3 April 2017

Avocet Mining PLC, ("Avocet" or "the Company"), the West African 
focused gold mining and exploration company, announces changes in 
the directorate as well as providing an update on other matters.

Appointment of new Chief Executive Officer

The Company is pleased to announce that Boudewijn Wentink has been 
appointed Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect and will 
join the board as an Executive Director. Boudewijn has a wealth of 
experience in managing businesses in challenging circumstances, most 
recently with New World Resources plc, a coal mining group based in 
the Czech Republic. He served as New World Resources' finance & 
legal director, and executive director, from 1 September 2015 until 
3 November 2016.

Boudewijn's primary strategic objective will be to achieve the 
refinancing and restructuring that is critical to the future of the 
Company. 

David Cather will step aside as Chief Executive but will remain on 
the Board as Technical Director in order to provide oversight on 
technical and related matters.  

Announcement of new Chief Finance Officer

The Company furthermore announces that Mrs. Yolanda Bolleurs will 
take the position as Chief Finance Officer from 3 April 2017 as Jim 
Wynn stands down as Finance Director, in order to take up a role as 
Chief Finance Officer of Rainbow Rare Earths Limited (RBW.L) at the 
end of April. Mrs. Bolleurs has experience managing financial and 
operational restructuring as well as cost optimisation processes for 
listed companies in mining, retail, logistics and telecoms. She will 
support Mr. Wentink in achieving the strategic objectives.

Jim will then remain on the Board of Avocet as a Non-executive 
Director, and will continue to provide advice and guidance as 
required. 

Following these changes coming into effect, the Board will comprise:

Non-Executive Chairman 		Russell Edey
Chief Executive Officer 		Boudewijn Wentink
Technical Director			David Cather
Senior Independent Director  	Barry Rourke
Non-Executive Director  		Gordon Wylie
Non-Executive Director 	 	Jim Wynn


Russell Edey, Chairman, commented: "On behalf of the Board, I wish 
to thank David and Jim for their efforts and contribution in running 
the Company over the past several years, the latter period having 
been quite turbulent. I also welcome Boudewijn and Yolanda, who both 
have considerable experience and expertise in corporate refinancing 
and restructuring, and whom we believe to be the right people to 
address the challenges facing the Company at the present time".


Update at Inata

Production at Inata during 2017 continues to be affected by the 
knock-on effects of the suspension of operations in October and 
November 2016, with funding for inventories, spares and maintenance 
having been impacted by the need to clear overdue payments. 
Discussions are in progress with creditors to allow the mine a 
period to free up operating cashflows to effect repairs needed to 
ensure predictable production levels. 

The recent increase in security incidents in the Sahel area, 
including in the vicinity of the mine, remains a concern. The 
Company has taken measures to increase its security, employing 
internal and external experts, and is in talks with the government 
of Burkina Faso to enhance its military presence in the area, as a 
further deterioration of the situation might necessitate an 
evacuation of personnel for safety reasons. 

Progress of Tri-K transaction

The approval by the Guinean government of the Tri-K Mining 
Convention, which remains the only condition before the completion 
of the first stage of the partial sale of the project to Managem SA, 
has been substantially achieved through the parliamentary 
ratification of the Mining Convention which took place on 24 
February 2017. However, the publication of a Presidential decree 
formalising this approval remains outstanding. This publication, 
which is considered to be a formality, is expected shortly, and once 
announced, will trigger 'First Closing', at which point Avocet will 
transfer 40% of its interest in the project in return for a payment 
of US$4m. The US$10m works programme at the site, which aims to 
complete a Bankable Feasibility Study for a Carbon-in-Leach project 
of at least 1 million ounces, can then commence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Avocet Mining PLC	 	
Yolanda Bolleurs, CFO
+44 20 3709 2570
	
Blytheweigh
Financial PR
Tim Blythe
Camilla Horsfall
Megan Ray
+44 207 138 3204

J.P. Morgan Cazenove
Corporate Broker
Michael Wentworth-Stanley
+44 20 7742 4000





NOTES TO EDITORS

Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or the "Company") is an unhedged 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 per cent of the Inata Gold Mine. 
The Inata Gold Mine poured its first gold in December 2009 and 
produced 72,485 ounces of gold in 2016. Other assets in Burkina Faso 
include five exploration permits surrounding the Inata Gold Mine in 
the broader Bélahouro region. The most advanced of these projects is 
Souma, some 20 kilometers from the Inata Gold Mine.
The Company also holds an interest in the Tri-K project in Guinea. 
On 10 October 2016, the Company announced that it had agreed to 
dispose of 40 per cent of the project to Managem, a Moroccan group 
listed on the Casablanca stock exchange, which, which will increase 
upon completion of a bankable feasibility study for a CIL plant at 
the site, the incurring of expenditures of at least US$10 million, 
and the enlarging of the ore reserve, to 70 per cent (in the event 
of an increase of the reserve to 1 million ounce or more) or 60 per 
cent (if less than 1 million ounces). Following approval by the 
Guinean National Assembly in February, the transaction remains 
subject only to the publication of a Presidential decree formalising 
the Mining Convention.