Initial Mineral Resource At Souma

AVOCET MINING PLC

("Avocet" or the "Company")

INITIAL MINERAL RESOURCE AT SOUMA

Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") announces an initial Mineral Resource of 561,100 ounces gold on the Souma Trend, approximately 20 kilometres to the east-northeast of the Company's Inata Gold Mine, in the Bélahouro District of Burkina Faso. This increases the total Mineral Resource in the Company's Bélahouro permits by 31 per cent to 2.40 million ounces gold, up from the current 1.84 million ounce Mineral Resource at Inata reported on 7 September 2010. 

CSA Global has independently verified Avocet's internal resource estimate, reported above a 0.5 g/t Au cut off, that includes Indicated Mineral Resources of 0.32Mt @ 1.49 g/t Au (15,500 ounces) and Inferred Mineral Resources of 10.38Mt @ 1.64 g/t Au (545,600 ounces). The following table details the Mineral Resources, which have been developed and are reported in accordance with National Instrument 43-101.

(1) Avocet owns 100 per cent of the Souma property through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Goldbelt Resources (West Africa) SARL

(2) The resource is quoted for blocks with a grade of greater than 0.5 g/t Au. Differences may occur due to rounding.

The Souma Mineral Resource is based on 18,335 metres of broad-spaced scout RC drilling that was completed in July 2010 in the southern two-thirds of the 16 kilometre known strike length of the Souma Trend. The drilling results were reported on 10 August 2010 and 20 September 2010. The Souma Trend is a 16 kilometre long gold-in-soil anomaly within a larger 30 kilometre long structural corridor defined by the geophysical (VTEM) survey completed in June 2010. This survey identified several new targets along strike from Dynamite and Miilam, as well as in parallel structures.

The majority of the Souma Mineral Resource is classified as Inferred because of the broad spacing of the drill holes, which ranges from 50 x 25 to 100 x 50 metres. The Mineral Resource is classified as Indicated in the core of the Dynamite prospect where the drill spacing is approximately 25 x 25 metres. Gold grades are interpolated using an inverse distance squared technique with appropriate top cuts applied to reduce the impact of the few high-grade outliers in the drilling database. Bulk densities are also interpolated into the block model and are in the range of 1.7 t/m3 for saprolite to 2.5 t/m3 for fresh rock.

This Mineral Resource represents Avocet's initial assessment of the resource potential of the Souma district. There are several known prospects, as well as a number of additional targets generated by the recent geophysical (VTEM) survey, that are yet to be drilled and have the potential to increase the Mineral Resource in the Souma district. While further drilling to expand the resource in and around Souma is planned for the future, Avocet's immediate exploration efforts will focus on growing resources in the Inata area that can be brought into production more quickly and cost effectively. The Company currently has five drill rigs exploring extensions to Inata and new satellite targets.

Commenting on the initial Mineral Resource at Souma, Brett Richards, Chief Executive Officer for Avocet, stated:

"The 31% resource upgrade from our Bélahouro assets, which now stands at 2.4 million ounces gold, is an encouraging return on a broad-spaced drilling programme at Souma. Further drilling at Souma will add to these resources. For now, our focus is on expanding the resources in an around Inata where we have five drill rigs active.

The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results is based on information reviewed and audited by Mr Peter Flindell (MAusIMM), Executive Vice President of Exploration for Avocet, and the information in this announcement that relates to Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by Mr David Williams (MAusIMM, MAIG), Principal Consultant, CSA Global. Both Mr Flindell and Mr Williams have sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration to qualify as Qualified Persons as defined by the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 for the reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (NI 43-101) and as Competent Persons as defined by the Australian JORC Code (2004) for the reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr Williams and Mr Flindell consent to the inclusion of the technical information in this announcement in the form and context in which it appears.

Notes to Editors

Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") is a gold mining company listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (Ticker: AVM.L) and the Oslo Børs (Ticker: AVM.OL). The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration in Burkina Faso (as 90 per cent owner of the Inata gold mine), Malaysia (as 100 per cent owner of the Penjom gold mine, the country's largest gold producer) and Indonesia (as 80 per cent owner of the North Lanut gold mine and Bakan project in North Sulawesi).

The Company announced in May 2010 that it had initiated exploration within the Inata Mining Licence area and in the surrounding Bélahouro district with the objective of significantly increasing Inata's Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve base as well as investigating the highly prospective Souma Trend, located 20 km from the Inata mill. The Company has a number of other advanced exploration projects in West Africa and South East Asia.

Background to operations

The Inata deposit presently comprises a Mineral Resource of 1.84 million ounces and a Mineral Reserve of 1.08 million ounces. Inata poured its first gold in December 2009 and has now reached a production rate in excess of 12,000 ounces per month. Other assets in West Africa include exploration permits in Burkina Faso (the most advanced being the Souma trend at Bélahouro with a Mineral Resource of 561,100 ounces), Mali and Guinea (the most advanced being the Tri-K gold exploration project in with a Mineral Resource of 666,500 ounces).

Penjom is Malaysia's largest gold mine and was developed by Avocet in an area of historic alluvial mining. The mine is located in Pahang State, approximately 120 km north of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur.

North Lanut in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, was developed by Avocet from the exploration stage and has produced over 300,000 ounces since it was commissioned in 2004. North Lanut is located within a Contract of Work, which includes exploration and mining rights over approximately 50,000 hectares in an area highly prospective for gold. Avocet holds an 80 per cent interest and an Indonesian company, PT Lebong Tandai, owns the remaining 20 per cent.