LEFA Mine – overview

LEFA is our gold mining operation in Guinea. It derives its name from its two material pits – Lero-Karta and Fayalala. Crew Gold acquired the LEFA Project in Guinea in 2005 when it purchased Guinor Gold Corporation.

Commercial production at LEFA started in July 2008. However the poor state of the second-hand plant meant that an extensive upgrade and refurbishment program was required to consistently achieve the high levels of production targeted. The major part of this refurbishment was completed in the third quarter of 2009 and since then the project’s production results have fulfilled management’s high expectations and the upward trend is likely to continue into 2010 and beyond.

The latest resource and reserve estimates for LEFA (dated 31 August 2009) place it firmly among the ranks of a world-class gold deposit.

On 28 January 2010, we announced that Endeavour Financial Luxembourg SARL had purchased 37.9% of Crew Gold’s issued and outstanding common shares in a market transaction. This investment signals that the market fully shares our confidence in LEFA and – equally as important – strengthens Crew’s ability to derive value from its Guinean operation and exploration projects.