Zinc Silicate Patent Granted in Australia

31 August 2016

Alexander Mining plc

("Alexander" or the "Company")

Method for Leaching Zinc Silicate Ores Patent Granted in Australia

Alexander is pleased to report that it has received notification that its MetaLeach Limited ("MetaLeach") subsidiary has been granted a patent for a Method for Leaching Zinc Silicate Ores in Australia, patent number 2013202214. The patent will remain in force until 28 March 2033.

Martin Rosser, Chief Executive Officer, said: "The granting of our Zinc Silicate Leaching Patent in Australia is most significant. Zinc silicate mineralisation comprises a significant proportion of non-sulphide zinc ores targeted for use by our AmmLeach® process and this is the first patent to be granted for this particular leaching method patent family."

The patent describes a method for leaching zinc from an ore, comprising the method steps of: curing the zinc silicate ore to be leached through the application of a low volume of an aqueous acid solution having a pH of 0 or above, producing a cured zinc silicate ore more amenable to leaching through the application of an ammonium carbonate solution containing free ammonia; leaching the cured ore at atmospheric pressure through the application of an ammonium carbonate solution containing free ammonia, producing a pregnant leach solution; and passing the pregnant leach solution to a means for zinc recovery.

This announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

ENDS

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