Guinean Bauxite Licence Update

Alecto Minerals plc / EPIC: ALO / Market: AIM / Sector: General Financial

17 May 2012

Alecto Minerals plc ('Alecto' or 'the Company')

Guinean Bauxite Licence - Extension of Due Diligence Period

Alecto Minerals plc, the AIM listed exploration and development company with gold and base metal projects in Ethiopia and Mauritania, announces that it has been granted a 30 day extension to its due diligence exclusivity period contained in the option agreement ('the Agreement') relating to the staged acquisition of Forward Africa Resources ('FAR'), which holds the 711 sq km bauxite licence 223 ('Licence 223').

Licence 223 is located in a highly prospective south west coastal region of Guinea with established infrastructure and producing bauxite projects in close proximity. Further details of the Agreement are contained in the Company's announcement made on 23 February 2012. While Alecto has made substantial progress in advancing due diligence at Licence 223, a few minor issues are outstanding. In line with this the Company has requested this extension, which it believes will allow sufficient time for completion.

Alecto Executive Director Damian Conboy said, "Our excitement regarding the prospectivity of this deposit remains, particularly due to the quality of the resource and its close proximity to the only operating railway line in the country which unlike many other deposits in Guinea, means that we could bring this asset into production over the next two years.

"With this in mind, we are making solid progress with due diligence and we are pleased to receive this extension which we believe will be sufficient to enable us to complete the process effectively ahead of pursuing the Agreement. Following this, we intend to conduct a comprehensive drilling programme to prove up the resource, which we believe has the potential to host over 500 million tonnes of in-situ bauxite, and I look forward to updating shareholders over the coming weeks."

**ENDS**

For further information, please visit www.alectominerals.com or contact:

Notes:

Alecto Minerals Plc is an AIM listed resource exploration and development company focussed on Africa. 

Alecto Minerals has a diverse portfolio of exploration assets in both Mauritania and Ghana. In Mauritania, the Company currently owns three gold and base metal development licences totalling 1,902 sq km and two uranium licences totalling 1,592 sq km in the highly prospective Mauritanide mobile belt. Additionally, the Company has signed an agreement under which it will acquire a controlling interest in a 191 sq km gold exploration licence in the highly prospective Ashanti Gold Belt in Ghana. Alecto is committed to conducting exploratory work across its portfolio, designed to strengthen the Company's knowledge of the assets and delineate targets for further exploration.