Placing to raise approximately £3.7 million

5 February 2014

For immediate release  

West African Minerals Corporation

("WAFM" or the "Company")

Placing to raise approximately £3.7 million

(equivalent to US$6 million)

West African Minerals Corporation (AIM: WAFM) announces that the Company has today issued 52,797,738 new ordinary shares (the "Placing Shares") at a placing price of 7p per Placing Share (the "Placing Price"), together with one warrant ("Warrant") for each two Placing Shares, to raise approximately £3.7 million before expenses (equivalent to approximately US$6.0 million at current exchange rates) subject to admission (the "Placing"). Each Warrant is exercisable for one new ordinary share at a price of 10p per ordinary share for a period of two years from Admission. The Placing was conducted by SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP.

The proceeds of the Placing principally will be used to fund the development of the Binga licence zone through a staged work programme in 2014 and, depending on the results of the metallurgical test work planned during the first quarter of 2014, to fund ground-based geophysics work, additional infill drilling on geophysics to target an increased Mineral Resource and conceptual studies on commercial operations including port and terminal.

The Placing Shares will, on issue, rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares in issue and application will be made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM. Admission and trading in the Placing Shares on AIM is expected to commence on or around 11 February 2014 ("Admission"). The Placing Shares will represent 15.44 per cent. of the enlarged share capital of the Company. The Warrants are unlisted and will not be admitted to trading on AIM.

As announced in the interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2013, the Directors had been considering the possibility of raising approximately US$6 million in early 2014 and certain major shareholders had indicated that they were willing to support a fund raising should this be approved by the Board.

Plinian Guernsey Limited ("Plinian") has subscribed for 1,428,570 Placing Shares at the Placing Price together with 714,285 Warrants. Plinian is currently interested in 30,925,428 ordinary shares representing approximately 10.7 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital. Brad Mills, a director of the Company, is the controlling shareholder of Plinian. Mr Anton Mauve, a director of the Company, is also a shareholder of Plinian.

CE Mining Limited ("CE Mining") has subscribed for 10,142,858 Placing Shares at the Placing Price together with 5,071,429 Warrants. CE Mining is 50 per cent. owned by Plinian.

Following Admission, Plinian will in aggregate (with the CE Mining interest) be interested in 42,496,856 ordinary shares in the capital of the Company representing 12.4 per cent. of the enlarged share capital of the Company.

Galloway Limited ("Galloway"), which is currently interested in 17,343,727 ordinary shares representing approximately 6.0 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital, has subscribed for 5,228,572 Placing Shares at the Placing Price and 2,614,286 Warrants. Galloway is indirectly wholly-owned by the trustee of a settlement under which James Mellon, a director of the Company, has a life interest. Following Admission, Galloway will hold 22,572,299 ordinary shares in the capital of the Company representing 6.6 per cent. of the enlarged share capital of the Company. In addition to the interest of Galloway, James Mellon is interested in a further 683,671 ordinary shares of the Company held in his own name (meaning following Admission, James Mellon will be interested in 23,255,970 ordinary shares representing 6.8 per cent. of the enlarged ordinary share capital of the Company).

In addition, Panetta Partners Limited has subscribed for 12,857,142 Placing Shares at the Placing Price and 6,428,571 Warrants. Panetta Partners is currently interested in 16,829,000 ordinary shares representing approximately 5.8 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital. Following Admission, Panetta Partners will in aggregate be interested in 29,686,142 ordinary shares representing 8.7 per cent. of the enlarged share capital of the Company.

As Plinian is interested in more than 10 per cent. of the issued ordinary share capital of the Company, and James Mellon, Brad Mills and Anton Mauve are directors of the Company, the subscriptions by each of CE Mining, Plinian and Galloway, are Related Party Transactions for the purposes of Rule 13 of the AIM Rules.

Furthermore, as Denham Eke is a director of Galloway and a director of the Company, Denham Eke is not independent for the purposes of the AIM Rules and accordingly, the sole Independent Director is Gerard Holden (the "Independent Director") who, having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser, considers that the subscriptions by CE Mining, Plinian and Galloway pursuant to the Placing are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned. The Independent Director has taken into account in particular that CE Mining, Plinian, and Galloway are each subscribing on the same terms and conditions as the other subscribers for the Placing Shares procured by the Company's broker, SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP, from unconnected parties.

Brad Mills, President of the Company said:

"We are very pleased with this placing as it will enable the Company to continue with the next steps to determine a high-level techno-economic assessment of the Binga project. The metallurgical test program has been finalised and samples are currently en route to a test facility in South Africa. As a result of the strong aeromagnetic indications of potentially mineralised strike extensions and satellite magnetite-bearing bodies, several areas have been identified for ground-geophysical follow-up and potential drill testing. Based on the success of the foregoing, and in view of its close proximity to port, the Binga project could represent a clear strategic advantage for the Company with the potential for cash flow in the near term. Through their participation in this placement, management and the board continue to maintain a significant position in the Company and are committed to building value for all shareholders."

Total Voting Rights

Following the issue of the Placing Shares, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 341,893,917 ordinary shares, with voting rights. This figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculation by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

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About West African Minerals Corporation

West African Minerals Corporation (AIM: WAFM) is an iron ore mining and exploration group focused on West Africa with interests in iron ore exploration permits in Cameroon and Sierra Leone. Through its 100 per cent owned subsidiary Compagnie Minière du Cameroun SA, WAFM owns six exploration licences in Cameroon covering a total block of approximately 6,000 square kilometres and spanning the coast to the large scale eastern deposits. Maiden Inferred Mineral Resources have been reported at the near-coastal Binga and the South Djadom licences. The Sierra Leone licences comprise five exploration licences with potential for enriched hematite schists typical of the Marampa Group over a total Block of approximately 687 square kilometres.

Further information on the Group is available at www.westafricanminerals.com.

ENDS