Additional Positive Drilling Results at Souma

ADDITIONAL POSITIVE DRILLING RESULTS AT SOUMA

200,000m drill programme for next 9 months

Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") announces further positive results from scout drilling of several prospects on the Souma Trend in Bélahouro district, Burkina Faso. Highlights of high grade mineralised zones are summarised below and detailed in Table 1:

·; 8 metres down hole @ 9.42 g/t Au from 23 metres depth

·; 3m @ 21.9 g/t Au from 87 metres

·; 8m @ 9.42 g/t Au from 23 metres

·; 9m @ 5.52 g/t Au from 39 metres

·; 5m @ 8.48 g/t Au from 79 metres

·; 8m @ 5.04 g/t Au from 89 metres

·; 6m @ 8.07 g/t Au from 54 metres

·; 6m @ 6.02 g/t Au from 83 metres

The Souma Trend is a 16 kilometre long gold-in-soil anomaly located approximately 20 kilometres east-north-east of Avocet's Inata Gold Mine ("Inata"), which currently has Mineral Resources of 1.84 million ounces of gold. The recently completed airborne geophysical survey has shown that the Souma Trend is part of a larger 30 kilometre long structural corridor. Avocet controls eight exploration permits in the Bélahouro District surrounding Inata that cover a combined area of 1,660 square kilometres, including the Souma Trend and 30 kilometre long corridor.

On 10 August 2010 Avocet announced positive results from 55 scout drill holes (5,562 metres) at Dynamite Prospect, representing the initial phase of drilling on the Souma Trend. The results announced today are from an additional 127 scout drill holes (12,773 metres), evaluating the southern ten-kilometre portion of the Souma Trend to the south of Dynamite Prospect. Drilling has been conducted on 100-200 metre centres to an average depth of 100 metres. The northern portion of the Souma Trend is yet to be drilled.

This drilling has tested vein zones at the Miilam and Boulili Prospects as well as northeast-striking structures that cross the Trend and appear to focus mineralisation. Figure 1 in the version of this announcement which appears on the Company's web site shows a plan of the drill collars, the location of the Prospects, and significant drilling intercepts.

These results indicate that quartz veins comprising the 9 kilometre long Miilam Prospect are mineralised in three distinct segments: Miilam North (1300 metres long averaging 6 metres wide), Miilam Central (1600 metres long averaging 12 metres wide) and Miilam South (1200 metres long averaging 10 metres wide). The Miilam Prospect comprises veins that strike north-south to northwest and dip at 60-70 degrees to the west. Gold mineralisation is associated with massive quartz veins up to 20 metres wide. Significant intercepts at Miilam include:

Miilam North

·; 11m @ 1.36 g/t Au from 46 m depth in SRC0227;

Miilam Central

·; 8m @ 9.42 g/t Au from 23 m plus 9m @ 5.52 g/t Au from 39 m in SRC0162;

·; 5m @ 8.48 g/t Au from 79m in SRC0161;

·; 8m @ 5.04 g/t Au from 89m in SRC158;

Miilam South

·; 6m @ 8.07 g/t Au from 54m in SRC0263;

·; 6m @ 6.02 g/t Au from 83m in SRC0264; and

·; 7m @ 2.82 g/t Au from 69m in SRC0266.

The Boulili Prospect occurs in a parallel zone of quartz veining that occurs over a 5 kilometre strike length to the west of Miilam and south of Dynamite. In the south of Boulili gold mineralisation is hosted by narrow discontinuous quartz veins that become thicker and more continuous towards the north. Veining is focused along a sheared contact zone. Significant intercepts include 11m @ 2.29 g/t Au from 35 metres down hole depth in SRC0198 and 16m @ 1.33 g/t Au from 80m depth in SRC0202.

Drilling of the immediate granite contact did not intersect significant mineralisation. Drill testing of the north-east striking structures intersected 3m @ 21.9 g/t Au from 87 metres depth in SRC0283 suggesting that these structures focus high-grade mineralisation.

Avocet is currently reviewing the drilling results and will estimate an Inferred Mineral Resources compliant with NI43-101 and JORC Code (2004). The Company has awarded contracts for a 200,000 metres RC and diamond drilling programme that will focus on the targets in and around Inata that have been highlighted by the recent VTEM survey. Drill rigs are currently being mobilised to site and drilling is expected to commence by the end of September.

All references to Exploration Results have been reviewed and approved for release by Mr Peter Flindell (MAusIMM), Executive Vice President of Exploration for Avocet. Mr Flindell has more than 20 years experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration to qualify as a Competent Person as defined by the Australasian Code for the reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code 2004 Edition). He has consented to the inclusion of the technical information in this announcement in the form and context in which it appears.

Notes to Editors

Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") is a gold mining company listed on the AIM market of 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 Burkina Faso (as 90 per cent owner of the Inata gold mine), Malaysia (as 100 per cent owner of the Penjom gold mine, the country's largest gold producer) and Indonesia (as 80 per cent owner of the North Lanut gold mine and Bakan project in North Sulawesi).

The Company announced in May 2010 that it had initiated exploration within the Inata Mining Licence area and in the surrounding Bélahouro district with the objective of significantly increasing Inata's resource and reserve base as well as investigating the highly prospective Souma Trend, located 20 km from the Inata mill. The Company has a number of other advanced exploration projects in West Africa and South East Asia.

Background to operations

Inata has a resource of 1.84 million ounces and reserves of 932,000 ounces. Inata poured first gold in December 2009 and has now reached a production rate in excess of 11,000 ounces per month. Other assets in West Africa include exploration licences in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali (the most advanced being the Tri-K gold exploration project in Guinea with a resource of 666,500 ounces).

Penjom is Malaysia's largest gold mine and was developed by Avocet in an area of historic alluvial mining. The mine is located in Pahang State, approximately 120 km north of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur.

North Lanut in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, was developed by Avocet from the exploration stage and has produced over 270,000 ounces since it was commissioned in 2004. North Lanut is located within a Contract of Work, which includes exploration and mining rights over approximately 50,000 hectares in an area highly prospective for gold. Avocet holds an 80 per cent interest and an Indonesian company, PT Lebong Tandai, owns the remaining 20 per cent.

TABLE 1 - SUMMARY OF DRILLHOLE INTERCEPTS AT SOUTHERN SOUMA TREND