Avocet Ships First Gold From Inata

AVOCET SHIPS FIRST GOLD FROM INATA

Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or the "Company") announces the first shipment of gold from its Inata mine in Burkina Faso. Inata poured first gold on 20 December 2009 and this week exported approximately 11,000 ounces of gold to Rand Refinery's facility in South Africa. The Company's Burkina subsidiary, Société des Mines de Bélahouro, which owns Inata, signed a refining contract with Rand Refinery in February. Proceeds from the sale of gold of approximately US$12 million are expected to be received next week.

The Inata mine is expected to reach a steady state production rate of over 10,000 ounces per month by July 2010. During the commissioning period to date, the plant recovery and gold produced have been ahead of schedule.

Commenting on the first gold shipment from Inata, Jonathan Henry, CEO of Avocet, stated:

"Since first gold was poured the plant has performed ahead of expectations, and gold production to date has been well above our ramp up schedule."

Notes to Editors

Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") is a mining company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (Ticker: AVM). The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration in Malaysia (as 100 per cent owner of the Penjom gold mine, the country's largest gold producer), Indonesia (as 80 per cent owner of the North Lanut gold mine and Bakan project in North Sulawesi) and Burkina Faso (as 90 per cent owner of the Inata gold mine). The Company has a number of other advanced exploration projects in South East Asia and West Africa.

Background to operations

Penjom is Malaysia's largest gold producer and was developed by Avocet after applying modern technology to grass roots exploration 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. The mine was commissioned in December 1996 with reserves of 223,000 ounces.

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. Avocet purchased an 80 per cent interest in PT Avocet Bolaang Mongondow, an Indonesian company holding a 6th generation Contract of Work ("CoW"), from Newmont Mining Corporation in 2002. North Lanut is located within the CoW, which includes exploration and mining rights over approximately 50,000 hectares in an area highly prospective for gold. An Indonesian company, PT Lebong Tandai, owns the remaining 20 per cent.

Inata in Burkina Faso, West Africa, has a resource of 1.7 million ounces and reserves of 944,000 ounces. Inata poured first gold in December 2009 and is currently commissioning to full production rates in excess of 10,000 ounces per month. Other assets 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 667,000 ounces).