Proposed Sale of Pallas Green Project

13 July, 2011

Minco Plc

Proposed Sale of Pallas Green Project

Dublin, 13 July 2011 - Minco Plc (AIM-"MIO"), the Irish exploration and development company, announces that it has entered into a conditional agreement, subject to approval of Minco shareholders and receipt of other regulatory approvals and consents, for the sale of Minco's interest in the Pallas Green Project to Xstrata for a cash payment of US$19.4 million.

Minco holds a 23.6% interest in the Pallas Green zinc-lead exploration project, near Limerick, Ireland, with Joint Venture partner, and project Manager, Xstrata Zinc, one of the world's largest zinc production companies.

In February 2011, Xstrata provided Minco with a revised JORC compliant resource estimates calculated as of December 31, 2010, at both a 4% and a 6% cut off. The 4% zinc equivalent cut off resource amounts to 25.9 million tonnes of inferred resources at an average grade of 7.51% Zn and 1.38% Pb (8.89% Zn eq), while the 6% zinc equivalent cut off resource amounts to 17.6 million tonnes of inferred resources at an average grade of 8.96% Zn and 1.72% Pb (10.68% Zn eq).

In a presentation issued in August 2010, with its Half Year Results, Xstrata indicated a potential start-up date of 2017 for a mine at Pallas Green, with an indicative capital cost of US$300 million and with an indicated annual production of 160,000 tonnes of zinc.

For the year 2011, Xstrata Zinc proposed a €13 million (US$18 million) budget comprising additional exploration and infill drilling as well as a pre-feasibility study. The pre-feasibility study and related costs are budgeted at about €3 million, while the proposed €10 million drilling program is split about two thirds infill definition drilling and one third exploration drilling. Twenty one drill rigs are currently operating on the Pallas Green property, all within the Caherconlish area. In the first six months of 2011, to the end of June, 139 holes were drilled or are in progress for a total of 47,000 metres.

As previously announced, Minco has not agreed to this proposed 2011 programme and budget and particularly to the allocation between infill and exploration drilling. Minco believes that the lead/zinc deposits at Pallas Green have not yet been fully delineated and has proposed that the drilling in 2011 should focus on ongoing exploration in the prospective Caherconlish area, and particularly exploring for higher grade and larger tonnage parts of the overall deposit. Minco believes that these higher grade zones are likely to be geologically associated with the southern boundary fault structure, which has not yet been identified and confirmed, which and Minco believes should lie 500 to 800 meters to the south of the current Tobermalug and Knockroe drilling.

Xstrata has not agreed with Minco's proposals and, as part of the prefeasibility study, wants to concentrate on infill drilling of the already defined Tobermalug zone.

Minco has contributed part of the 2011 exploration costs but, due to the absence of agreement on the 2011 programme and budget, has not paid all of its cash calls made by Xstrata for the first half of 2011. In the event Minco continues to participate in the Joint Venture, it will need to raise additional funding. If the Company does not participate in some or all of the proposed 2011 programme, or subsequent programmes, the Company's interest in the Pallas Green Joint Venture will be diluted.

Discussions with Xstrata on the resolution of the technical aspects and direction of the proposed 2011 work programme have been ongoing during 2011. These discussions eventually evolved into a proposal by Xstrata to purchase Minco's interest in the Joint Venture. Further negotiations led to a conditional agreement for the sale by Minco to Xstrata of all of Minco's interest in the Pallas Green Joint Venture for US$19.4 million.

The proposed sale is subject to a number of conditions, including satisfactory due diligence by Xstrata, approval by the Board of Xstrata Zinc approval by Minco's shareholders and receipt of other regulatory approvals and consents.

The proposed sale will be submitted to Minco shareholders for consideration at an Extraordinary General Meeting which will be called in due course. A Circular, providing full particulars of the proposed disposal, and other strategic matters, will be issued by the Directors prior to the Extraordinary General Meeting.

FINANCIAL ADVISORS

Davy Corporate Finance, Minco's Nominated Advisor (NOMAD), Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Beaufort International Associates Limited are acting as financial advisors to Minco in connection with this proposed transaction.

ABOUT XSTRATA ZINC

Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, Xstrata Zinc is one of the world's largest producers of zinc and one of the commodity business units within the major global diversified mining group Xstrata plc. Xstrata's zinc and lead operations and exploration projects are located in Australia, Canada, Germany, Peru, Spain and the United Kingdom.

ABOUT MINCO

Minco Plc is an AIM quoted exploration and development company engaged in zinc exploration on the Pallas Green property in Ireland in a 23.6%/76.4% joint venture with Xstrata Zinc and in zinc-silver projects in Mexico through its shareholding in Xtierra Inc., listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (Toronto) under the symbol "XAG".