Benkala Operational Update

FRONTIER MINING LTD

("Frontier" or "the Company")

Benkala Operational Update

Frontier Mining Ltd (AIM: FML), the AIM quoted copper exploration and development company focused on Kazakhstan, today provides an update on its Benkala Copper Project.

Highlights

·; Commencement of mining operations - approximately 25,000 tonnes of ore stockpiled

·; All equipment on-site and installed

·; On-site electrical power substation commissioned

·; First shipment of sulphuric acid received

·; Commission certifying production start-up now on site

·; Crushing and agglomerator circuit ready for initial commissioning on ore

·; First production of copper cathodes remains on schedule for June with targeted production of 3500 to 5000 tonnes in calendar year 2012

The Commission certifying start-up is currently on-site and in the process of testing and commissioning the various stages of the production process.

Mining operations have now commenced with mining occurring on an on-going daily basis at a rate of 1,500 tonnes per day of ore which will ramp up to 8,000 tonnes per day as normal operations are established. Current stockpiled ore totals approximately 25,000 tonnes.

The Company has now received its first 660 tonne shipment of sulphuric acid, the key consumable required to commence leaching operations. 1,200 meters of new railway track connecting the railway storage complex to the main railway line, along with on-site acid storage facilities, have been fully commissioned and are in operation.

The crushing circuit, agglomeration and conveyor systems are now running in their test regime and undergoing full commissioning, utilising ore with full capacity operation scheduled to commence within 2 weeks. This will signal the start of normal crushing, agglomeration and stacking operations.

Two 250 by 250 meter pads, with a capacity of 240,000 tonnes each, have been completed and are ready to receive ore. Altogether, about 10,000 metres of external and underground pipelines have been completed and commissioned, including approximately 5,000 metres of large diameter collection and drainage pipes.

The on-site electrical power 110 KvA substation and all internal lines have been completed, commissioned and are now in full operation. The SX and EW plant buildings are also complete with all project equipment now on-site and installed. Plant equipment is currently undergoing testing and commissioning. The on-site accommodation complex is also complete and in use. All other required infrastructure is in place and should be completed in time to support operation at full capacity.

It is intended that the leaching process will be initiated approximately 30 days after the agglomeration begins to run at normal capacity. With a minimum leaching cycle of 45 days, first production is expected in June 2012 as previously scheduled. The 2012 target production level is expected between 3,500 to 5,000 tonnes compared to the plants operating capacity of 7,000 tonnes per annum.

Erlan Sagadiev, CEO of Frontier commented: "With the first Copper Cathode production at Benkala fast approaching, we are advancing towards a key milestone in Frontier's history. The Company's construction and operations teams are working at full capacity to ensure the smooth start of production as quickly as possible, accelerating towards our goal of establishing Frontier as a premier mid-tier copper producer."

For further details please contact:

Notes to Editor

Frontier Mining Limited is a copper exploration and development company with a focus on Kazakhstan. The Company's main activity is the Benkala Copper Project in North West Kazakhstan, which forms part of the Urals copper gold ore belt. Frontier has a 100% interest in Benkala through its subsidiary KazCopper LLP.

Frontier, through its wholly owned subsidiary FML Kazakhstan, also owns Baitemir, a potential copper gold porphyry deposit with associated gold and molybdenum situated on the Naimanjal exploration licence area in North East Kazakhstan.

Frontier maintains an administrative and technical office in Almaty, the former capital city of Kazakhstan and the main business centre in the South East. The Company also maintains offices in Aktyubinsk and Semipalatinsk, close to the Benkala and Baitemir operations respectively.

Benkala

A Competent Persons Report completed by Wardell Armstrong International ("WAI") in June 2010, estimated the oxide section of the Benkala project, which represents development of only ~10% of the total resource at Benkala, to have a NPV of $190 million, based on 0.5% diluted copper grade, 63% recovery and 185,000 tonnes of contained metal at a 6,000 USD per tonne copper price. Frontier will use the production platform of the SX-EW project currently under construction to finance further evaluation and technical studies required to advance development of the significant Benkala sulphide resources. Frontier expects first production at Benkala in the second quarter of 2012.

WAI updated their Joint Ore Reserves Committee resource estimate in February 2011, significantly increasing the measured and indicated resource for both oxide and sulphide ores. The oxide resource has increased by a total of 9.72kt to 174.38kt (+5.9%) and the sulphide resource by 65.54kt to 779.28kt (+9.2%) of copper. As well as the overall increase, both ore types now have significantly more resource in the measured category and there has been an increase in the average oxide grade percentage. In addition, the overall inferred resource has also increased by 42.8kt to 607.70kt of copper (+7.6%).

In January 2012 Frontier added the South Benkala mining area to its existing Benkala licence. The South Benkala area is approximately 10 kilometres south of Benkala and has a GKZ resource estimate of 94.5kt of oxide and 515.1kt of sulphide copper.

Baitemir

Baitemir was identified as the most attractive deposit on the Naimanjal licence area and an exploration drill program was developed to confirm the size and grades of the deposit. Frontier has now drilled almost 16,000 metres and, on the basis of positive results, has an additional 1,000 metre drilling programme for 2012. The Company is working to further define the mineral inventory, anticipating the generation of a mineral resource prepared in accordance with the guidelines of the JORC Code (2004) in 2012.

Issued Share Capital

Frontier Mining's shares are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

Frontier has 1,860,913,920 ordinary shares issued.

For further information please visit: www.frontiermining.com