(SHG) Shanta Gold

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT REPLACES THE ANNOUNCEMENT RELEASED ON 30 JANUARY 2012 AT 3.00PM WITH HUGIN NUMBER HUG1581097 WHICH INACCURATELY STATED THE NAME OF FBN BANK (UK) LTD AS "BFN BANK (UK) LIMITED".


SHANTA GOLD LIMITED

Update on funding and fundraising for Shanta Gold

Shanta raises US$25 million since December 2011, without equity dilution on favourable terms

Shanta Gold Limited, ('Shanta Gold' or the 'Company') (AIM: SHG), the near-term gold producer with operations in Tanzania, is pleased to announce an update regarding debt funding in support of the development of the New Luika Mine and projects in Tanzania.

In December 2011 the Board of Shanta Gold announced that it had secured a US$5 million bridging loan through Export Holdings Ltd and that the Board was well advanced with other institutions with respect to further funding.

The Board is very pleased to announce that a US$15 million facility with FBN Bank (UK) Ltd has been approved by its credit committee and that the legal documentation is currently being finalised with the expectation that first draw-down will take place after 13 February 2012. Shanta Gold will make an additional announcement relating to the terms of the loan, once these terms are binding.

The Board is also pleased to announce that it has, on behalf of the Company, today entered into a new standby equity distribution agreement ("SEDA") backed loan agreement to the value of US$ 5 million ("New Loan Agreement") with YA Global Master SPV. Ltd ("YAGM") and a variation to the original SEDA announced in December 2009. This loan facility will be available for draw down from 1 February 2012.

Said Shanta Gold CEO, Gareth Taylor, "Effectively Shanta has raised US$25 million since December 2011, without equity dilution, on favourable terms. This funding will allow for operation of the Company through to production at the New Luika Gold Mine (NLGM) in April of this year. The NLGM is on track for cold commissioning in February, hot commissioning in March and production in April of this year with full production rates being achieved by the end of the second quarter 2012, as previously announced.

"Having received the mining licences for the Singida project the Board is now seeking to progress the Resettlement Action Plan - for people affected by the mine - and the manufacturing, purchase and transport of the key equipment for project construction. Shanta Gold is in discussions, at varying levels of development, with a number of institutions to secure the funding required for the above."

Under the SEDA backed loan agreement, YAGM has agreed to lend the sum of US$5,000,000 ("Commitment Amount") to be repaid in either (i) ten instalments commencing on 19 April 2012 and ending on 1 February 2013, or (ii) in the event that a validation event (as defined below) has not occurred within 30 days of the execution of the New Loan Agreement, in ten instalments commencing 31 days after signing the New Loan Agreement.

A validation event is defined as (i) the Company having entered into a binding, unconditional financing agreement for a minimum of US$10,000,000 with a third party non-related financing entity; or (ii) the Company having completed an equity fundraising which raises in excess of US$15,000,000 (before expenses) for the Company.

Other than the above, the main terms of the New Loan Agreement are as follows:

   (a)   the Company will be able to use the amounts advanced for general working capital purposes;

   (b)   interest will accrue on the Commitment Amount at a rate of 8% per annum;

   (c)   by way of security for the Commitment Amount, the Company has agreed to execute advance notices of the SEDA enabling the YAGM to convert such amount(s) outstanding into Ordinary Shares of the Company in case of default; and

   (d)   the Company has agreed to an implementation fee of US$384,000.

Under the original SEDA announced on 18 December 2009, YAGM committed up to GBP £3,000,000 to subscribe for new ordinary shares of the Company and this facility was available to the Company from 17 December 2009 until 17 June 2012.

The original SEDA facility has now been extended by a variation agreement which changes the amount from GBP £3,000,000 to GBP £6,000,000 and extends the availability period to 17 June 2014.

In consideration for YAGM agreeing to extend and vary the terms of the SEDA, the Company has agreed to an implementation fee of GBP £45,000 (plus any applicable VAT) on the earlier of:

   (i)   the Company's share price exceeding 125% of the share price upon signature of the New Loan Agreement

   (ii)   first drawdown of an advance under the SEDA.

Under the original SEDA, YAGM committed up to GBP £3,000,000 to subscribe for new ordinary shares of the Company and this facility was available to the Company from 17 December 2009 for a period of 30 months.

The terms of the original SEDA where announced on 18 December 2009 and a summary of the terms is set out below.

Under the SEDA, the number and timing of advances is at the discretion of Shanta Gold, subject to certain agreed restrictions under the SEDA, including:

   -   that the Company shall not be entitled to request more than one advance in any 10 day period; 

   -   the advance is limited to 200% of the volume weighted daily trading value for the 10 day trading period immediately prior to giving notice under the facility; and 

   -    that there is a constraint on holding greater than 2.99% of the issued share capital at any time or 0.99% in the event that Shanta Gold is itself under offer. 

Under the SEDA, YAGM agreed, at the request of the Company, to subscribe for new ordinary shares in the Company up to an aggregate amount equal to the Commitment Amount.  Subscriptions will be priced at 7% discount to the market price over the ten trading day period immediately after Shanta Gold notifies YAGM of a subscription request and will occur at such time and in such sizes as the Company may determine; subject to certain agreed limitations as contained in the SEDA.

For further information, please contact:

Shanta Gold Limited Tel:
Walton Imrie: +27 (0) 82 444 2851
Gareth Taylor: +255 (0) 757 732 484

Nominated Adviser and Broker
Fairfax I.S. PLC
Ewan Leggat / Laura Littley
Tel: +44 (0) 207 598 5368

Financial Relations
Tavistock Communications
Emily Fenton/Ed Portman
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7920 3150

Charmane Russell/Marion Brower/Pam Woltenholme
Russell & Associaties
Tel: + 27 11 880 3924

Shanta Gold limited

Further exceptional gold grades as well as lateral and depth extensions to the orebody at ShantA Gold's new Luika Gold mine in Tanzania

30 January 2012

Shanta Gold Limited, ('Shanta Gold' or the 'Company') (AIM: SHG), the near-term gold producer with operations in Tanzania, is pleased to announce further encouraging results achieved from the  new definition  reverse circulation ("RC") drilling campaign  at the Company's New Luika Gold Mine (NLGM) in an area where 'spectacular' gold grades were previously intersected. The raw data was made public on 29 June 2011.

The Bauhinia Creek orebody is the first of several satellite gold deposits to be exploited at the NLGM in the Chunya district of Tanzania. It is anticipated that the mining plan which will result from the updated resource at Bauhinia Creek will show an increase in strike length to be mined, a significant increase in the final depth of the Bauhinia Creek pit (200m versus the current plan of 100m) and an increase in both production ounces and grade. (The revised Resource Statement for NLGM is expected to be released at the end of April 2012). Additional holes targeted at depths between 80-200m vertical in the Bauhinia Creek orebody have continued the 'spectacular' intersections announced in June 2011.

Significantly, these changes in the outputs of the mine will result in a reduction in average escalated cost of production over the life of NLGM when compared to that previously published (escalated US1;054/oz; before escalated US$834). The drilling programme confirms previous evidence of high grade extensions as the orebody deepens to the west.

Gareth Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, said, "Although the interpretation and modelling of these results are still being finalised, we expect that they will have a significant effect on the NLGM Resource which will be announced at the end of April this year. I fully expect that the life of the Bauhinia Creek pit will be significantly extended which will result in high grade ore for the mills extending well past year five in the feed schedule, delivering better ounces produced and lower cost of production through those years. This is particularly pleasing as it displaces low grade tonnes currently scheduled after year five which resulted in the high average annual cost of production previously published".

Walton Imrie, Executive Chairman, commented; "The organic growth which we have always believed would take place at New Luika has come a little earlier than expected. This is excellent news for our shareholders and I am looking forward to the published resource statement in May and the revised financial results from the organic growth."

Highlights from the drilling programme

-   Borehole CSR332 - 10m at 26.9g/t in total
-   Borehole CSR324 - 11m at 21.71g/t in total
-   Borehole CSR325 - (31m at 12.97g/t in total, including 14m at 18.49g/t)
-   Borehole CSR338- 14m at 11.6g/t in total
-   Borehole CSR330 - 13m at 8.19g/t in total
-   Borehole CSR331 - 6m at 11.93g/t and 8m at 13.24g/t in total.

This drilling programme was undertaken to achieve improved understanding of the geometry of the orebody in relation to structural deformational features in the area, and provide additional information pertaining to gold grade (Figure 1: Shanta Gold website http://www.shantagold.com/im/press_display.asp?Id=2011/29june11) to the west of the current known mineralisation.

Shanta Gold exploration geologists were able to identify an extension of the Bauhinia Creek mineralised envelope to the west of the previously defined orebody. This extension of the mineralised zone is not developed at surface, as it is truncated by an oblique fault feature. At depth, in the footwall of the fault feature, robust mineralisation however still occurs.

Drilling was conducted at azimuths and inclinations designed to achieve perpendicular intersection of the ore body. Although the identified extension to the mineralised zone at Bauhinia Creek displays a slight strike inflection from normal, down hole intersection widths still approximate the true width of the orebody (Intersection angle with mineralised zone approximately 60-65 degrees).

Composite intersections are listed in the table below:
Table 1: Composite Intersections- Bauhinia Creek Definition Drilling Programme (No grade top-cut applied)

Additional results of this drilling campaign are still awaited.

Note for editors:

Shanta Gold is a Tanzanian focussed gold explorer and mine developer. It currently has defined ore resources on the Chunya, Singida and Mgusu projects and holds exploration licences over a number of additional properties. The New Luika Gold Mine on the Chunya project is currently under construction and is anticipated to produce gold in the final quarter of 2011 The Company is admitted to trading on AIM and has approximately 180 million shares in issue.

For further information:

Shanta Gold Limited http://www.shantagold.com

Walton Imrie
Mobile: +27 (0) 82 444 2851

Gareth Taylor
Mobile: +255(0)757732484

Fairfax I.S. PLC
Nominated Adviser and Broker
Ewan Leggat/Laura Littley
+44 (0) 20 7598 5368

Tavistock Communications
Emily Fenton/Ed Portman
+44 (0) 20 7920 3150

Russell & Associates
Charmane Russll/Marion Brower/Pam Wolstenholme
+ 27 11 880 3924

Braam (J.A.C.) Jankowitz, M.Sc., Pr.Nat.Sci. (400127/93), Shanta's Technical Services Manager is a qualified person as defined in the Guidance Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies, June 2009, of the London Stock Exchange, and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this announcement.

Glossary

Internal dilution: that portion of a drilled intersection or sampled channel  included in a mineralised envelope, that does not return economically viable gold grade, but may still be regarded as part of the mineable mineralised package. The specific definition of internal dilution may vary depending on the mining method implemented, whether selective or bulk mining techniques.

30 January 2012

SHANTA GOLD LIMITED

Update on funding and fundraising for Shanta Gold

Shanta raises US$25 million since December 2011, without equity dilution on favourable terms

Shanta Gold Limited, ('Shanta Gold' or the 'Company') (AIM: SHG), the near-term gold producer with operations in Tanzania, is pleased to announce an update regarding debt funding in support of the development of the New Luika Mine and projects in Tanzania.

In December 2011 the Board of Shanta Gold announced that it had secured a US$5 million bridging loan through Export Holdings Ltd and that the Board was well advanced with other institutions with respect to further funding.

The Board is very pleased to announce that a US$15 million facility with BFN Bank (UK) Limited has been approved by its credit committee and that the legal documentation is currently being finalised with the expectation that first draw-down will take place after 13 February 2012. Shanta Gold will make an additional announcement relating to the terms of the loan, once these terms are binding.

The Board is also pleased to announce that it has, on behalf of the Company, today entered into a new standby equity distribution agreement ("SEDA") backed loan agreement to the value of US$ 5 million ("New Loan Agreement") with YA Global Master SPV. Ltd ("YAGM") and a variation to the original SEDA announced in December 2009. This loan facility will be available for draw down from 1 February 2012.

Said Shanta Gold CEO, Gareth Taylor, "Effectively Shanta has raised US$25 million since December 2011, without equity dilution, on favourable terms. This funding will allow for operation of the Company through to production at the New Luika Gold Mine (NLGM) in April of this year. The NLGM is on track for cold commissioning in February, hot commissioning in March and production in April of this year with full production rates being achieved by the end of the second quarter 2012, as previously announced.

"Having received the mining licences for the Singida project the Board is now seeking to progress the Resettlement Action Plan - for people affected by the mine - and the manufacturing, purchase and transport of the key equipment for project construction. Shanta Gold is in discussions, at varying levels of development, with a number of institutions to secure the funding required for the above."

Under the SEDA backed loan agreement, YAGM has agreed to lend the sum of US$5,000,000 ("Commitment Amount") to be repaid in either (i) ten instalments commencing on 19 April 2012 and ending on 1 February 2013, or (ii) in the event that a validation event (as defined below) has not occurred within 30 days of the execution of the New Loan Agreement, in ten instalments commencing 31 days after signing the New Loan Agreement.

A validation event is defined as (i) the Company having entered into a binding, unconditional financing agreement for a minimum of US$10,000,000 with a third party non-related financing entity; or (ii) the Company having completed an equity fundraising which raises in excess of US$15,000,000 (before expenses) for the Company.

Other than the above, the main terms of the New Loan Agreement are as follows:

   (a)   the Company will be able to use the amounts advanced for general working capital purposes;

   (b)   interest will accrue on the Commitment Amount at a rate of 8% per annum;

   (c)   by way of security for the Commitment Amount, the Company has agreed to execute advance notices of the SEDA enabling the YAGM to convert such amount(s) outstanding into Ordinary Shares of the Company in case of default; and

   (d)   the Company has agreed to an implementation fee of US$384,000.

Under the original SEDA announced on 18 December 2009, YAGM committed up to GBP £3,000,000 to subscribe for new ordinary shares of the Company and this facility was available to the Company from 17 December 2009 until 17 June 2012.

The original SEDA facility has now been extended by a variation agreement which changes the amount from GBP £3,000,000 to GBP £6,000,000 and extends the availability period to 17 June 2014.

In consideration for YAGM agreeing to extend and vary the terms of the SEDA, the Company has agreed to an implementation fee of GBP £45,000 (plus any applicable VAT) on the earlier of:

   (i)   the Company's share price exceeding 125% of the share price upon signature of the New Loan Agreement

   (ii)   first drawdown of an advance under the SEDA.

Under the original SEDA, YAGM committed up to GBP £3,000,000 to subscribe for new ordinary shares of the Company and this facility was available to the Company from 17 December 2009 for a period of 30 months.

The terms of the original SEDA where announced on 18 December 2009 and a summary of the terms is set out below.

Under the SEDA, the number and timing of advances is at the discretion of Shanta Gold, subject to certain agreed restrictions under the SEDA, including:

   -   that the Company shall not be entitled to request more than one advance in any 10 day period; 

   -   the advance is limited to 200% of the volume weighted daily trading value for the 10 day trading period immediately prior to giving notice under the facility; and 

   -    that there is a constraint on holding greater than 2.99% of the issued share capital at any time or 0.99% in the event that Shanta Gold is itself under offer. 

Under the SEDA, YAGM agreed, at the request of the Company, to subscribe for new ordinary shares in the Company up to an aggregate amount equal to the Commitment Amount.  Subscriptions will be priced at 7% discount to the market price over the ten trading day period immediately after Shanta Gold notifies YAGM of a subscription request and will occur at such time and in such sizes as the Company may determine; subject to certain agreed limitations as contained in the SEDA.

For further information, please contact:

Shanta Gold Limited Tel:
Walton Imrie: +27 (0) 82 444 2851
Gareth Taylor: +255 (0) 757 732 484

Nominated Adviser and Broker
Fairfax I.S. PLC
Ewan Leggat / Laura Littley
Tel: +44 (0) 207 598 5368

Financial Relations
Tavistock Communications
Emily Fenton/Ed Portman
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7920 3150

Charmane Russell/Marion Brower/Pam Woltenholme
Russell & Associaties
Tel: + 27 11 880 3924

26 January 2012

Shanta Gold Limited

Notice of EGM

Shanta Gold Limited ("Shanta Gold" or "the Company") announces that further to the announcement dated 6 Janurary 2012, it has today posted to shareholders the notice of extraordinary general meeting ("EGM") to be held at 10.00 a.m. on 15 February 2012 at Suite A, St Peter Port House, Sausmarez Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey GY1 2PU.

The purpose of the EGM is to secure Shareholder approval for the Board's proposal to increase the Company's authorised share capital.

The Board does not currently intend to raise further funding through the issue of equity in the Company. However, if approved by Shareholders, the increase in the authorised share capital of the Company will allow Shanta Gold to fulfil any obligations which may arise under existing agreements. In addition, it will also give the Board the ability to continue to incentivise and motivate the Company's employees and executives through the issue of options, and the flexibility to act in the interests of Shareholders should attractive investment, merger or acquisition opportunities arise.

The full notice of EGM and Form of Proxy is available for download on the Company's website (www.shantagold.com) along with a letter to Shareholders, which sets out the background to and resons for convening the EGM.

Contact details:

Shanta Gold Limited  
Walton Imrie   Tel: +27 (0) 82 444 2851
Gareth Taylor   Tel: +255 (0) 757 732 484

Nominated Adviser and Broker  
Fairfax I.S. PLC
Tel: +44 (0) 207 598 5368
Ewan Leggat / Laura Littley

Financial Relations
Tavistock Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7920 3150
Emily Fenton/Ed Portman