Polo Resources Limited Announces 2013 Results (Excerpt)

Hamilton, Bermuda – 19 December, 2013 – Polo Resources Limited ("Polo" or "the Company"; Tickers: AIM: POL and BSX: POL.BH), the natural resources exploration investment company with interests in oil and gas, gold, coal and iron ore, today announces its audited results for the 12 months ended 30 June 2013.

Financial Highlights

·         Polo reports net cash, receivables and short-term liquid investments totalled US$18.55 million at close of business at 17 December 2013, to fund working capital and ongoing investments , which Polo continues to review actively.

·         Net Asset Value per share at 17 December 2013 is approximately 32.30 pence per share

Operational Highlights

Signet Petroleum Limited

·         Polo currently has a 44.90 per cent equity interest in the independent African oil exploration company.

·         The process for assessing strategic alternatives is progressing well with a high level of participation from a broad spectrum of high quality potential bidders. The process, managed by First Energy Capital LLP and looking at strategic alternatives concerning Signet‟s African oil and gas asset portfolio, is contemplating a range of potential commercial outcomes at both the individual asset level and on a portfolio-wide basis.

Further announcements concerning Signet will be made in due course.

Nimini Holdings Limited

·         Nimini was awarded a large-scale Mining Licence in November 2012, for an initial 25-year period. That Licence covers the whole area (100 square kilometres) formerly held under the Nimini East and West exploration licences.

·         The Mineral Resource Estimate was updated as at June 2013 ("June 2013 MRE"), based on a minimum true width of 1 metre and a 2.4 grammes per tonne gold cut-off grade: Indicated Mineral Resources of 0.55 million ounces (3.6 Mt (million tons) at 4.69 grammes per tonne gold) and Inferred Mineral Resources of 0.34 million ounces (2.6 Mt at 4.08 grammes per tonne gold).

·         The June 2013 MRE resulted in a 21 per cent increase in Indicated Mineral Resources to 0.63 million ounces of gold (4.8 Mt at 4.06 grammes per tonne gold) at a 1.8 grammes per tonne cut-off grade and 60 per cent increase in Inferred Mineral Resources to 0.42 million ounces of gold (3.8 Mt at 3.47 grammes per tonne) at a 1.8 grammes per tonne cut-off, compared to the previous MRE carried out by SGS Canada Inc., in June 2012.

·         The June 2013 MRE provides a solid platform for a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). The date of publication of the PEA Press Release is in part dependent on the outcome of discussions with the Government of Sierra Leone regarding the fiscal terms that will apply to this project.

Michael Tang, Executive Chairman of Polo, said:

Having joined the Board of Polo in May 2013 we have continued to develop a portfolio of quality and challenging assets that had been acquired under the stewardship of Stephen Dattels and Neil Herbert.

“On behalf of our shareholders, I would like to thank Stephen and Neil for their success over the years and for establishing Polo as we know it today.

“Our business is focused on a group of core assets and I am committed to unlocking the portfolio's value as well as acquiring further undervalued and high potential assets for the Company."

About the Company

Polo Resources is a natural resources investment company focused on investing in undervalued companies and projects with strong fundamentals and attractive growth prospects. For further details on Polo Resources, including the full text of this release, please see the website: www.poloresources.com .

Chairman’s Statement

I am writing this statement following my appointment earlier this year to the board of Polo Resources Limited (“Polo”). During the year, Polo increased its investments in oil and gas and gold projects while maintaining support for its ongoing interests in the coal and iron ore investment sectors. Difficult market conditions prevailed throughout the period, but the Company ended the year in a strong position with US$24.9 million in cash and short-term investments. Polo‟s longer-term investments are positioned for future development in more favorable market conditions.

During the year we have seen a number of changes to the board of directors and I would like to thank all the previous directors of the Company who have left the current board with a mix of quality and challenging assets.

Oil and Gas

The Oil and Gas sector is currently the Company‟s major focus area, with three investments, namely Signet Petroleum Limited (“Signet”), Regalis Petroleum Limited (“Regalis”) and Equus Petroleum Plc (“Equus”). Signet, our key oil and gas investment, and largest investment in terms of asset value, has made progress with its projects in Tanzania and Namibia in particular. In Namibia, Signet continues to evaluate its majority owned and operated exploration acreage (Block 2914B), over which the company has a 75 per cent working interest. Having identified a potentially major structure (“Prospect A”) in Q4 2012, Signet has undertaken further interpretation of the 5,000 kilometres of 2D seismic data gathered in the first half of 2012 and has identified a number of highly prospective targets with potential to host commercial hydrocarbon deposits. Block 2914B remains the subject of intensive study and evaluation.

Elsewhere across the Signet portfolio, the company is looking to maximise value from its Mnazi Bay North, Tanzania licence, over which Signet holds an 80 per cent interest. Evaluation of 3D seismic data acquired in 2012 identified a potentially substantial up-dip extension of the BG/Ophir Chaza 1 discovery into the Mnazi Bay North licence area. The licence is proximate to the Maurel et Prom Mnazi Bay facility and the new gas pipeline being constructed from Mnazi Bay to Dar es Salaam. This highly prospective area offers opportunities for early development for the domestic market.

Signet reports that the strategic alternatives process, last commented on in Polo‟s announcement of 4th October 2013, is progressing well with a high level of participation from a broad spectrum of high quality potential bidders. The process, managed by First Energy Capital LLP and looking at strategic alternatives concerning Signet‟s African oil and gas asset portfolio, is contemplating a range of potential commercial outcomes, both at the individual asset level and on a portfolio-wide basis. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Regalis Petroleum, which holds a 70 per cent working interest in Block 2813B, Namibia, has acquired approximately 1,500 kilometres of 2D seismic data in 2012. Analysis is on-going and a number of potentially major hydrocarbon prospects have been identified.

Equus Petroleum is developing the Sarybulak oilfield, located within its 498-square kilometre licence in the oil producing South Turguay Basin, Central Kazakhstan, which has been under production since 2008. Production for H1 2013 averaged approximately 6,000 barrels of oil per day ("bopd") under natural flow conditions and is currently averaging approximately 8,000 bopd. Exploration drilling is underway and an application for a full production licence, including oil export rights, will be submitted later this year.

Gold

Nimini Holdings Limited (“Nimini”) reported encouraging results in its Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) filed in August 2013 and regional exploration is being undertaken which may in time add substantially to the size of the project.

Polo holds a 90 per cent interest in the Komahun Gold Project (“Komahun”) with the remaining 10 per cent being held by Plinian Guernsey Limited. Polo appointed Plinian Capital Limited as project operator in March 2012. The project, which covers a 100 square kilometre area and includes the former Nimini West and Nimini East exploration licences, was granted a 25-year Mining Licence in November 2012. 

In June 2013, Nimini completed an updated independent MRE for the Komahun Project. The MRE, undertaken by The MSA Group (Pty) Ltd, resulted in an Indicated Mineral Resource of 0.55 million ounces (Moz) (3.65 million tonnes (Mt) at a gold grade of 4.69 grammes per tonne (g/t)) and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 0.34 Moz (2.62 Mt at a gold grade of 4.08 g/t). The MRE, reported at a minimum true width of 1 metre and a cut-off grade of 2.4 g/t of gold, is restricted to potentially mineable Mineral Resources.

With its significant increase in Mineral Resources, the MRE provides a solid platform for the Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”), the technical inputs for which were completed in Q3 2013. The date of publication of the PEA is dependent on the finalisation of discussions with the Government of Sierra Leone regarding the fiscal terms that will apply to this project, which is targeted to be the first large-scale underground gold mine in Sierra Leone.

Iron Ore and Vanadium

Polo holds a 15.16 per cent interest in Ironstone Resources Limited (“Ironstone”), which is continuing its work on the definition of the process flowsheet for its Clear Hills Iron Ore/Vanadium project in Alberta, Canada. Good progress has been made at Hazen Research during the year and results have been most encouraging, although further work is required to define the commercial flowsheet fully.

Coal

Polo has a 27.8 per cent equity interest in GCM Resources Plc (“GCM”), which is advancing the development of the major Phulbari Coal Project in Northwest Bangladesh. Polo has continued to support GCM in its efforts to advance the project and in August 2013 participated in a placing initiated by GCM which secured further working capital.

I would like to thank all our shareholders for their continuing support.

__________________________

Michael Tang

Chairman & Managing Director

For further information, please contact:

Polo Resources Limited

Ian Burns, Finance Director                + 27 787 312 919

ZAI Corporate Finance Ltd (nominated adviser)

Ray Zimmerman, Peter Trevelyan-Clark, Steve Feng

+44 (0) 20 7060 2220

Liberum Capital

Tim Graham, Thomas Bective           +44 (0) 20 3100 2000

Blythe Weigh Communications

Tim Blythe, Halimah Hussain             +44 (0) 207 138 3204