Acquisition of Frontier Licence

31 July 2012

Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC

Frontier Licence to be granted for US$101.5 million

London - Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC ('ENRC' or, together with its subsidiaries, the 'Group'), today announces that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ('DRC') has decided to grant ENRC's subsidiary Frontier Sprl ('Frontier') a new mining licence in respect of the Frontier mine for US$101.5 million. The new Frontier licence, which will be formally issued in the coming weeks, will provide feed for the Frontier processing plant that was acquired as part of the settlement with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. ('FQM'), which completed in March 2012.

Frontier is located near the town of Sakania in the DRC, within 2 kilometres of the Zambian border and approximately 70 kilometres from ENRC's Chambishi smelter. In addition to the licence area previously held by FQM at Frontier, the new licence will include adjacent areas, better conforming to the extent of the ore body. As of 31 December 2009 FQM publicly disclosed a total resource of 264 million tonnes at a grade of 1.17% copper for the Frontier licence within the boundaries defined at the time.

This is a significant transaction for ENRC, consolidating its position in the DRC and enabling it to commence operations at the Frontier processing plant. The addition of approximately 90 thousand tonnes per annum of copper production from Frontier is expected to add considerable value to ENRC's operations and expedite its plans to become a significant global copper producer. Given the additional capex now required to recommission Frontier, as well as required to complete the Kolwezi processing facility, ENRC is reviewing its copper and cobalt development priorities. An update on these development plans will be included in the Group's Half Year Results on 15 August 2012.

Felix Vulis, CEO of ENRC, said, "I am delighted that the DRC Government has decided to grant this licence to ENRC, thereby enabling us to progress operations on the site and, importantly, bringing employment and investment to the region."

Jean Felix Mupande Kapwa, Managing Director, Cadastre Minier, DRC: "We are fully satisfied to witness such achievement for this valued asset, devoted to reduce unemployment of thousands of Congolese in that area, where social and economical development completely rely on a sustainable operation of such a huge project."

-ENDS-

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About ENRC

ENRC is a leading diversified natural resources group, performing integrated mining, processing, energy, logistics and marketing operations. The operations comprise: the mining and processing of chrome, manganese and iron ore; the smelting of ferroalloys; the production of iron ore concentrate and pellet; the mining and processing of bauxite for the extraction of alumina and the production of aluminium; the production of copper and cobalt; coal extraction and electricity generation; and the transportation and sales of the Group's products. The Group's production assets are largely located in the Republic of Kazakhstan; other assets, notably the Other Non-ferrous Division, are mainly located in Africa; the Group also has iron ore assets in Brazil. The Group's entities in 2011 employed on average 77,441 (2010: 74,098) people. The Group currently sells the majority of its products to Russia, China, Japan, Western Europe and the United States. For the twelve months ended December 31 2011, the Group had revenue of US$7,705 million (2010: US$6,605 million) and profit attributable to equity holders of the Company of US$1,974 million (2010: US$2,185 million). ENRC has six operating Divisions: Ferroalloys, Iron Ore, Alumina and Aluminium, Other Non-ferrous, Energy and Logistics. ENRC is a UK company with its registered office in London. ENRC's shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange ('LSE') and the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange ('KASE'). For more information on ENRC visit the Group's website at www.enrc.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, 'forward-looking statements'. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms 'believes', 'estimates', 'plans', 'projects', 'anticipates', 'expects', 'intends', 'may', 'will', or 'should' or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward-looking statements include matters that are not historical facts or are statements regarding the Group's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the Group's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies, and the industries in which the Group operates. Forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections, and therefore too much reliance should not be placed upon them. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the Group's control. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. The Group cautions you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that if risks and uncertainties materialise, or if the assumptions underlying any of these statements prove incorrect, the Group's actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and the development of the industry in which the Group operates may materially differ from those made in, or suggested by, the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. In addition, even if the Group's results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and the development of the industry in which the Group operates are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in future periods. A number of factors could cause results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, general economic and business conditions, industry trends, competition, commodity prices, changes in regulation, currency fluctuations, changes in business strategy, political and economic uncertainty. Subject to the requirements of the Prospectus Rules, the Disclosure and Transparency Rules and the Listing Rules or any applicable law or regulation, the Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking publicly to review or confirm analysts' expectations or estimates or to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any changes in the Group's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast. The forward looking statements contained in this document speak only as at the date of this document.

A copy of this announcement will be available on ENRC's website at www.enrc.com.