Unaudited Preliminary Results

Beacon Hill Resources Plc / AIM: BHR / ASX: BHU / Sector: Mining

28 March 2012

Beacon Hill Resources Plc ('Beacon Hill' or 'the Group')

Unaudited Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 December 2011

Beacon Hill Resources Plc, the AIM listed coal producer, announces its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2011 and gives an update of progress since the financial year end.

Overview

Minas Moatize Mine, Mozambique

·; Mining of coal commenced this week from the Upper Chipanga Pit following four months of pre-stripping

·; Production and initial export shipment of first coking coal planned for mid-2012

·; DFS delivered for expansion with a pre-tax NPV of US$662 million

·; Continued progress with logistics:

o Proven trucking operation to the Port of Beira allowing first export shipment in December 2011

o Development of Sena rail line progressing well with formal allocation anticipated during 2012

Changara Coal Project, Mozambique

·; Mobilisation of drill rigs to commence by mid-April 2012 to undertake initial drilling programme

·; Opportunity to significantly enhance Beacon Hill's resource base

Corporate

·; Strategic partnership with Vitol Group including provision of $20 million facility

·; Significant increase in net assets of £60.61 million (2010: £28.39 million) following conversion of all outstanding loan notes

·; Application to ASX submitted; trading to commence shortly

Justin Lewis Chairman of Beacon Hill commented, "Tremendous progress has been made at Minas Moatize and Beacon Hill has met many significant milestones throughout 2011. This includes the commencement of open pit mining and coal processing at the Project's first wash plant, the development of an end to end logistics solution that culminated in the Group's first export shipment and the completion of the DFS which highlighted the strong economics of the Minas Moatize Coal Project.

"2012 has seen continued progress at the Group's operations in Mozambique. Mining of coal has this week commenced at the Upper Chipanga Pit which will allow production of coking coal for an initial shipment by the middle of the year. These key achievements have further de-risked the Project and leave the Group well-placed to ramp up production throughout 2012.

"Our position in the world-class coking coal Tete Province of Mozambique has been strengthened through our acquisition of majority ownership of the Changara Coal Project, which covers a tenement 70 times the size of our current operation in the region. With the continued development of Minas Moatize, in tandem with our exploration objectives at Changara, I am confident that Beacon Hill is strategically positioned to build value and become a substantial coking coal producer in Mozambique."

Webcast and Conference Call

A webcast of Chairman Justin Lewis providing a presentation on the unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2011 will be available on the Group's website, www.bhrplc.com.

A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 9.00am BST on Wednesday 28 March 2012. To participate in this conference call, please go to www.meetingzone.com/presenter to view the presentation and dial +44 (0) 808 109 5644, or +44 (0) 20 8322 2500 if you are calling from outside of the UK, using access code 2927389#.

Chairman's Statement

2011 has been a year of rapid development for Beacon Hill where we have demonstrated the commercial viability of Minas Moatize, which is surrounded by majors including Rio Tinto and Vale. I am confident that 2012 will be an excellent year for the Group as we increase the scale of our producing operation. In line with this, we have recently commenced mining of coal from the Upper Chipanga Pit following four months of pre-stripping. This will allow the production of coking coal with an initial shipment planned for the middle of the year. We continue to play an active role in the development of logistics and look forward to receiving a formal allocation of the Sena Line.

Our position in Mozambique has been strengthened through our acquisition of majority ownership in the Changara Coal Project and progress continues to be made at the Arthur River Project in Tasmania, Australia.

Operations

It has been an exciting 12 months at the Group's Minas Moatize Coal Mine with significant developments being achieved that have transformed the Group into a seaborne exporter of export quality coal. The recent completion of the DFS for Minas Moatize, which reported a pre-tax NPV13 of US$662 million and an IRR of 79.5%, highlighted the compelling economics of the project. Minas Moatize is now positioned to ramp up production to a targeted level of 4Mtpa ROM coal producing circa 2.2Mtpa of saleable coal over the coming years.

Having focused to date on bringing Minas Moatize into production, the acquisition of majority ownership in the Changara Coal Project in December 2011 was a further step in the Group's wider expansion strategy in the globally significant coking coal region of Tete. Drilling is anticipated to commence at Changara in the next few weeks which is hoped to prove up a substantial additional resource for the Group. This project covers a licence area of 184km2, 70 times the size of Minas Moatize. Whilst this is a greenfield site, it is located in the heart of the Songo Area of the Tete Province, an area with proven coal reserves, providing the Group with an opportunity to invest in a longer term development project that has the potential to considerably enhance its resource base. 

Progress continues to be made at our Magnesite Project in Tasmania and the Group is in the final stages of completing the Scoping Study for the project.

Financial Results

For the year under review, the Group reported a loss of £7.37 million upon turnover of £1.03 million. The revenue represents the sale of our first coal on the seabourne markets and continued sales to African markets. Direct costs include mining costs as well as the additional costs of moving from an underground mine to an open cut operation, and additional transport costs associated with the maiden shipment via Beira.

During this period the Group made significant investment of £5.74 million in the development of Minas Moatize. As at 31 December 2011 the Group had a cash position of £4.36 million, no outstanding debt, following the conversion of all outstanding convertible loan notes, and significantly strengthened net assets of £60.61 million.

Corporate

Over the course of the year the Group has continued to strengthen its management team, in particular with the appointment of Ric Jose to head operations in Mozambique and Neil McKenzie as Chief Financial Officer. We have also further bolstered out presence in Mozambique with the opening of Maputo office.

Prior to the year end the Group submitted an application to list on the Australian Stock Exchange which the board believes will enable us to attract interest from Australian investors whom have a very good understanding of coking coal projects. It is anticipated that trading will commence on the ASX shortly.

On 26 August 2011 Beacon Hill announced that it had received an unsolicited approach for the Group at a price of 16.25p per share in cash. Whilst this offer was at a premium to the share price of the Group, the Board, having consulted with our major shareholders, did not believe that the proposal fully reflected the value inherent in the Group. The proposal was subsequently withdrawn. The proposal did however highlight that whilst equity markets have been volatile, there remains significant interest and value in quality coking coal projects.

Following the year end, the board was very pleased to announce a marketing partnership with the Vitol Group, one of the world's largest energy trading groups. This brings on board a key strategic partner with invaluable experience of the coal markets and expertise in African logistics, as well providing further independent approval on our expansion plans in Mozambique. Finally, this agreement brings additional financing to the Group which will assist as we expand operations.

Outlook

Beacon Hill continues to develop rapidly as it strengthens its position in the developing globally strategic coking coal region of Tete Province, Mozambique. Following the completion of the DFS, the Group is well positioned to develop and build production from the Minas Moatize Mine throughout the course of 2012.

Our portfolio also offers plenty of exploration upside potential. The Changara Coal Project, where we will shortly commence drilling, presents an opportunity to significantly enhance the Group's resource base throughout the course of the year and the ongoing developments at Tasmania Magnesite have the potential to enhance the value of the Group.

We remain well funded following the advancement of the debt facility from Vitol and anticipate that the Group's financial position will be enhanced by year end.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank my fellow directors, all our employees and contractors who have contributed significantly to the development of Beacon Hill over the last 12 months.

Justin Lewis

Executive Chairman

28 March 2012

Review of Operations

Minas Moatize Coal Mine

Beacon Hill, through its subsidiary Minas Moatize Limitada, owns and operates the Minas Moatize Coal Mine in the Tete Province of Mozambique. Beacon Hill has focussed on continuing small scale production whilst in parallel working on the expansion and development of the Minas Moatize Coal Project.

Production

Minas Moatize ceased production from the historic underground mine in July 2011 before commencing open pit mining of thermal coal from an initial open pit in Q3 2011. Production of thermal coal continued for the rest of the year with 82,920t of ROM coal being mined and subsequently processed at Minas Moatize's wash plant, construction of which was completed in the second half of 2011. Commissioning of the plant has continued, with 24,900t of thermal coal processed during the second half of the year, building to a targeted rate of 100tph, which translates to approximately 600,000t ROM per annum. The mine is stripping to supply coal in 2012 to fill the available plant capacity.

Coal mined during the course of the year was successfully transported by truck to the Port of Beira prior to the Group's maiden export shipment of coal on 17 December 2011. This first shipment demonstrates Beacon Hill's viable operational end to end logistics solution to transport coal from mine to port and onto customers via the seaborne market.

Pre-stripping of a second open pit, the Upper Chipanga Pit ('UCP'), commenced in Q4 2011 where the Group will focus its activities on mining the Upper Chipanga Seam, which is anticipated to yield coking coal. To 31 December 2011, 395,172 bank cubic metres ('bcm') was pre-stripped with mining of coal having recently commenced in the last few weeks. The Group is seeking to produce and export in excess of 100,000t of coal in 2012, all of which is currently anticipated to be coking coal.

Minas Moatize Expansion Project

Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS)

In February 2012, Beacon Hill published the DFS for Minas Moatize. The DFS, completed by independent consultants, TWP Australia Pty Ltd, demonstrates very strong economics for the project. Financial modelling, based on a 4Mtpa ROM operation producing on average 2.2Mtpa of saleable coking and thermal coal during its mine life using a 13% discount rate, demonstrates a pre-tax NPV of US$662 million and a post-tax NPV of US$428 million.

Coal Reserves

In February 2012, the Group reported its maiden JORC compliant Coal Reserve for Minas Moatize. A total Mineable Reserve of 42.65Mt was reported with the potential upside of a further 7.9Mt. The Mineable Reserve represents the in situ portion of the Geological Resource that is economically mineable.

Production from the main life of mine pit is targeted to commence towards the end of 2012 following the completion of mining from the Upper Chipanga Pit. The operation is targeted to build to a rate of up to 4Mtpa ROM coal producing in excess of 2Mtpa of saleable hard coking and thermal coal for the life of mine, although this ramp up will be subject to access to logistics and the capacity of the wash plants.

Coal Qualities

Coke test results have reconfirmed that the coking coal produced at Minas Moatize will be classified as a Hard Coking Coal. The Coke Strength after Reaction ('CSR') range of 68-71 is similar to the hard coking coal produced from Queensland, Australia, which trades at a premium to other coking coals due its limited resources and its importance in the steel production industry.

Off-Take Agreement

In November 2011, Beacon Hill entered into a revised off-take agreement with its partner Global Coke. The revised off-take agreement was for up to 600,000t of coking coal per annum from Minas Moatize for the life of the mine. As part of the agreement, the parties agreed to the pricing benchmark being a Free-on-Board ('FOB') Australian Hard Coking Coal Index. The revised agreement provided Beacon Hill with greater flexibility, taking into account predicted short term coking coal production and logistics capacity, whilst the agreed pricing index followed the reconfirmation as Minas Moatize coking coal as a hard coking coal.

Marketing Partnership and US$20 Million Debt Facility

In March 2012, Beacon Hill entered into a strategic marketing partnership with the Vitol Group, one of the world's largest energy trading groups. As part of the partnership the parties entered into a Coal Marketing Agreement whereby Vitol will act as agent to market export coal produced by the Minas Moatize Mine.

Vitol has also made available to Beacon Hill a secured debt facility of up to US$20 million in two tranches of US$10 million. The facility may be utilised for capital expenditure, general corporate and working capital purposes.

Logistics

Good progress continues to be made with respect to logistics. On 17 December 2011, Beacon Hill's first export shipment departed from the Port of Beira. The Group's first shipment of 10,650t of thermal coal produced from Minas Moatize was trucked to the Port of Beira ahead of being loaded onto the MV Aztec Maiden and shipped, marking a key milestone for the Group.

The trucking is being operated by a local Mozambican trucking contractor, initially using a fleet of 40 trucks. The trucking solution will allow the transport of up to 0.5Mtpa to the Port of Beira for future shipments, which is more than sufficient for its planned production over the next 18 months.  This solution has worked effectively and the Group intends to continue using this trucking solution pending the commencement of the transportation of coal via the Sena Rail Line, which remains the Group's longer term preferred transportation solution.

Significant progress continues to be made regarding the Sena Rail Line. Minas Moatize continues to work with the Government of Mozambique alongside Vale and Rio Tinto to complete the refurbishment of the Sena Rail Line to an initial capacity of 6.5Mtpa in mid-2012 and then to a fully operational capacity of 12Mtpa later in the year. These discussions are progressing well and the Group remains confident of attaining an allocation to the line in 2012 which will allow it to further ramp up coal production.

Changara Coal Project

In December 2011, Beacon Hill acquired majority ownership in a joint venture to explore and develop the Changara Coal Project in the Tete Province of Mozambique. The Changara project covers a licence area of 184km2, which is 70 times the size of Minas Moatize. It is located in the heart of the highly prospective coking coal basin of the Songo Area of the Tete Province, an area with proven coal reserves located within close proximity to Jindal Steel & Power Chingodzi Coal Project, which is estimated to contain a resource in excess of 700Mt of coking and thermal coal.

The Changara project is a further step in Beacon Hill's wider expansion strategy in the globally significant coking coal region of Tete and will provide the Group with an opportunity to invest in a longer term development project that has the potential to considerably enhance its resource base.

Tasmania Magnesite

Project Overview

Beacon Hill, through its subsidiary Tasmania Magnesite NL, holds mineral tenure over two large, high-grade magnesite deposits at Arthur River and Lyons River in north-western Tasmania, Australia.

The Arthur River Project has a defined JORC compliant Measured resource of 13Mt of magnesite and an Inferred resource of 10Mt. Together with the Lyon River Project, the combined resource is 39Mt, the third largest in Australia.

Scoping Study

In 2011 the Group focussed its activities on undertaking a Scoping Study on the Arthur's River Project, which is in the final stages of completion. The focus of the Scoping Study is to confirm the economics of the project and to develop an initial conceptual mine plan. Whilst the Scoping Study was initially expected to be completed by the end of 2011, delays with respect to geotechnical and hydrology testing resulted in the release of the Scoping Study being delayed until the first half of 2012.

The Scoping Study will form the basis for moving forward including the submission of a development proposal and environmental management plan to secure mining approval, the completion of an approved drilling programme and the securing of a joint venture partner to fund the development of the project.

Corporate

In April 2011 the Group undertook a placement to raise £12.5 million. Beacon Hill's net asset position has further strengthened following the conversion of all outstanding convertible loan notes, which have now been converted into ordinary shares in the Group. As at 31 December 2011, Beacon Hill had 1,051,442,137 ordinary shares, 19,770,000 warrants and 59,337,084 options outstanding.

Senior Management Team

The Group strengthened its senior management team with the appointments of Neil McKenzie as Chief Financial Officer and Ric Jose as the Mozambique Country Head and Executive Director of Minas Moatize. In addition to Mr. Jose's appointment, the opening of the Maputo office has bolstered the Group's presence in Mozambique.

ASX Listing

At the Group's General Meeting on 23 December 2011, the resolution to amend Beacon Hill's Articles of Association to comply with the ASX Listing Rules was duly passed. Beacon Hill has subsequently lodged its application to dual list on the Official List of the ASX. It is anticipated that trading on the ASX will commence shortly.

Unaudited Consolidated Income Statement

for the year ended 31 December 2011

Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

for the year ended 31 December 2011

Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

for the year ended 31 December 2011

Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheet

at 31 December 2011

Unaudited Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

for the year ended 31 December 2011

The financial information set out above does not constitute the Group's statutory accounts for 2011 or 2010. The financial information for the year ended 31 December 2011 is unaudited. Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2010 have been reported on by the Independent Auditors. The Independent Auditors' Report on the Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2010 was unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis, and did not contain a statement under 498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2010 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2011 will be delivered to the Registrar in due course.

For further information, please contact:

Notes

Beacon Hill Resources Plc is an AIM-listed resource company that is focused on building a portfolio of near-term production projects in commodities relating to the steel production industry.

Beacon Hill owns and operates one of only two operating coal mines producing, selling and exporting coal in the Moatize Coal Basin of Mozambique. In addition, the Group has entered into a JV to develop a further coal tenement in Mozambique and holds licences over a significant magnesite deposit in Australia.

More details on Beacon Hill can be found at www.bhrplc.com.

Forward Looking Statement

Certain statements made during or in connection with the communication, including, without limitation, those concerning the economic outlook for the coal mining industry, expectations regarding coal prices, production, cash costs and other operating results, growth prospects and the outlook of Beacon Hill operations, its liquidity and the capital resources and expenditure, contain or comprise certain forward-looking statements regarding Company's development and exploration operations, economic performance and financial condition.

Although the Group believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Accordingly, results could differ materially from those set out in the forward-looking statements as a result of, among other factors, changes in economic and market conditions, success of business and operating initiatives, changes is the regulatory environment and other government actions, fluctuations in coal prices and exchange rates and business and operational risk management. For a discussion of such factors, refer to the Group's most recent annual report and half year report. The Group undertakes no obligation to update publicly or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after today's date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.