2016 First Quarter Production Update

 2016 first quarter production update

Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") today announces production and cash costs for the first quarter of 2016 from the Inata gold mine.

· Total gold production at Inata for the quarter was 20,528 ounces at a cash cost of US$925 per ounce, compared with 17,379 ounces produced in the fourth quarter of 2015 at a cash cost of US$1,094 per ounce

· Full year gold production guidance for 2016 is between 75,000 and 85,000 ounces

Production in the first quarter benefitted from a period of treating cleaner ores, which enabled higher recoveries to be achieved (91% compared with an average of 67% for 2015).

Throughput also improved, with 544k tonnes processed in Q1 2016 compared with 509k tonnes in the previous quarter, and an average of 466k tonnes per quarter in 2015. The head grade of 1.21g/t was similar to the previous quarter of 1.22g/t.

As a result, total production increased by 18% to 20,528 ounces, which also meant that cash costs were lower at US$925 per ounce, down from US$1,094 per ounce in Q4 2015, and US$1,058 per ounce for the full year 2015.

A life of mine plan for Inata is currently being prepared, however production for 2016 is expected to be between 75,000 and 85,000 ounces.

Very regrettably, a lost-time injury (LTI) was incurred during the quarter when a maintenance operative suffered severe lacerations to his lower arm caused by the discharge of high pressure grease whilst working on an excavator. This is the first LTI since September 2013.

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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 Inata Gold Mine poured its first gold in December 2009 and produced 74,755 ounces of gold in 2015. Other assets in Burkina Faso include five 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.

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. As an alternative, the potential exists to exploit the entire 3.0 million ounce Tri-K orebody via the CIL processing method. An exploitation permit was awarded for Tri-K on 27 March 2015.

Appendix 1

Inata Gold Mine quarterly production information 2015-16