host rock and magnetic exhalites with coincident zinc-anomalous soil 1.5km northeast (see attached map). The base metal results are from field XRF. Gold results for these new samples are pending. The four kilometer strike extent of prospective geology is being covered with a detailed gravity and ground magnetic survey to trace mineralization under cover. Gravity has been an effective exploration tool for detecting massive sulphide bodies at both Bisha and Hambok. The prospect has easy access and follow-up drilling is planned once the current geophysical survey is complete.

Sample Preparation and Analysis.

The drill core was sawn on site and quarter cores were sampled in their entirety in one meter intervals or intervals corresponding to geological breaks. The quartered core was bagged and air-freighted directly to Genalysis Laboratories in Perth, Western Australia. Genalysis Laboratories crushed and ground the samples. All splits and rejects produced during sample preparation have been retained at Genalysis Laboratories. A minimum of 5% duplicate core samples were sent to ALS laboratories in Vancouver for check analyses.

Trench channel and grab rock chip samples from Aradaib were submitted to African Horn Laboratories in Asmara for crushing and coarse grinding. A split was air freighted to Genalysis Laboratories in Perth Western Australia where the final grinding and analysis were performed. The remainder of the sample was retained in NGEX’s store in Asmara.

High and low grade, base metal and gold standards were randomly inserted into the sample stream before shipment of the samples to Genalysis. Duplicate samples and standards accounted for approximately 5% of all samples submitted for analysis.

Qualified Person/Quality Analysis/Quality Control

Dr. Demetrius Pohl, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and Vice President of Exploration for NGEX’s wholly owned subsidiary Sanu Resources, has reviewed and verified the technical exploration information contained in this news release.

On behalf of the Board,

Dr. Wojtek Wodzicki

President and CEO

There are few things that inspire me more than hearing the stories of others and how their personal journeys birth amazing ideas that they couragelously bring forth to the world. Because of this I always thought I would have more interviews in this space featuring creative goddesses, but for whatever reason it hasn’t happened until now.

I met Viva in 2006 when we worked together in a highly creative, yet very corporate environment. You know how when you meet certain people you just get a feeling that they are destined for greatness? Well, I felt that way about Viva.

I remember when we worked together that I would always keep a notebook with me because she would say these things that were so funny and quote-worthy that I would have to write them down. When she started telling me about her ideas for Inheritrea, I could feel the passion radiating from her and have been so inspired watching her turn a beautiful dream into a reality. I was so honored when she agreed to let me interview her here in my tiny space. I hope you can all see the beauty in her as well.… and no joke, these are the softest t-shirts i have ever felt.

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Hi Viva, I am so happy to be able to talk to you today about Inheritrea and introduce you to those who come to this space. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me and answer some questions.

Hi Stace!  Thank YOU for taking an interest in what Inheritrea is all about.

Tell us about Inheritrea. What does the name mean and what is the mission of your business?

The name merges the word, “inherit” and, “Eritrea” to capture the idea of truly cherishing what has been left to us by generations past.  My family is from Eritrea, a small country on the east coast of Africa that has a long and triumphant history.  So, for Eritreans like myself, it may mean our language, culture, traditions; but it’s such a universal theme!  For others, it may mean their maiden name, inheriting the Earth, even family recipes.  In essence, I wanted Inheritrea to be a source of pride for Eritreans, but also serve as a way to educate the rest of the world about Eritrea and be a reminder of how we all share many more similarities than differences.  So, that’s the philosophical translation.  How am I planning to achieve such a lofty goal?  That’s easy: t-shirts!  Our mission statement reads as follows:

Our mission is clear.
Inheritrea aims to give Eritreans, and friends of Eritrea, the opportunity to SOW SEEDS OF PROGRESS. We seek to accomplish this by marketing high–quality apparel inspired by the richness of our culture and the fortitude of those that came before us. Net proceeds of Inheritrea are channeled to non–profit organizations and charities that support the further development of the State of Eritrea.

When did you first conceive the idea of Inheritrea and how long did it take you to launch from conception to reality?

This is always such a challenging question to answer because I think that on some level I always knew I would pursue a project like this.  My mother and siblings emigrated to the states right before I was born so I had never been to Eritrea until the summer of 2008.  That trip came at a time when I was really asking myself what I wanted my future to look like and, through an arduous and emotional journey, I found my answer.  Visiting Eritrea prompted me to find a way to give back to Eritrea, a country that has been so overlooked by mainstream media.  It was several months before I got the actual idea for Inheritrea.  I attended a concert of the hip-hop artist K’naan and was truly moved by one of the songs he performed – “Waving Flag.”  The next morning the idea for Inheritrea was born.  That was February 2009 so it took close to a year to launch the webstore.

I know you are a non-profit organization so how are you funding your business?

I would love to say that I have dozens of contributors, but the truth is that so far it’s been a one-woman show!  From funding to designing to photographing shirts to shipping them out, it’s just been me.  I know you can relate to this!

I must say that I’ve had loads of support from unexpected places, which has been the most encouraging.  It reminds of the line from The Alchemist: “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.”  So dope.

How are you marketing yourself to get your name out into the world.

So far, I’ve been trying to get some exposure on different blogs and sites related to non-profit causes but it’s been a slow-moving process.  I recently set up shop at a charity event and got some great feedback so part of me thinks this will be the more fruitful route in the future.  The spring and summer is actually full of many Eritrean events and celebrations that I’ll be excited to attend, as well.  I really feel that the shirts need to be seen and felt in person to truly appreciate.  Lately, I’ve also been toying with the idea of starting a blog to share more about who I am, how this idea came to be, etc.  I’ll have to take a poll and see how many people would actually read it!

I would definitely read it and am sure many others would as well.

What has been the most rewarding aspect for you so far of starting your own business? What about the most challenging?

As I mentioned earlier, I think the most heart-warming and rewarding part of this has been the unexpected support.  Former bosses, past co-workers, friends from high school – all people that bought an Inheritrea tee or even just took a few moments to write an encouraging email.  When you’re working on something in your own little bubble it’s hard to know how it’s going to be received so a few words really do go a long way!  I hope to make our first contribution to the National Union of Eritrean Women at the end of summer, so I expect that will be rank pretty high up on my “proudest moments” scale.  On the flip side, self-promotion has never really been my strongest skill so I’ve had to remind myself that this is a cause that I believe very deeply in and use that as my motivation to say, “Hey, guess what I’m working on…”

I know your background is in fashion, how much of your prior knowledge in the industry help you while you were designing your line? Did you learn some new things with this endeavor.

Yes, my first “grown-up” job after college was for a manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles that also did in-house screen-printing.  I learned so much there.  Like don’t wear a Napoleon Dynamite t-shirt on a day when you’ve got meetings with partners.  Not that that happened to me or anything.  Seriously though, my position was in customer service and working with sales representatives across the country.  I did get knowledge on fabrics, screen-printing, and merchandising techniques that has really helped with creating Inheritrea.  But since my background was much more based in the business aspect of the industry, I’ve essentially been really working on developing a more creative eye, particularly on the graphics side of things.  To give you an idea of where I was at when I started – I had NEVER worked on Illustrator before and have been teaching it to myself!  I’m really enjoying viewing the world differently.  I’ve gotten inspiration for future graphics from things that used to be mundane – even being stuck in traffic!

I absolutely adore my Inheritrea logo t-shirt, it’s incredibly soft and the fit is one of the most flattering I have ever worn. Can you tell us a bit about what went into the actual design process for your shirts from graphics to the yummy fit, they really are the perfect t-shirt in many ways.

You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that!  Quality is VERY important to me.  I knew that if this project was going to be successful, fit and fabric had to be just right.  So, I started my hunt for the perfect tee.  I ordered several different styles before I found the Holy Grail of t-shirts – Alternative Apparel.  I fell deeply in love with the fit of their Organic Scoop Neck Tee.  I adore the open neck line since I am usually the girl you see stomping around in the shirt with the neck cut out of it!  It’s the softest organic cotton I’ve ever felt.  And, on a selfish note, I needed the shirt to be nice and long.  I’m close to 5’10” so didn’t want a tee that I was going to have to keep tugging at!  Since I’ve had friends of all shapes comment on how flattering the silhouette is, I know I made the right choice.

When I received my t-shirt it came with a beautiful postcard filled with all sorts of inspiring quotes and sayings. Where did these come from?

Honestly, Stacy – sometimes at home alone, I’ll catch myself gazing at that card when I need a boost of hope and inspiration.  And the lovely thing about it is that many of those quotes were collected when I asked dozens of friends to answer the question, “what is your inheritance?”  They’re true and honest answers from real people in my life.

I incorporated some Eritrean references and words in Tigrinya, our native language.  It’s so powerful to see it all in print.  And that’s exactly the type of feeling that I want to continue to capture with Inheritrea.

Do you have any advice or tips for others who are wishing to start their own businesses?

As corny as it sounds, (cue the violins) I think the most important thing is to follow your heart!  I would have wanted to give up a million times if this wasn’t something that I felt the world needed.  Next, I’d say organization is key.  I always thought I was an organized person until I started this project.  The earlier you start with that, the better – trust me!  And you actually recommended The Seed Handbook, which has been an invaluable tool.  If you’re interested specifically in starting a non-profit endeavor, check out Starting and Building a Non-Profit:  A Practical Guide.  It’s really direct and easy to follow.  And lastly, I’m learning to cut myself some slack.  Mistakes are going to happen and, when they do, do your best not to get bogged down in “coulda, woulda, shoulda.”  Just pick up, be joyous, and do good work.

Thank you so much Viva for taking the time to share a bit about your wonderful, heart-filled company. I adore your passion and vibrancy and wish you wild success.

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If you are interested in your wearing your own Inheritrea organic cotton yummy softeness t-shirt that promotes awareness of the country of Eritrea visit http://www.inheritrea.bigcartel.com/

Nevsun welcomes all investors, shareholders, financial professionals, and media to visit their booth #2201 and at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from 10:00am-5:30pm on Sunday, March 7 and Monday, March 8. Cliff Davis, President & CEO, will additionally be presenting on March 8 at 3:20pm in Room 802AB.

Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss Nevsun’s ongoing progress, in addition to meeting Management and the Technical Team. For more information on the PDAC 2010 Convention, please visit PDAC.

Doha

DOHA, Feb 24 (SUNA) — The Grand Hall of the Sheraton Hotel in Doha on Tuesday evening was thevenue for the signing of the framework agreement for a ceasefire in Dafur in western Sudan between the government of Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The signing took place amidst a high-level regional and international presence led by the President of Sudan, Omar Al Bashir, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, President Idress Debby of Chad, President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea and Dr Khalil Ibrahim, the JEM Chairman.

It was also attended by Djibril Bassoule, the joint mediator for Dafur, and Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Joint Special Representative of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations to UNAMID, and representatives of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, and other countries as well as representatives of the Arab League and the AU.

Dr Amin Hassan Omar signed on behalf of the government of the Sudan while Ahmad Tagad signed for the JEM, a rebel group involved in the Dafur conflict. The two sides shook hands and exchanged documents following the signing of the framework agreement.

The framework agreement is considered the first step towards the achievement of comprehensive and lasting peace in Darfur and it was well received by the international and regional communities as well as international organizations and relevant bodies concerned with peace in the region.

The Qatari government, its people and leadership played an important role, as mediator in the peace talks, a role highly appreciated by all concerned parties to the deal, with all parties nodding to the wise intelligent and informed role they played in the negotiations.

Chad’s President Idress Debby equally played an important role through his hosting of the initial signing and also showed the transformation in the Sudanese-Chadian relationship.

The government delegation to the event included a number of senior officials, representatives of the parties to Sudan’s government of national unity, civil society representatives, leaders from Darfur and members of the Sudan People’s Forum.

On the side of Justice and Equality Movement, those who attended the ceremony included the senior leaders of the movement who flew to Doha for the event.

The JEM declared a cease-fire as of the midnight of Tuesday as part of the implementation of the framework agreement.

JEM Chairman Dr. Khalil Ibrahim said at the signing ceremony that the agreement wais a step forward in the peace process and paved the way for negotiations for realizing peace in Darfur.

He added that the JEM was committed to the implementation of all items of the agreement, stating that the path for peace still needed great efforts, and that both parties should be ready to make concessions so that comprehensive peace in Darfur could be achieved.

Dr. Ibrahim called on the armed groups to establish a unity and partnership among them for the interest of the people and the homeland, a partnership of no loser or winner.

He called on the Emir of Qatar to sponsor the implementation of the agreement, expressing his appreciation of the great efforts being exerted by Qatar and its leader, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani.

He also thanked the Emir of Qatar for his generous donation for the rehabilitation and development in Darfur.

Dr. Khalil Ibrahim also praised the role being played by Chad, Libya, the Arab League, the African Union and the joint mediation team, led by Qatar, for realizing peace in Darfur.

Djibril Bassole welcomed the framework agreement and described it as a positive step for the comprehensive solution for Darfur issue. He appreciated the efforts exerted by all parties for the signing of the agreement by the government and the JEM.

Bassole said that the agreement paves the way for beginning the negotiations in Doha for realization of comprehensive peace in Darfur.

AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping reiterated the commitment of the African Union to help Sudan and all parties to implement all clauses of the framework agreement to bolster peace and development all over Sudan.

Ping, who described the agreement as a landmark step in peace process and a real addition to the accomplishments in this regard, urged parties in the agreement to be committed to the implementation of all clauses of the agreement.

This accomplishment would be added to the accomplishments of Africa and assured the capability of the African people to overcome their differences without foreign intervention, he added.

President Deby affirmed the commitment of Chad to co-operate with the concerned parties to boost the implementation all the items of the agreement and said that Chad would work out a plan to guarantee implementation of the agreement.

He said Chad would exert efforts toward making all the Darfurian movements and Sudan’s government sign similar agreements. He said the role of Chad was a duty that was necessitated by the fact that Chad and Sudan are neighbours.

He referred to the suffering of Chad and Sudan from the armed movements and the clashes at the joint border area, adding that there would be no return to that past.

Comment from one of our Eritrean American Readers:

I’m very ashamed of what my U.S. government is doing to my home country Eritrea. I find the baseless accusations against Eritrea to promote the agenda of neo-colonization absurd! I honestly regret voting for Barack Obama to the white house for the simple fact that not only did he fail to live up to the expectations most Americans had hoped for, but also the sermon of “change” he had preached throughout his election campaign turned out to be an illusion.

He deceived us.

Malcolm X was prophesying about Barack Obama and Susan Rice when he said, the re-colonizations of Africa will have a black face and a white mentality.

And as the old Turkish proverb goes…

” When the axe came into the forest, the trees said: the handle is one of us.”

Shame on you Obama !

Shame on you Susan Rice !

Shame on you United Nations!

God Bless Eritrea

God Bless America

God Bless the World

Eritreans Never Kneel Down ! Never Ever !

GENEVA – (AFP) Some 5,000 Eritreans from around Europe rallied on Monday in front of the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva to protest against UN Security Council sanctions on Eritrea, police said.

The demonstrators waved Eritrean flags and carried banners such as “No to sanctions based on lies,” and “Eritrea will never go on its knees”.

The Security Council in December voted for an arms embargo and targeted sanctions against Eritrea, which has been accused of trying to destabilize the Western-backed government in neighbouring Somalia.

One of the organizers of the rally in Geneva, who declined to be named, told AFP that members of the Eritrean diaspora had travelled to the Swiss city from 14 European nations.

A spokesman from police in Geneva said about 5,000 people took part in the protest, which passed off peacefully.

Other demonstrations were staged in the Australian capital Canberra and in San Francisco, while the Eritrean community gathered in Saudi Arabia, according to an Eritrean government website.

Asmara has condemned the sanctions decision, which includes a travel ban on senior officials, as “a shameful day” for the United Nations.

The Security Council accused Eritrean leaders of aiding Somali rebels and pressed Asmara to withdraw troops immediately from disputed territories along its frontier with Djibouti. Source: (AFP)