GRANTING OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT FOR SEGA PROJECT

21 May 2013 AIM:AMA / TSX:AMZ

Amara Mining plc

("Amara" or "the Company")

GRANTING OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERMIT FOR SEGA GOLD PROJECT

Amara Mining plc, the dual AIM and TSX-listed West African focused gold mining company, is pleased to announce that it has been granted the Environmental Permit for its Sega Gold Project ("Sega") in Burkina Faso, 20km to the north of its Kalsaka Gold Mine ("Kalsaka"). This is a major achievement in the integration of Kalsaka and Sega, which is expected to ensure that Amara continues production in Burkina Faso until at least 2015 based on Sega's current Mineral Resources, as demonstrated in the Preliminary Economic Assessment.

Local leaders were intimately involved in the formulation of Amara's Resettlement Action Plan ("RAP"), which has been accepted by the Burkina Faso Government. The first phase of the RAP is expected to be implemented shortly and the Company foresees no difficulties in this step.

As announced on 30 April 2013, Amara received the environmental and construction permits for the haul road to connect Kalsaka and Sega in advance of the full Environmental Permit. A contractor has been appointed to build the road and construction work has now begun on the Sega licence area. The new jaw crusher has been installed at Kalsaka and the additional crushing circuit, which will be installed at Sega, has arrived at Kalsaka. Amara is going to apply to the Government for permission to begin the installation of the crushing circuit at Sega in advance of a decision regarding the award of the Mining Licence in order to expedite the process of bringing Sega into production.

Following the receipt of the Environmental Permit, Amara will now apply for the Mining Licence, which is anticipated to be granted approximately six weeks after the Environmental Permit. The mobile mining fleet at Kalsaka will then be moved to Sega and it is expected that this will enable mining to commence at Sega during Q3 2013.

Peter Spivey, Chief Executive Officer of Amara, commented:

"With the granting of the Environmental Permit, we have now received all of the major permits in advance of the Mining Licence, and first production is on track for Q3 2013. Maintaining cash flow is a key priority for Amara as it supports our development pipeline, allowing us to unlock value without recourse to the equity markets. With the higher grade resources at Sega and the exploration upside, we expect production to strengthen over the coming years and to continue until at least 2015."

Q1 2013 Results

Amara will announce its results for the quarter ended 31 March 2013 on Wednesday 22 May 2013. A conference call and webcast will be held for analysts and investors at 09:30am UK time and a second conference call will be held for North American analysts and investors at 2:30pm UK time / 09:30am EST on 22 May, which will also cover the continuing progress at Kalsaka/Sega. Details of the conferencecall numbers will be announced at the time of the Q1 2013 results.

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About Amara Mining plc

Amara (formerly Cluff Gold) is a gold developer-producer with assets in West Africa. The Company generates significant cash flow through its Kalsaka gold mine in Burkina Faso, where the production profile has been enhanced by the recent acquisition of the neighbouring Sega project. Amara remains focused on its objective of becoming a mid-tier producer through the development of its Baomahun project in Sierra Leone and its Yaoure project in Côte d'Ivoire. With its experience of bringing new mines into production and a project pipeline spanning three countries, Amara aims to further increase its production profile with its highly prospective exploration work across all assets.

This report includes certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation.

All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this report, including, without limitation, the positioning of the Company for future success, statements regarding exploration, production estimates and future objectives of Amara, are forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Amara's expectations include, among others, risks related to international operations, timing of receipt of mining licence, expected time for the construction of the road, timing for the receipt of the environmental permit, completion time for the negotiations with community groups, submittal of the environmental and social compensation report, the, expected time for the commencement of mining at Sega, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as the future price of gold. Although Amara has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Amara does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are included herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.