PAN - Pan African Resources Plc - Ground-breaking event marks the start of

PAN - Pan African Resources Plc - Ground-breaking event marks the start of      
construction of Pan African`s Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant              
Pan African Resources PLC                                                       
(`Pan African` or the `Company`)                                                
Incorporated and registered in England and Wales under                          
Companies Act 1985 with registered number 3937466 on 25 February 2000           
AIM: PAF/JSE: PAN                                                               
ISIN: GB0004300496                                                              
4th April 2012                                                                  
Ground-breaking event marks the start of construction of Pan African`s          
Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant.                                           
Pan African has today commenced bulk earthworks for the construction of its     
Barberton Tailings Retreatment Plant ("BTRP"), to be constructed on the         
Barberton Property, adjacent to the current Bramber tailings dam.               
The commencement of bulk earthworks marks the start of the civil work that      
will entail bulk excavations for creating the terracing of the BTRP which will  
become the foundation for the mechanical construction of the Carbon-in-Leach    
tanks, scheduled to commence in June 2012.                                      
Management contractor firm, Basil Read-Matoma, which designed the plant and     
will procure and construct it, has established itself on site with a temporary  
office. The team will be on site for the next two years, until the              
commissioning of the plant, which is scheduled for April 2013, ramping up to    
full production in August 2013.                                                 
Jan Nelson CEO of Pan African Resources was on site to break ground and         
noted: "The beginning of construction on this plant resembles a mirror image    
of our successful Phoenix platinum project. The BTRP is no more complex than    
Phoenix but is a much larger scaled project and will enable 100 tons of feed    
an hour, compared to the current 30 tons an hour at Phoenix. We have the same   
highly skilled team from Basil Read-Matoma dedicated to this project who will   
work together with our management team at Barberton. I am therefore confident   
of the same outcome for a successful commissioning in April 2013."              
ENDS                                                                            
About the project                                                               
The BTRP comprises a total resource of 
654koz (13.7Mt @ 1.38g/t) and a         
reserve of 

248koz (13.7Mt @ 0.56g/t)                                           

The BTRP has been designed to treat 100,000 tons tailings per month through a   
Carbon in Leach circuit using electro-winning and smelting to produce a         
saleable product. Current tailings from the Fairview Concentrator and the       
Fairview BIOX( Registered) plant totalling 14,000 tons per month will be        
routed via a pipeline to the BTRP for treatment and 86,000 tons per month will  
be reclaimed from the Bramber tailings storage facility  .                      
The electric power requirement of 6000kW to the BTRP will be supplied via an    
overhead 11kV line from the South African electricity utility, Eskom.           
At a gold price of ZAR400,000 per kilogram Phase One of the project indicates   
an NPV of GBP27 million, at a total cash cost of ZAR194,000 per kilogram        
(ZAR114 per ton) over the life of the project. Capex is estimated at GBP27      
million (ZAR325 million) over a three year period. Phase One is expected to     
retreat 1.2 Mt of gold tailings per annum, with a total life of project         
production of 160, 000oz of gold at an average recovered grade of 0,54g/t.      
This would increase the annual production profile at Barberton by               
approximately 20,000 oz per annum.                                              
Enquiries                                                                       
South Africa                           UK                                       
Pan African Resources                  RBC Capital Markets                      
Jan Nelson, Chief Executive Officer    Martin Eales / James Kelly               
+27 (0) 11 243 2900                    +44 (0) 20 7029 7881                     
                                                                                
One Capital, JSE Sponsor               St James`s Corporate Services Limited    
Sholto Simpson / Megan Young /         Phil Dexter                              
Nicholas Tyler                         +44 (0) 20 7499 3916                     
+27 (0) 11 550 5000                                                             
Vestor Investor Relations              Gable Communications                     
Louise Brugman                         Justine James                            
+27 (0) 11 787 3015                    +44 (0) 20 7193 7463                     
Date: 04/04/2012 11:00:01 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za                     
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