PRESS RELEASE: Avocet acquires Newmont's mining concessions in N. Sulawesi

Avocet Mining PLC ("the Company") has completed an agreement to acquire from Newmont Indonesia Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation, an 80% interest in a joint venture that holds a 6th Generation Contract of Work (CoW) granted by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. An Indonesian company, PT Lebong Tandai, owns the remaining 20%.

Consideration for the purchase is an up-front payment of US$200,000 already made, a further US$200,000 payment to be made by late January 2003, and the equivalent of a 4% royalty on revenues from the first 500,000 ounces of gold produced under the CoW. 800,000 ounces of gold has already been discovered and is being targeted by the Company for production as described below.

The CoW includes exploration and mining rights over 119,300 hectares (approximately 460 square miles) in the central portion of North Sulawesi in the District of Bolaang Mongondow. The western extent of the CoW is about 35 km south-west of Newmont's Minahasa gold mine that commenced operations in 1996.

Since the CoW's signing in April 1997, Newmont has identified five main mineralised trends containing thirty-seven known gold occurrences. To date, the most significant prospect area has been the Lanut Corridor which is a 30 km by 4 km north-west striking belt containing twelve known gold prospects. The most advanced are two, adjacent deposits known as Riska and Effendi. These deposits have been tested with 42 diamond drillholes (4,735 metres) that indicate a mineral inventory of 20.9 million tonnes grading 1.2 g/t Au and containing 800,000 ounces of gold. With mineralisation at surface and favorable topography, both these deposits, and especially the larger Riska deposit, can be mined by open pit methods with very low waste stripping ratios. Also, metallurgical testwork shows excellent gold recoveries with cyanide leaching to the extent that low cost heap leaching of run-of-mine ore may be feasible. At the Minahasa mine, heap leaching of uncrushed, low grade, ore has been a successful part of its operations.

Feasibility studies on the Riska-Effendi deposits are expected to be completed before the end of 2002 when it is hoped that the development of a gold mine producing around 75,000 ozs/year will be justified for completion before the end of 2003.

The Company believes that this acquisition represents an excellent opportunity for the timely development of a new gold mine using the expertise with which it has successfully developed and operated its 100,000 ozs/year Penjom gold mine in Malaysia. The exploration potential of the area is an added attraction.

The local government is one of the more stable and business-orientated legislatures in Indonesia. It has indicated strong support for Avocet's entry into the CoW.

The Company, which is listed on the main board of the London Stock Exchange, mines gold in Malaysia and tungsten in Portugal.

For further information please contact: Avocet Mining PLC, John Catchpole (Chief Executive & Finance Director): 020 7907 9000; Jonathan Henry: (Executive Vice President): 020 7907 9000

4C Communications Ltd, Carina Corbett: 020 8949 7171