Share awards and transactions by PDMRs

Avocet MiningPLC - share awards and transactions by PDMRs

Employee Share options awards

The Company announces the award of a total of 1,485,000 options over ordinary shares of 5 pence in the Company ('Options') to employees on 12 March 2012 ('the Grant Date'). These Options have an exercise price of 229.75 pence, and cannot normally be exercised prior to 12 March 2015, the third anniversary of the Grant Date.

These Optionswere made to various senior employees of the Company, including the following Executive Directors and senior managers denoted as persons discharging managerial responsibilities ('PDMR').

Award of 2012 Performance Share Plan ('PSP') shares

The Company has also made the PSP following awards to senior managers in relation to the performance period 2012-2014.

In accordance with the PSP rules, these shares will vest on 9 March 2015 but the final number of shares will depend on the Total Shareholder Return ('TSR') of the Company compared to a comparator peer group over the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2014.

If the Company performs below the median level of its comparator group, no shares will vest. If the Company is in the top quartile, 100% of the above shares will vest. If the performance is in the third quartile, the number of shares that will vestwill be determined pro rate between 25% and 100% of the target award depending on the TSR performance percentile. Shares will not vest until 12 March 2015, being three years after the grant date.

Award of 2011 PSP shares

Normally, PSP awards will be made on an annual basis shortly after the announcement of the previous year's annual results. In 2011, however, no PSP awards were made, as the scheme was introduced part way through the year. In addition to the above awards, the Company has also made the following target awards to be based on the TSR performance of the Company from 2011 to 2013.

In accordance with the plan rules, the final award of shares will depend on the Company's TSR compared to a comparator peer group over the period 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013, with the award adjusted pro rate depending on the performance percentile in the same manner described above with respect to the 2012 PSP awards. Shares will not vest until 12 March 2015, being three years after the grant date.

Bonus for Sale of South East Asian Assets

As a result of their contribution to the successful sale of the Company's South East Asian Assets for total consideration of US$199 million, afinal tranche of share awards has today been made to senior management (including Executive Directors) as follows:

These awards will be satisfied with Treasury Shares held by the Company.

Annual Incentive awards

The following deferred bonus share awards have been made to PDMRs under the Annual Incentive scheme:

These deferred shares will be held in the Company's Employee Benefit Trust ('EBT'), and will vest on 12 March 2013.

Total Voting Rights

As a result of the above transactions, the number of Treasury Shares held by the Company will be 594,838. The total issued share capital of the Company will remain unchanged as a result of these transactions at 199,546,710 shares, and the total number of shares in issue with voting rights will be 198,951,872.

Share trades by PDMRs

The Company has been notified that Jim Wynn, a PDMR, sold 30,368 shares on 12 March 2012 at a price of 231.47pence.

PDMR interests

As a result of the above transactions, interests in shares held by the following Directors and senior managers (primary insiders), either directly, through connected persons (eg family members), or within the EBT or Avocet Shareholder Incentive Plan ('SIP') will be as follows:

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Notes to Editors

Avocet Mining PLC is a gold mining and exploration company listed on 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 West Africa.

In Burkina Faso the Company owns 90% of the Inata Gold Mine. The deposit at Inata currently comprises a Mineral Resource of 3.46 million ounces and a Mineral Reserve of 1.85 million ounces. The Inata Gold Mine poured its first gold in December 2009 and produced 167,000 ounces of gold in 2011.

Other assets in Burkina Faso include eight exploration permits in surrounding the Inata Gold Mine in the broader Bélahouro region. The most advanced of these projects is at Souma, some 20 kilometres from the Inata Gold Mine, where a Mineral Resource of 0.56 million ounces exists.

In Guinea, Avocet owns twelve exploration licences in the north east of the country. Mineral Resource development has been ongoing since 2005 and the project at Tri-K is the most advanced. Within the Tri-K project, Koulékoun has a Mineral Resource of 1.83 million ounces and Kodiéran of 0.4 million ounces.