Atalaya Mining Regulatory News (ATYM)

EMED MINING QUARTERLY OPERATIONAL UPDATE

19 July 2011

EMED Mining Public Limited (AIM: EMED, TSX: EMD) ("EMED Mining" or "the Company"), the Europe-based minerals development and exploration company, announces today the following operational update for the three-month period ended 30 June 2011. The full Quarterly Report, including consolidated Financial Statements and the Management Discussion and Analysis, will be issued on or before 12 August 2011.

Key Points

Harry Anagnostaras Adams, Managing Director of EMED Mining, commented:

"In Spain, we are continuing to forge a strong relationship with the Junta de Andalucia ("Andalucian Government") regarding the restart of the Rio Tinto Copper Mine. On 4 July the Departments of Industry and Environment requested that the Company expand its formal documentation by 1 September, to reflect the package of responses it had given in May to the regulatory requests and conditions set out in April. So the regulatory process certainly appears to be in 'implementation mode'.

"Technical exchanges with the regulators are constructively dealing with matters requiring further clarification so that formalised details can indeed be finalised and to minimise the risk that fresh issues arise.

"On the whole, it appears that current progress remains consistent with completing critical permitting stages in 2011, formal access to all required project lands in mid-2012 and commissioning in late 2012. We advance concurrently the preparation of tender documentation and the plans for debt financing. We have also identified the second potential development project at Rio Tinto, the San Dionisio underground mine.

"In Slovakia, we are progressing the Mining Lease application for our planned open pit gold mine and we are in the process of drilling deeper to test further potential. We have confirmed continuous mineralisation to over 600 metres depth.

"In Portugal, we have started drilling the Regua Tungsten Deposit which we have under option to acquire.

"Associated company KEFI Minerals has been awarded its first minerals licence in Saudi Arabia."

Rio Tinto Copper Mine - Spain

As previously reported:

·; In May 2011, the Andalucían Department of Culture and Heritage issued its formal approval. Regulatory requests and conditions were set out in January 2011 and informal communications facilitated eventual sign-off of formalised final documentation.

·; In April 2011, the other two regulatory departments (Industry and Environment) set out their final requests and conditions on technical, economic and social aspects, following the Industry Minister's clearance of all the legal legacy issues in March 2011. The Company submitted its comprehensive package of responses to these requests in May 2011.

On 4 July 2011, the Departments of Industry and Environment informally requested formalisation by 1 September 2011 of the Company's responses emphasising the following aspects which are additional to the project designed, documented and submitted by the Company in mid-2010:

o Restoration to include the extra land the Andalucían Government has requested to be included within the project - land that is mostly contaminated, zoned for mining and is integral to environmental management and potential expansion plans. Some of the land is owned by third parties and requires acquisition or expropriation.

o Water management to cover the extra land and to comply with newly-formulated river-management policies and to prevent discharges to the Odiel River by increasing water recycling through the ore-treatment process, using an abandoned pit for surge capacity during abnormal rainfall and expanding water treatment capacity.

o Minimum Earnings by personnel during a temporary suspension of operations.

o Sustainability programs, including items such as:

§ earliest commencement of Government-sponsored personnel training;

§ earliest commencement of a major exploration program;

§ commitment to research and development for ore-processing techniques including the processing of polymetallic ores; and

§ launch of the Foundation for Economic Diversification once production commences - to support the Government's planned industrial park in the area and other non-mining related economic activities, including the already-sponsored creation of independent laboratory services and heritage-focused tourism schemes.

·; Underground mining potential identified at the San Dionisio deposit near the planned Rio Tinto open pit which is, itself, of potential Company-making scale. Without considering the upside exploration potential, the known mineralisation at San Dionisio compares favourably with similar deposits currently being mined at other underground mines in the Iberian Pyrite Belt.

·; At current copper prices of approximately US$4.35/lb, the Rio Tinto Copper Mine's projected net operating cash flow will present an opportunity to quickly achieve profitability at the same time as pursuing opportunities for rapid growth within the Iberian Peninsula and elsewhere in the European region, from the operating headquarters in Rio Tinto

Detva Gold Project - Slovakia

·; The first of two planned deep drill holes at the Biely Vrch deposit was consistently mineralised from surface to a depth of 652m, averaging 0.72g/t gold over that interval and included several higher grade zones.

·; EMED Mining is progressing feasibility work, community consultation, environmental studies, and the approvals required for the proposed open-pit mine at Biely Vrch producing ~60,000 ounces of gold per year at an average cash cost of ~US$530/ounce.

EMED Mining is committed to building Europe's premier mining company through the responsible development of metal production, with an initial focus on copper, gold and critical raw materials.

The strategy is to evaluate and prioritise metal production opportunities in several jurisdictions throughout the well-known belts of base and precious metal mineralisation in the European region.

In Spain, the Company's Rio Tinto Copper Mine provides an excellent opportunity to bring a large copper mine back into production at a relatively low total cost as it already has an established open-pit mine, processing plant and other infrastructure.

In Slovakia, the Biely Vrch deposit at the Company's Detva Gold Project is a potential greenfields development of an open-pit gold mine.

EMED Mining has earlier-stage activities in Cyprus and Portugal, as well as via 19%-owned associate KEFI Minerals which operates early-stage exploration joint ventures in Turkey and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where it was recently granted its first exploration licence.

EMED Mining is managed by a well-qualified, multi-cultural team drawn initially from Australia and the Americas and is now mainly comprised of Spanish citizens. The main priority for the short term is to safely and efficiently start copper production at the Rio Tinto Mine once EMED Mining has completed the regulatory approval process, financed the start-up and obtained shareholder approval.

EMED Mining, via its wholly-owned subsidiary EMED Tartessus, owns 100% of the Rio Tinto Copper Mine in Andalucía, Spain.

Significant permitting breakthroughs have recently been made, with the Andalucían Government confirming that the project's legal legacy issues have been overcome and also setting conditions for permitting. The recent election results have also reinforced to all political parties in Andalucía the potential value that the Rio Tinto restart offers towards reducing local unemployment. Detailed dicussions with the regulatory authorities are constructively dealing with residual issues, targeting to obtain this year the critical permits required to trigger the next stage of the planned start-up.

As detailed in a NI 43-101 Technical Report1, key anticipated production parameters for the Rio Tinto Copper Mine are:

·; Ramp-up to a 9 million tonne per annum ("tpa") throughput over a two-year period;

·; Open-pit mine with average waste-to-ore strip ratio of 1.1 to 1;

·; Contained copper-in-concentrate averaging ~37,000 tpa;

·; Average cash costs of C1 = US$1.37/lb (cash operating costs ) and C3 = US$1.57/lb (total costs including operating, capital and closure costs);

·; Measured and Indicated Resources = 203 million tonnes at 0.46% copper, containing 933,000 tonnes of copper (inclusive of Ore Reserves);

·; Ore Reserves = 123 million tonnes at 0.49% copper, containing 606,000 tonnes of copper; and

·; Mine life > 14 years.

Key Spanish trade unions, employer groups and political parties have been supporting the Company's representations to the government and its instrumentalities.

EMED Mining is now focused on completing permitting, commencing production and then optimising and expanding the operations and mine life.

1 Behre Dolbear International Ltd report entitled “Amended and Restated NI 43-101 Technical Report on Reopening the Rio Tinto Copper Mine, Huelva Province, Spain” dated November 17, 2010, which is available under EMED Mining’s corporate profile at www.sedar.com

Steps to Restart Copper Production

The key steps to restarting copper production at the Rio Tinto Copper Mine are briefly summarised as follows:

·; Conditional regulatory approval of the expanded environmental restoration plan;

·; Administrative Standing, approval of the basic project and triggering formal procedures for occupation of third party lands which are zoned for mining and now form part of the planned project, particularly from an environmental management and rehabilitation viewpoint;

·; The Company has requested that, if and when further regulatory deliberation is required on any material technical matters leading to Administrative Standing or approval of the basic project, the Company'scomprehensive and independently reviewed technical reports also be referred to the Spanish national technical review institutes for specialist expert comment;

·; Commencement of personnel training programs and drilling programs for extending mine life;

·; Formal approval of the proposed final project, taking into account reports to the Government by independent review agencies along with the outcome of formal public viewing;

·; Shareholder and financier approvals of the final project;

·; Triggering the six-month restart project execution program, upon receipt of formal land access rights;

·; Appointment and induction of the workforce and contractors once formalised access to relevant 3rd party lands is completed;

·; Construction permits and operating licences to be issued as project execution proceeds and commissioning is carried out;

·; Eighteen-month ramp-up of production to the base case rate of processing 9 million tpa of ore and 37,000 tpa copper-in-concentrate; and

·; Concurrent assessment of project extension or expansion opportunities, based largely on the results of drilling in the vicinity of the existing open pit and underground mines.

The restart is expected to be relatively straightforward from an operational perspective, with an established infrastructure and processing facility that can be readily restarted, albeit with aspects to be updated to incorporate mining industry improvements that have been developed over the past 20 years.

EMED Mining is continuing with project engineering plant repair programs so that site works can commence by the end of 2011 and production can commence as early as possible in 2012, depending upon the timing of project permitting, formalised access rights to adjoining lands, finance and shareholder approval.

Funding

The estimated funding required to start copper production at the Rio Tinto Copper Mine aggregates to approximately US$103 (€82) million plus insurances and other anticipated undertakings to the Government which are being finalised over the coming months. These additional undertakings can be quantified and estimated after completion of the current discussions with regulatory authorities.

EMED Mining is progressing discussions with its financiers so that funding arrangements can be finalised as soon as permitting conditions are clarified.

Underground Mine Potential at San Dionisio

Detailed geological investigations on zones outside the bounds of current development plans have identified significant underground potential in several areas. One of these zones now presents a second important potential mine development opportunity at the Rio Tinto Copper Mine - the San Dionisio underground deposit, which has the potential to complement current production plans.

EMED Mining intends to undertake further work to investigate the development potential of San Dionosio and allow a NI43-101 resource to be reported, as soon as permitting for the project allows.

In 1993 the Chief Geologist of the then-operator Rio Tinto Minera SA (an associate of Rio Tinto Plc) reported part of the San Dionisio deposit (the Alfredo Stockwork) as containing "geological resources" (non 43-101 compliant) of 17.2 million tonnes at 1.45% copper (using a cut-off grade of 0.6% copper), containing approximately 250,000 tonnes of copper. Based on EMED Mining's detailed investigation of over 1,000 drill holes and underground sampling data (the data has now been digitised and initial block models prepared), the Company has concluded that the previously reported tonnage is worthy of assessment for modern mine development and is part of a much larger zone of mineralisation worthy of investigation within the context of today's industry economics.

San Dionisio is one of the underground deposits located adjacent to the Cerro Colorado open pit which forms the basis for the Company's current reported mineral resources and ore reserves. Without considering exploration potential, the known mineralisation at San Dionisio compares favourably with similar deposits currently being mined at other underground mines in the Iberian Pyrite Belt.

This reported historical "geological resource" inventory cannot be considered a mineral resource or a mineral reserve under CIM guidelines as economic parameters used to derive the estimates do not reflect accurately the current economics of exploiting this deposit. Furthermore, procedures and data used have not been reviewed and therefore cannot be classified as a mineral resource under Canadian Securities Administrators NI 43-101 guidelines until verified by a Qualified Person. In all cases, there is insufficient documentation that would allow classification of these historic resource estimates into the categories as currently defined by CIM guidelines. Accordingly the Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves as defined in NI 43-101; and the historical estimate should not be relied upon.

As soon as regulatory permitting allows, EMED Mining plans to undertake a thorough verification program of historical data in order to advance the deposit to declaration of resources at San Dionisio in compliance with NI 43-101 guidelines. The appropriate cut-off grade for the next stage of resource evaluation will also need to be assessed and determined from first principles.

Outlook

The Government is actively engaging with the Company so as to expedite wherever reasonable the required approvals to restart the project. That process is taking into account all regulatory requirements for the responsible development and operation of the Rio Tinto Copper Mine.

The global shortage of copper underpins a strong long-term outlook for copper prices, which have recently been setting record prices and have traded at greater than US$4.00/lb since early December 2010. At current copper prices of approximately US$4.35/lb, the Rio Tinto Copper Mine's projected net operating cash flow will present an opportunity to quickly achieve profitability at the same time as pursuing opportunities for rapid growth within the Iberian Peninsula and elsewhere in the European region, from the operating headquarters in Rio Tinto.

Significant potential has been identified to expand both project life and annual production. Drilling programs have been planned, in association with project engineering, to maximise the economic value-added.

The Detva Gold Project in Slovakia contains the Biely Vrch porphyry gold deposit that EMED Mining discovered by applying the latest exploration techniques in a prolific mining district.

EMED Mining is progressing towards the development of its 100%-owned Biely Vrch gold deposit, which contains Indicated Resources of 461,000 ounces (17.7 million tonnes at 0.81g/t gold) and Inferred Resources of 596,000 ounces (24.0 million tonnes at 0.77g/t gold).

A revised Scoping Study completed by AMC Consultants (UK) Ltd in June 2010 confirmed the attractive economics of developing a mine at Biely Vrch based on a gold price of US$1,000/ounce (currently ~US$1,400/ounce). The envisaged project has the following parameters:

·; Initial capital cost of ~US$64 million

·; 3 million tonne per annum, heap-leach operation;

·; Open-pit mine with average waste-to-ore strip ratio of 0.84 to 1;

·; Mine plan tonnage of 27.5 million tonnes at 0.86g/t gold, containing 756,000 ounces of gold;

·; Overall gold recoveries averaging 81%; and

·; Annual gold production of 60,000 ounces at an average C1 cash cost of ±US$530/ounce;

The Scoping Study is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorised as ore reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary assessment will be realised.

In November 2010, Behre Dolbear International Ltd completed the report entitled "Amended and Restated NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Biely Vrch Gold Deposit, Detva Licence Area in Slovakia" dated November 17, 2010.

Deep Drilling Program at Biely Vrch

During 2011, EMED Mining plans to complete two deep drill holes at Biely Vrch to test potential for underground mining beneath the planned open pit. Previous drilling has indicated that the Biely Vrch gold deposit widens and the grade strengthens below the planned open pit.

An initial deep drill hole was completed at Biely Vrch during the quarter and assays for the entire hole have recently been received.

Diamond drill hole DVE-51 was 761m long and inclined at 78 degrees to the north.

This drill holes at Biely Vrch was consistently mineralised from surface to a depth of 652m and averaged 0.72g/t gold over that interval. Several higher grade zones were intercepted:

·; 32m at 2.77g/t gold from 146m (within the planned pit);

·; 12m at 1.89g/t gold from 300m (below the planned pit); and

·; 32m at 1.40g/t gold from 462m (below the planned pit).

A second deep drill hole is now being drilled across the deposit in the opposite direction (north to south).

To view a diagram of Biely Vrch - schematic gold distribution on section 380,000 East - please click on the link at the end of the announcement.

Every previous drill hole within the deposit has been mineralised throughout its entire length to a maximum depth of 460m below surface (DVE-05). The previously reported Mineral Resource is constrained by a conceptual mine design as an open pit optimised at an assumed gold price of US$800/ounce and which extends to a depth of only 250m. Optimisation studies will be re-run at higher gold prices.

Previous drilling indicated that mineralisation at the Biely Vrch gold deposit is contained within a vertical pipe-shaped porphyry that measures approximately 350m north-south and 300m east-west. In some sections, the gold grade increases with depth and drill holes in the core of the deposit ended at 300m to 460m vertical metres in mineralisation with grades of more than 1.5g/t gold.

The consistent and broad nature of the gold mineralisation at Biely Vrch indicates the potential to develop a bulk-tonnage underground mine beneath the planned open pit. Additional higher grade tonnes at depth would assist the economics of developing an underground mine.

Detva Gold Project Permitting

In parallel with progressing the required permitting studies and approvals, EMED Mining is working towards reaching various agreements with local parties directly impacted by the development of Biely Vrch.

The permitting process for Biely Vrch has advanced to being granted Protective Deposit Status over the Biely Vrch gold deposit and the Company has applied for a Mining Lease.

EMED Mining and its environmental consultants are preparing the Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment for Biely Vrch.

The gold industry is now attracting increased support in European jurisdictions due to improvements in industry regulation and self-regulation over the past 20 years, the discovery of significant gold deposits in Europe, the realisation by European policy-makers that mineral development is integral to the responsible socio-economic management of the region and of course the strong global demand for many metals including gold.

EMED Mining continually evaluates opportunities to expand its gold arm and is currently focused on potentially complementary opportunities outside Slovakia.

In September 2010, EMED Mining obtained an exclusive option to acquire the Regua Tungsten Deposit which is located 400km north of Lisbon and 95km east of Porto. The deposit has not been previously mined and is located close to infrastructure with good road access.

EMED Mining has started evaluating the exploration potential, auditing the mineral resources, commencing a scoping study, assessing the prospects for permitting and has commenced initial drilling aimed at extending known mineralisation.

A resource estimate for Regua was reported in 2008 by ASX-listed Tamaya Resources (previous owner of the vendor, Iberian Resources Portugal Minerais Unipessoal LDA). However, EMED Mining is not yet in a position to issue a resource estimate for Regua under the NI 43-101 reporting standard.

The Regua Tungsten Deposit remains open laterally and at depth. There are reasonable prospects that further drilling will extend the known mineralisation.

Tungsten has been classified as a critical raw material by the European Commission, due to the tightness of global supply. The Iberian Peninsula has historically been one of the major sources of tungsten supply outside of China.

Information in this report as regards the Rio Tinto Mine that relates to Mineral Resource estimates is based on information compiled by Mr. Pat Stephenson, BSc (Geology) and Mr. Ron Cunneen, BSc (Geology), with Mr. Stephenson taking responsibility for the Mineral Resource estimates and Mr. Cunneen taking responsibility for the data on which the estimates are based.

Mr. Stephenson is Regional Manager, Vancouver and Principal Geologist with AMC Mining Consultants (Canada) Ltd and a full-time employee of that company. He is a Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Mr. Cunneen is Head of Exploration for EMED Mining and a full-time employee of that company. He is a Member of The Australian Institute of Geoscientists.

Information in this report as regards the Rio Tinto Mine that relates to Ore Reserve estimates is based on information compiled by Mr. Andy Robb, BSc (Mining Engineering). Mr. Robb is Principal Mining Consultant with AMC Consultants and a full-time employee of that company. He is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Mr. Stephenson, Mr. Cunneen and Mr. Robb have sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activities which they are undertaking to qualify as "Competent Persons" as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" ("JORC Code") and "Qualified Persons" as defined in the "National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators" ("NI 43-101") and "CIM Definition Standards For Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" of December 2005 as prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions of the Canadian Institute of Mining.

Mr. Stephenson, Mr. Cunneen and Mr. Robb consent to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.

Information in this report regarding the Rio Tinto Mine that relates to San Dionisio mineralisation is based on information compiled by the on-site geological team and overseen by Mr. Cunneen.

References in this report as regards the Mineral Resources or exploration results and potential in Slovakia, Cyprus or elsewhere have been approved for release by Mr. Ron Cunneen.

Certain information contained in this report, including any information on EMED Mining's plans or future financial or operating performance and other statements that express management's expectations or estimates of future performance, constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at the time, are subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties. EMED Mining cautions that such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual financial results, performance or achievements of EMED Mining to be materially different from the Company's estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in exploration and development of mineral properties, changes in economic conditions, changes in the worldwide price of gold and other key inputs, changes in mine plans and other factors, such as project execution delays, many of which are beyond the control of EMED Mining, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated 31 March 2011 which has been filed under the Company's corporate profile at www.sedar.com.

Nothing in this report should be construed as either an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or sell EMED Mining securities.

The collar location of drill hole DVE 51 is 380011E and 5379722N. The hole is inclined at 78 degrees with an azimuth of 0 degrees. The following table lists the assays received for each interval analysed to date.

EMED Mining is listed on AIM (Code: EMED) and the TSX (Code:EMD)

Enquiries:

Investors/Media: Harry Anagnostaras-Adams +357 9945 7843, Roger Howe +61 405 419 139

In North America : Andreas Curkovic +1 416-577-9927

General: Cyprus office: +357 2244 2705, Email: info@emed-mining.com

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