Atalaya Mining Regulatory News (ATYM)

AIM: EMED TSX: EMD 23 December 2010

Issue of Share Options

The Board of EMED Mining Public Limited ("EMED Mining" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that in accordance with the Company incentive share option program, it has allocated 11,250,000 share options to Board and Management. Approval for the grant of such options has already been received from shareholders.

The incentive share options expire four years from the date of issue and have been allocated at an exercise price of 12 pence based on a 20% premium over the weighted average share price from 15 November 2010 to the close of trading on 20 December 2010.

The 11,250,000 share options have been allocated as per the table below.

In addition to the beneficial holdings listed above, Dr Bhappu is a principal of substantial shareholder Resource Capital Funds and Mr Mehra is Managing Director of substantial shareholder MRI Trading.

The Company now has an aggregate of 70,794,334 options on issue to Board and Management of which 15,200,000 were issued in the past in compensation for reduced salary during the global financial crisis. The balance of 55,594,335 have been issued as options within the incentive program and now represent 5.9 % of fully-diluted shares on issue and 7.9 % of ordinary shares on issue.

EMED Mining Chairman Ronnie Beevor said: "The incentive share option program is an integral part of the Company's program for attracting and retaining the highest quality of personnel - especially important during the early, formative years of organisation development.

"The Board and Remuneration Committee is pleased to report that, in accordance with policy at the time of the initial AIM IPO in 2005, the aggregate number of incentive options on issue has been reduced as a percentage of fully-diluted shares on issue from a level of 20% to a level of under 10% as the Company has grown from an initial fully-diluted market capitalisation of approximately £4 million to exceed £100 million.

"The Company's policy is to now place a greater emphasis on a short term incentive program which focuses on key organisational performance indicators."

Enquiries

Notes to Editors: About EMED Mining Public Limited

EMED Mining was admitted to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in May 2005 and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange on 20 December 2010. The Company is committed to responsible development of metal production in Europe, with a focus on copper, gold and critical raw materials.

The Group's region of interest is the tectonic belts spanning across Europe and over to the Middle East. The strategy is to evaluate exploration and development opportunities in several jurisdictions throughout this quality mineral belt and to promote sustainable development practices through the implementation of European Union and other international standards. The Company strictly implements its Environmental & Community Policies.

EMED Mining is focused on two key projects in Spain and Slovakia with excellent potential to add significant value:

Copper in Spain: The copper-mining district of Spain is probably among the best known in the world for its metal endowment. The Company's first priority is to commence production of its wholly-owned Rio Tinto Mine which is the largest metal deposit in Spain and contains a fully installed and maintained operational complex - an open pit mine, copper-concentrator and waste disposal facilities.

Gold in Slovakia: The Company has made a significant gold discovery at Biely Vrch and is advancing planning and permitting for its potential development.

EMED Mining has the following other notable earlier-stage activities:

·; Exploration licences in the copper-mining districts of Cyprus;

·; An option over a tungsten deposit in Portugal; and

·; A 20% shareholding in KEFI Minerals Plc which operates exploration joint ventures in Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

For further information on the Company's activities, visit www.emed-mining.com or www.emed.tv