Grant of Options and Issue of Equity

Beacon Hill Resources plc / Ticker: BHR / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining

21 December 2011

Beacon Hill Resources Plc ('Beacon Hill' or 'the Company')

Grant of Options and Issue of Equity pursuant to Employee Incentive Schemes

Beacon Hill, the AIM listed coking coal producer, announces that the remuneration committee has today made annual options grants pursuant to the Company's Global Share Option Plan ('Option Scheme') and share awards pursuant to the Company's Partly Paid Share Scheme ('PPSS').

Option Scheme

Pursuant to the Option Scheme, options over a total of 14,150,000 Ordinary Shares have been granted at an exercise price of 9.5 pence per Ordinary Share to directors and senior management of the Company and its subsidiaries ('the Group'). 

Included in the above grant the following directors were granted options over Ordinary Shares as follows:

PPSS

Secondly, pursuant to the PPSS, the BHR Trust today subscribed for 20,000,000 new Ordinary Shares at 9.5 pence per share. 

Following this subscription, the enlarged issued share capital of the Company, will comprise 1,051,442,137 Ordinary Shares. The Company has made application for the new Ordinary Shares to be admitted to AIM, which is expected to occur, and dealings in the Ordinary Shares will commence, on 30 December 2011 ('Admission'). The new Ordinary Shares will, when issued, rank pari passu in all respects with the existing Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive any dividends and other distributions declared following Admission.

Pursuant to the PPSS, a director and members of senior management have today acquired a total of 20,000,000 Ordinary Shares from the BHR Trust. Justin Lewis, a director of the Company acquired at 9.5 pence 17,500,000 Ordinary Shares, pursuant to the PPSS.

Details of the Partly Paid Share Scheme

The BHR Trust was established by the Company on 12 November 2011, for the purpose of encouraging or facilitating the holding of shares in the Company by or for the benefit of its employees. Its main purpose is to provide benefits for individuals in the form of an employees' share scheme within the definition of the Companies Act 2006.

The Company makes a non-recourse loan to the BHR Trust to allow it to purchase or subscribe for Ordinary Shares in the Company. Pursuant to the Rules of the PPSS, an employee can acquire Ordinary Shares at full market value from the BHR Trust but the full payment of the consideration will be deferred. The balance is payable to the BHR Trust on demand by the BHR Trust, on cessation of employment or when the relevant Ordinary Shares are sold. Specific provisions apply on corporate events, such as a change of control of the Company.

Directors' Interests

Following these transactions, the interests of the directors of the Company will be as follows:

**ENDS**

For further information on the Company, visit www.bhrplc.com or contact:

Notes

Beacon Hill Resources Plc is an AIM-listed resource company that is focused on building a portfolio of near-term production projects in commodities relating to the steel production industry. Beacon Hill has two key assets: the Minas Moatize Coal Mine in the globally significant coking coal region of the Moatize Coal Basin in Mozambique; and the Arthur River Magnesite Project in Tasmania, Australia.