Bluejay Regulatory News (JAY)

FinnAust Mining plc / EPIC: FAM / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

25 February 2014

FinnAust Mining plc ('FinnAust' or 'the Company')

Finnish Project Portfolio Drilling Update

FinnAust Mining plc is pleased to provide an update on activities across its Finnish copper, zinc and nickel project portfolio following the Company's admission to AIM in December 2013 and its £3.4m fundraising. Three high-priority target areas have been identified by the Company: Hammaslahti; Outokumpu; and Enonkoski with exploration to date focussed on the Hammaslahti and Outokumpu Copper projects in Southern Finland.

Overview:

Outokumpu Copper project

· Commenced an on-ice lake drilling programme at Lake Juojärvi to test a very large (>5km) geophysical and geological area proximal to the old Outokumpu Copper Mines (1914-1988 produced 34.4Mt @ 3.6% copper)

· At least six holes planned as part of this phase of the drilling

· Exploring for Outokumpu-style massive copper and polymetalic mineralisation on a >5km completely untested section of the Outokumpu Belt

Hammaslahti project

· Drilling intended to follow up on massive sulphide mineralisation at Hammaslahti, in 2012 deep drill programme, put on hold so the Company can capitalise on favourable ice conditions to conduct ice lake drilling programme at Lake Juojärvi. Will recommence once Lake Juojärvi ice drilling complete in late March

· Thus far eight diamond drill holes for 1,668m have been completed on three regional geophysical targets between 500m and 800m east and south-east of the Hammaslahti open pits and selected core intervals have been dispatched for assay

· Whilst no lengthy massive sulphide mineralisation has been intersected to date at these outlying targets, FinnAust's geologists believe the minor mineralisation visible in these holes indicates that massive sulphide mineralisation may exist in greater quantities to the east of the open pits - drilling will test this later in the programme

· A total of 111.6 line km of geophysical ground slingram electromagnetic survey work was conducted east and north of the old Hammaslahti copper mine (74.2 line km) and over the Pärnä prospect (37.4 line km) and approximately 5km south of the old Hammaslahti copper mine

· Highly ranked targets 500m north and up to 5km south of the open pit area have yet to be drilled - this programme will recommence when ice drilling campaign is complete

· A single pilot hole as part of the Hammaslahti deep drill programme has been drilled to 172m in order to extend the high grade mineralisation intersected in 2012 - the plan is to extend this to 700m when ice drill programme completed

· The deep drilling programme has been designed to follow up on high grade copper and gold results up to 3.4m @ 11.5% Cu and 3g/t Au received from testing down plunge extensions during a 2012 campaign

FinnAust Executive Director Alastair Clayton said, "With conditions now suitable to conduct an on-ice lake drilling programme at Lake Juojärvi near Outokumpu, one of three FinnAust projects located in a highly prolific geological belt, we have moved the drill rig from Hammaslahti to test this previously unexplored 5km long geophysical target.

"On completion of this on-ice drill campaign, our high impact shallow regional and deep drilling programme at Hammaslahti will recommence to test extensions to and structural repeats of the Hammaslahti mine sequence. Previous drilling returned excellent results including 3.4m @ 11.5% copper and 3 g/t gold down plunge, demonstrating the high grade nature of the mineralisation in this area. With our most highly ranked targets yet to be drilled, we believe that 2014 will continue to be a busy and exciting year for the Company."

As outlined in its Admission Document, if the lake conditions became favourable the Board intended to take advantage of this and undertake an on-ice lake drilling programme at the Outokumpu Copper Project. Favourable conditions have materialised at Lake Juojärvi and accordingly, the Company constructed a 5km ice road and commenced a circa 2,500m campaign, envisaged to be comprised of six holes. This is focussed on testing a very large geophysical and geological area proximal to the old Outokumpu Copper mines which previously produced 34.4Mt @ 3.6% Cu between 1914 and 1988.

The Hammaslahti Copper Project is located in southern Finland and includes a previously mined Copper-Gold-Zinc orebody interpreted to be a Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ('VMS') type deposit. Historically, mining initially commenced at several open pits, followed by an underground mine to a depth of approximately 450m. Mining ceased in the mid-1980s due to depressed metals prices.

In mid-December 2013, FinnAust commenced drilling at Hammaslahti. This was conducted as part of its 10,300m 11 month rolling drilling campaign focussed across its three high-priority copper-gold and nickel-copper-PGE projects, Hammaslahti, Outokumpu and Enonkoski.

At Hammaslahti, the FinnAust exploration team considers both the wider area around the mine and the down plunge extensions of the known orebody to be under-explored and in some cases, completely untested. In 2012 the Company drilled to test the down plunge extensions to the previously mined orebody and intersected high grade copper ('Cu') and gold ('Au') mineralisation including 3.4m @ 11.5% Cu and 3 g/t Au.

With this in mind, the Company is focussed on undertaking follow up drilling and exploration of regional targets to delineate further high-grade copper and gold mineralisation over the next 18 months. Numerous regional targets located between 500m and 5km from the previously mined area have been identified through a combination of advanced airborne and ground-based geophysics. They are believed to demonstrate the potential to find near surface mineralisation similar to that previously mined in open pits at Hammaslahti. In turn, the original Hammaslahti drill programme detailed above has been put on hold and its previous activities will recommence when the on-ice lake drilling programme is complete.

With eight holes already completed for 1,668m on three geophysical areas between 500m and 800m east and southeast of the Hammaslahti open pits, and numerous holes planned as part of this drilling phase, the Company is pleased to report that the plan outlined above is being executed on time and on budget. Importantly, selected core intervals have been prepared and dispatched for assay. Where visual mineralisation was noted in drill core, predominantly disseminated Cu and zinc sulphide minerals have been identified with rare more massive sulphide mineralisation in veins and veinlets in several locations. FinnAust's geologists believe that these holes provide a good indicator that massive sulphide mineralisation may exist in greater quantities to the east of the open pits and drilling will follow up to test this assumption later in the programme.

A single pilot hole aimed at extending the high grade mineralisation intersected in 2012 has been drilled to 172m. It has now been plugged for re-entry at the appropriate time. Once drilled to approximately 700m, this pilot hole will allow for multiple directional splays to test the mineralisation further. This method is used to reduce overall drill costs.

Competent Person's Statement

The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Mr. Urpo Kuronen, Chief Operating Officer of the Company, who is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Mr. Kuronen has sufficient experience, relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking, to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. In accordance with the AIM Rules for Companies, Mr. Kuronen has reviewed this announcement and also consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

**ENDS**

For further information please visit www.finnaust.com or contact:

Notes

FinnAust is an AIM listed exploration company focused on copper and base metals in Finland and Austria. Its proven management team, with its track record of exploring, discovering, financing, constructing and safely operating mines globally, has established a portfolio of highly prospective projects at various stages of development. Finland is rated the number one mining destination worldwide in the Fraser Institute Global Mining Survey Results 2012/2013.

The Company's primary focus of exploration is a portfolio of assets in Finland. Three high-priority target areas have already been identified, Hammaslahti, Outokumpu and Enonkoski, which are prospective for Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ('VMS'), high-grade magmatic sulphide nickel-copper and Outokumpu type copper deposits. The assets are located in one of the world's most prolific geological belts, which hosts multiple high grade mines including the world famous Outokumpu copper mines, which reportedly produced a total of approximately 34.4 million tonnes of ore at average grades of 3.6% copper, 1.2% zinc, 0.22% cobalt and 0.1% nickel between 1914 and 1988.

FinnAust also holds an 80% interest in the previously producing 33 km sq Mitterberg Copper Project in Austria, which the Company is currently evaluating in order to determine the best plan for future development.