EXPLORATION UPDATE

Nyota Minerals Limited ("Nyota" or the "Company")

Exploration Update

Highlights

·; 44,500 line km aeromagnetic geophysical survey has been interpreted and compiled with recent and historical exploration data, gold showings, old mines and has identified multiple new high priority exploration targets across the Company's "Southern Blocks" (Yubdo, Billa-Guliso) and the "Northern Blocks" (Bambasi, Mendi, Gombe and Dura) within the newly defined Western Ethiopian Gold District;

·; Three new gold trends and extension of Guliso trend have been defined around Tulu Kapi and the surrounding greenstone geology in the Southern Blocks;

·; A number of different styles of mineralisation have been identified including shear hosted gold, skarns and volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) targets on the Northern Blocks;

·; Targets have been prioritized and a major regional exploration programme has commenced;

·; Exploration strategy will focus on generating additional gold resources to feed a modular, centralised Tulu Kapi processing plant in the Southern Blocks and generate stand alone projects within the Northern Blocks.

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Strategic Summary

Whilst the Tulu Kapi Deposit is fully expected to warrant a stand alone plant, the prospect of discovery of additional gold resources from targets both immediately adjacent to Tulu Kapi and distally (up to 25 km radius from the planned plant site) requires careful consideration to ensure that the current plant design being considered has the required throughput capacity (or the ability to expand that capacity) and associated infrastructure to accommodate additional new resources. Nyota has commenced an aggressive regional exploration programme to evaluate the identified targets and to advance them as quickly as possible. The vision remains to have the Tulu Kapi mine underpin Nyota's Ethiopian operations and grow the Company by making new discoveries and adding to the resource base over its entire land holding. The potential exists for both gold and VMS style mineralization.

Airborne Survey

Preliminary interpretation of a 44,500 line km airborne magnetic and radiometric survey commissioned by Nyota in late 2010 has identified a number of previously unknown regional targets. The survey covered the Southern Blocks, including the Tulu Kapi Deposit, and the Northern Blocks totalling 3,200km2 of highly prospective ground located approximately 100km north of Tulu Kapi and comprising the Bambasi, Mendi, Gombe and Dura Exploration Licences.

The trends identified by the aeromagnetic survey correspond with concentrations of both historical and recently generated gold prospects and targets. The combination of exploration techniques has allowed the Company to focus on specific trends within the region and define an exploration strategy that takes into account the current exploration status of each prospect and target.

Yubdo and Billa Guliso Licences - four gold trends identified

The Yubdo and Billa Guliso Licences lie within the Western Ethiopia Gold District and four clearly defined individual gold trends have been identified (Figure 1).

TO VIEW FIGURE 1, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING WEB LINK:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8467A_-2011-2-8.pdf

Each of these trends incorporate a number of gold targets of merit and reflect the promising combinations of receptive host rocks (syenite, diorite, granodiorites, marble) and both regional and local structures providing the potential focus for mineralising fluids.

The four gold trends, Guliso, Guji, Tulu Kapi and Ankore, each host prospects at different stages of development, all of which warrant detailed follow up:

Guliso Trend - As announced on 6 December 2010, the Guliso Trend was identified. It hosts a number of gold shows, the most significant of which is the Chago target where recent rock chip sampling of exposed quartz veins returned 6 samples with visible gold mineralisation. The geophysical signature for this trend indicates significantly greater continuity than suggested by the physical outcrop. Exploration will be focussed on defining mineralised trends and easily accessible plant feed for future exploitation.

Guji Trend - includes the Guji prospect, located 3 km from Tulu Kapi, where exploration has returned drill intersections of 2.77g/t Au over 17.4m and a trench intersection of 9.6g/t Au over 68m. Ground geophysics completed in 2010 indicated that the Guji prospect remains open along strike and further basic exploration is required.

Tulu Kapi Trend (including Tulu Kapi Deposit) - includes two other prospects of merit: UNDP and Chalti (Syenite Hill) targets. As previously announced, drilling commenced on the UNDP target and is thought to represent the northern extension of the Tulu Kapi Deposit. The preliminary drilling, as previously announced, intersected a combination of albitization with sulphides characteristic of gold mineralisation on the neighbouring Tulu Kapi Deposit.

The Chalti target is a syenite body with the characteristics of the Tulu Kapi syenite and is located immediately south of Tulu Kapi. The aeromagnetic survey has defined a very strong discrete magnetic low (diagnostically similar to Tulu Kapi - style mineralisation) over the target. Geological reconnaissance has recorded the presence of both quartz veins and albitization at surface and local farmers regularly recover coarse gold from rainfall gullies. Whilst Nyota personnel have seen this coarse gold from Chalti, they have not witnessed its collection in the field.

Further north along the Tulu Kapi Trend, beyond the UNDP target, Company geologists have identified a number of discrete aeromagnetic targets that warrant follow up and have similar characteristics to Tulu Kapi, UNDP and the Chalti targets.

Ankore Trend - includes two major areas of interest. Firstly, on the northern end of the trend where the old Ankore gold mine is located. The mine was exploited on a small scale by Italian miners in the 1930's but has never been explored in detail. Between Tulu Kapi and the historic Ankore mine, a number of gold in soil anomalies returning peak grades of 1,000ppb have been identified coincident with the presumed trace of the shear zone that defines both the southern limit of the Tulu Kapi Deposit and the eastern limit of the Western Ethiopian Gold Belt that incorporates the three trends. Evidence to date suggests that the Feeder Zone announced by Nyota on 9 December 2010 located beneath Lodes 1, 2 , 3 and 4 has some as yet undefined association with the shear and Nyota aims to investigate whether the gold in soil anomalies recorded along the shear have a similar origin.

Western Ethiopian Gold District & Northern Licences

The Bambasi, Gombe, Dura and Mendi Licences also lie within the Western Ethiopian Gold District. The licences were originally acquired based on a high concentration of gold shows defined by the UNDP in the 1970's together with other Ethiopian based research and is coincident with trends defined by the recently completed aeromagnetic survey. The scope for discovery of gold mineralisation within these northern licences is based on the following observations:

·; well recorded evidence of gold mineralisation by a variety of reliable sources including the UNDP and Ethiopian Geological Survey;

·; proof that gold mineralisation occurs as both shear-hosted and skarn gold mineralisation together with a geological setting suited to the development of volcanic massive sulphide deposits, offering more than one style of mineralisation to be targeted;

·; coincident aeromagnetic survey generated anomalies reflecting historical evidence on the ground;

·; the recent discovery of a skarn gold deposit by a private gold mining company in Ethiopia which is near one of the Northern Blocks.

The Mendi Licence and part of the Gombe Licence host a number of gold showings suggesting further structures that remain to be defined. Recent aeromagnetic survey indicates shears trending NW - SE and NE - SW which together with evidence of favourable alteration and lithological assemblages and the right structural setting create a favourable environment for gold deposition. The fact that gold showings are numerous and occur with iron stone and chert formations bodes well for the Company's planned exploration programme.

The Bambasi Licence, located furthest west is dominated by a large syenite body which the UNDP reports as being a "Tulu Kapi - style syenite".

Expanded Exploration Strategy

The exploration strategy has been revised, prompted by the rapid increase in the number of gold and other base metal targets of merit that have been recently defined and the exploration status of individual targets that require different levels of activity, the obvious potential of some targets that warrant fast tracking of exploration and the physical location of targets with respect to the future Tulu Kapi processing plant.

With these criteria in mind, three broad target types have been defined:

·; Tulu Kapi Deposit and proximal near-term targets: including the known NE and SW extensions and deep high grade feeder zone are currently the subject of a drilling campaign.

·; Proximal or Advanced targets: including all targets within a 25km radius of Tulu Kapi with the potential to deliver additional ore to the Tulu Kapi mine;

·; Regional targets: targets that would be stand alone mining operations owing to their distance from Tulu Kapi.

Drill rig allocation has been adjusted to ensure that sufficient capacity remains at Tulu Kapi to continue further deep drilling of the Feeder Zone to continue to add gold resources, and to drill proximal and regional targets with a view to ensuring regular additions to the Company's resource base.

Terry Tucker, Chief Executive Officer comments "Now that we are nearing completion of the Preliminary Economic Assessment Feasibility Study ("PEA"), with the objective of moving Tulu Kapi into development, we intend to broaden Nyota's exploration programme within the Western Ethiopian Gold District more aggressively with the intention of discovering further gold resources within close range of Tulu Kapi as well as implementing a comprehensive regional exploration programme on our Northern Blocks."

Qualified Persons Declaration

The technical exploration and mining information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Mr Terry Tucker (P.Geo). Mr Tucker has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity to which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves and as a qualified person under the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies. Mr Tucker is a registered Professional Geoscientist with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia, Canada.

Mr Tucker consents to the inclusion in this Announcement of such information in the form and context in which it appears.

For further information please contact:

Terry Tucker

Nyota Minerals Limited

+44 (0) 20 7379 5012

[email protected]

NOMAD

Samantha Harrison / Jen Boorer

Ambrian Partners Limited

+44 (0)20 7634 4859

BROKER

Guy Wilkes / Will Slack

Ocean Equities Limited

(+44) (0) 20 7786 4370

BROKER

Rory Scott

Mirabaud Securities LLP

(+44) (0)20 7878 3360

Or visit: http://www.nyotaminerals.com