Update on Elliott loan facility

Update on Elliott loan facility

Avocet Mining PLC ('Avocet' or the 'Company') announces that the loan amount of approximately US$15.8 million (including accrued interest) owed to an affiliate of the Company's largest shareholder, Elliott Associates, has not been repaid by the maturity date of 31 December 2013.

The Company, which announced that it had initiated a business review on 20 December 2013, has today paid the accrued interest of approximately US$0.8 million and, in the context of the business review, remains in discussions with the Elliott lender about repayment of the US$15 million principal amount.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Avocet Mining PLC ('Avocet' or the 'Company') is an unhedged gold mining and exploration company listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: AVM.L) and the Oslo Børs (ticker: AVM.OL). The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration in West Africa.

In Burkina Faso the Company owns 90% of the Inata Gold Mine. The deposit at Inata currently comprises a Mineral Resource of 4.7 million ounces. The Inata Gold Mine poured its first gold in December 2009 and produced 135,189 ounces of gold in 2012.

Other assets in Burkina Faso include eight exploration permits surrounding the Inata Gold Mine in the broader Bélahouro region. The most advanced of these projects is Souma, some 20 kilometres from the Inata Gold Mine, where there is a Mineral Resource estimate of 0.8 million ounces.

In Guinea, Avocet owns 100% of the Tri-K Project in the north east of the country. Drilling to date has outlined a Mineral Resource of 3.0 million ounces, and in October 2013 the Company announced a maiden Ore Reserve on the oxide portion of the orebody, which is suitable for heap leaching, of 0.5 million ounces. Development of a CIL processing plant to exploit the remaining 2.4 million ounces will also be considered.