Approval of Acceleration of Bulyanhulu Upper East Zone

24 April 2014 African Barrick Gold plc (the "Company" or "ABG") Approval of Acceleration of Bulyanhulu Upper East Zone Next step in optimising production levels at Bulyanhulu Will generate additional production averaging 60koz per annum First ore expected in 2014, minimal upfront capital required ABG is pleased to announce that the Board has approved the next step in theoptimisation of Bulyanhulu through the acceleration of mining of the Upper EastZone. The development of this area will require additional 2014 capital ofapproximately US$15 million, with initial production from the zone expectedwithin 3 months. The area is expected to produce 1.7 million ounces of gold,averaging 60,000 ounces per annum over a life in excess of 25 years at all-insustaining costs of below our target run rate for Bulyanhulu for year-end 2015of US$900 per ounce. Commenting on the news, CEO Brad Gordon said: "One of our key aims for thisyear is to demonstrate the potential that exists at Bulyanhulu and to ensurethat the production base is more representative of the scale of the reservebase. We are in the process of commissioning the CIL Expansion at the mine,which together with the acceleration of the Upper East Zone and the mined gradeimprovement provides a clear path to increasing annualised production levels atBulyanhulu to over 350,000 ounces per annum by the end of 2015." Long Section of grade (g/t Au) x metres plot of Reef 1 highlighting the UpperEast Zone: See www.africanbarrickgold.com for picture Background: Bulyanhulu is a world class high grade underground mine with reserves of 9.1Mozat a grade of 9.5g/t Au and further resources of 6.2Moz at 11.6g/t Au . A coreelement of ABG's strategy for the mine is to bring production rates more intoline with the scale of the resource base and therefore we are targetingincreasing production from 2013 levels of under 200,000 ounces to 350,000ounces per annum by the end of 2015. We have a three pronged strategy toachieve this: improving mining practices to enable the mine to operate atreserve grade, commissioning of the CIL Expansion and the acceleration ofounces from the Upper East Zone. The Upper East Zone is situated approximately 1.5km east of the process plant,on the eastern extension of the strike length of the mine. The zone iscurrently included in reserves and was scheduled to be mined later in the minelife. The Upper East was initially accessed in 2001 through a 1.8km declinefrom the central ramping system but was subsequently not developed. ABG has investigated a number of options to bring forward the ounces containedin the Upper East with the results of recent supplemental studies furtheroptimising capitalised waste development and refining the geotechnical model.As a result we have completed a revised mine design which will utilise LongHole Stoping for both Reef 1 and Reef 2. The new design minimises upfrontcapital expenditure and ensures positive cash flow generation in each full yearof production at current gold prices. We now expect to mine Reef 1 and Reef 2 simultaneously using existingunderground access infrastructure for the first 4 years before a box cut isplanned to be developed to provide additional access to the zone and the use oflarger trucks than current infrastructure will allow. In conjunction with theunderground development, ABG plans to undertake a plant expansion to increaseplant capacity from 1.1Mtpa to 1.3Mtpa. Upper East Zone Reef 1 and Reef 2 Reserves: See www.africanbarrickgold.com for picture Economics Capital expenditure of approximately US$15 million will be required in 2014.This expenditure will predominately consist of capitalised development withonly incremental equipment purchases required. This expenditure is expected toallow the first ore tonnes to be mined within 3 months, ramping up to a rate ofover 250,000 tonnes of ore per annum during 2015. The mining rates will drivegold production averaging 60,000 ounces per annum and as a result this area isexpected to be cash flow positive at current gold prices from 2015. In order toensure sufficient processing capacity, US$20 million is expected to be spent onexpanding the process plant from 1.1Mtpa to 1.3Mtpa which will be incurredequally over 2015-2016. The planned box cut is expected to take two years toconstruct, commencing in 2017, and is expected to cost US$16 million. Over the 25 year production life, 1.7 million ounces will be produced from acombination of Reef 1 and Reef 2. AISC from the zone is expected to be belowUS$900 per ounce with ongoing sustaining capital and capitalised developmentcosts expected to be similar to the existing mine on a per ounce basis. This isa result of the use of mechanised mining techniques and due to the Upper Eastbeing close to surface, which more than offsets the mined grade from the zonebeing lower than the overall reserve grade of Bulyanhulu. Next Steps: The first phase of development will involve ordering and mobilisation ofequipment required for underground development to commence in H2 2014 and firstore to be mined soon thereafter. This development will utilise the dewateredand rehabilitated 1.8km existing decline to provide access for development ofstoping areas and take advantage of spare capacity in the process plant. The second phase is expected to commence in 2015 and will involve increasingthe capacity of the front end of the process plant by 200ktpa, bringingcapacity to around 1.3tpa at a cost of US$20 million. In addition, commencingin 2017 subject to environmental approvals being granted, ABG will construct abox cut over the shallower portion of the Upper East zone. The box cut will bethe location for a second decline into the underground which will be developedin order to open up the shallower reserves on Reefs 1 and 2. The box cut willallow for an additional ventilation intake, improved access to the Upper EastReefs 1 and 2 and allow for larger trucks to be used than currentinfrastructure allows increasing truck haulage capacity. ENQUIRIES For further information, please visit our website: www.africanbarrickgold.comorcontact: African Barrick Gold plc +44 (0)20 7129 7150 Andrew Wray, Chief Financial Officer Giles Blackham, Investor Relations Manager Bell Pottinger +44 (0) 207 861 3232 Daniel Thöle About ABG ABG is Tanzania's largest gold producer and one of the largest gold producersin Africa. We have three producing mines, all located in Northwest Tanzania,and several exploration projects at various stages of development in Tanzaniaand Kenya. We have a high-quality asset base, solid growth opportunities and aclear strategy of optimising, expanding and growing our business. Maintaining our licence to operate through acting responsibly in relation toour people, the environment and the communities in which we operate is centralto achieving our objectives. ABG is a UK public company with its headquarters in London. We are listed onthe Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol ABG and have asecondary listing on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. Historically, and priorto our initial public offering (IPO), our operations comprised the Tanzaniangold mining business of Barrick Gold Corporation, our majority shareholder. ABGreports in US dollars and in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the EuropeanUnion, unless otherwise stated in this announcement. Forward-looking statements This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute aninvitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire ordispose of any securities of ABG in any jurisdiction. This announcement includes "forward-looking statements" that express or implyexpectations of future events or results. Forward-looking statements arestatements that are not historical facts. These statements include, withoutlimitation, financial projections and estimates and their underlyingassumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations withrespect to future production, operations, costs, products and services, andstatements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements aregenerally identified by the words "plans," "expects," "anticipates,""believes," "intends," "estimates" and other similar expressions. All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties andother factors, many of which are beyond the control of ABG, which could causeactual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in,or implied by, the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause orcontribute to differences between the actual results, performance andachievements of ABG include, but are not limited to, political, economic andbusiness conditions, industry trends, competition, fluctuations in the spot andforward price of gold or certain other commodity prices, changes in regulation,currency fluctuations (including the US dollar, South African rand andTanzanian shilling exchange rates), ABG's ability to successfully integratefuture acquisitions, ABG's ability to recover its reserves or develop newreserves, including its ability to convert its resources into reserves and itsmineral potential into resources or reserves, and to timely and successfullyprocess its mineral reserves, risk of trespass, theft and vandalism, changes inits business strategy as well as risks and hazards associated with the businessof mineral exploration, development, mining and production. Although ABG'smanagement believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-lookingstatements are reasonable, ABG cannot give assurances that such statements willprove to be correct. Accordingly, investors should not place reliance onforward looking statements in this announcement. Any forward-looking statementsin this announcement only reflect information available at the time ofpreparation. Subject to the requirements of the Disclosure and TransparencyRules and the Listing Rules or applicable law, ABG explicitly disclaims anyobligation or undertaking publicly to release the result of any revisions toany forward-looking statements in this announcement that may occur due to anychange in ABG's expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after thedate of this announcement. Nothing in this announcement should be construed asa profit forecast or estimate. For a breakdown of Bulyanhulu's reserves and resources, refer to the 2013Annual Report