NEW YORK, July 28, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Mayfair Mining & Minerals, Inc. (Pink Sheets:MFMM) (Frankfurt:M1M)(the "Company") is pleased to announce that it is expanding its interests and activities within the Southern African Development Community by the formation of a joint venture mining company in the country of Malawi, for the purpose of pursuing additional gemstone and metal mining licences.
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country encompassing 45,745 square miles bordered by Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique in south eastern Africa. It attained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and is ruled by a democratically elected government headed by President Bingu wa Mutharika in the capital of Lilongwe. Malawi's judicial system is based on the UK model. It's predominantly Christian population numbers 13.9 million people and the main industry is agriculture. The banking sector is monitored and regulated by the Reserve Bank of Malawi and there are no exchange controls or restrictions on the remittance of foreign investment funds.
The Company has formed a joint venture Company -- Mayfair Paul Malawi -- in partnership with a local gemstone mining entrepreneur, Paul Mlenga, who has extensive experience in the mining, valuation and marketing of a wide range of precious and semi-precious stones. The Company's first proposed mining project in Malawi is expected to augment its existing production of amethysts in Zambia. Mr. Mlenga has made an historical discovery of two large amethyst deposits, the first ever presence of amethyst discovered in this under-explored country. Mayfair Paul Malawi also intends to source, mine and market a myriad assortment of other semi-precious stones found to exist in Malawi, including -- Blue and Red Corundum, Rubies, Emeralds, Amazonite, Aquamarine, Rose Quartz, Sodalite and Rock Crystal. As part of the agreement with Mr. Mlenga, he will hold 15% of the equity in the joint venture company.
In meetings with the Directors of the Malawi Geological Survey Department, Mayfair management received a strong welcome as one of the first western mining companies to express interest in and apply for gemstone mining licences in Malawi.
Clive de Larrabeiti, CEO & President of Mayfair Mining & Minerals, Inc., stated, "We are very excited with the possibilities which exist for our junior mining company in this largely unexplored country. From this corporate springboard, we will seek to enlarge our holdings in Malawi to encompass activity and exploration for a diverse portfolio of minerals & metals. Recently, there has been a removal of government controls on foreign direct investment in the country aimed at liberalising and diversifying the economy of Malawi. This was previously dependent on agriculture, with tobacco topping the list of exported products. The Government of Malawi is actively encouraging mining companies such as Mayfair with incentives intended to diversify the economy's reliance on agriculture and address the largely undeveloped mining sector. Since Malawi is as yet a largely unexplored country, the geology to date has not been fully documented. We believe the geological and gemmological expertise of the management of Mayfair, including management's familiarity with doing business on the African Continent, bode well for the Company's future in this country."
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Clive de Larrabeiti CEO & President
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
This news release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to achieving corporate objectives, developing additional project interests, the Company's analysis of opportunities in the acquisition and development of various mining project interests and certain other matters. These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements contained herein. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Words such as "will," "anticipates," "believes," "plans," "goal," "expects," "future," "intends" and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including the risks described in this press release. Such risks include, but are not limited to terrorist activities that may affect our business or the economy in general; lack of success in mining activities; the prices of metals and gemstones; lack of funds to conduct mining activities; increase in costs of production; changes in governments, laws, rules and regulations; and similar risks. For further information about the Company, please refer to its materials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov