FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015

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1 FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015 RNS Number : 4934T 30 March March 2016 TSX : AUE AIM : AUE FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015 AND 2015 OPERATIONAL REVIEW ("Aureus" or the "Company"), the TSX and AIM listed West African gold producer, is pleased to announce its audited annual financial results for the year ended December 31, 2015 and to provide an opera onal review for During the 2015 financial year under review, the Company has con nued to build on the work of previous years and completed the construc on and commissioning of the New Liberty Gold Mine, the first commercial gold mine in the Republic of Liberia, with Commercial Produc on declared from March 1, Aureus would like to thank its shareholders for their support and loyalty during this difficult period in both the Company's history and wider gold mining industry. Financial Highlights Year end cash of US$ 7.1 million; Revenues of US$ 19.2 million from gold sales of 17,172 ounces capitalised as pre produc on revenue; Capital addi ons of US$ 77 million to New Liberty offset by an impairment charge of US$ 50.4 million based on reduced gold price assump on; Carrying value of New Liberty US$ 221 million; Equity of US$ 28.1 million raised and US$ 30 million of debt drawn during the financial year; and 1/7

2 Post year end, nego a ons con nue with the Company's lenders with regards to the Company's future debt repayment schedule. Opera onal Highlights Mining opera ons at New Liberty commenced in January 2015, with a successful comple on of the first blast of 25,000 tonnes of waste rock; Cold and Hot Plant Commissioning commenced in April 2015 and completed in June 2015; First gold was poured at the New Liberty Gold Mine during May 2015 in line with the Project schedule and budget; New Liberty Process Plant achieved name plate capacity and gold shipments commenced in July 2015; Commercial Produc on declared effec ve March 1, 2016 with opera ng recovery levels exceeding 90%. Bea Mountain Class A Mining Licence extended to 478km 2 to include the Leopard Rock gold target; and Consolida on of 281km 2 of highly prospec ve explora on ground con guous to the Bea Mountain Class A Mining licence during November Opera onal Review During early 2015, the Republic of Liberia made significant progress in the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease ("EVD"), with the World Health Organisa on ("WHO") declaring Liberia Ebola Free on May 9, 2015 following a period of 42 con nuous days elapsing without a confirmed case of the Ebola virus in the country. During this period, civil construc on and mining opera ons progressed at New Liberty with blas ng opera ons commencing during January During April 2015, cold and hot plant commissioning ac vi es commenced at New Liberty focusing on the front end infrastructure of the processing plant, whilst piping and electrical installa on was completed in the remainder of the process plant. During this period, the Company also successfully extended its Bea Mountain Mining Licence in accordance with the Minerals and Mining Law for Liberia to include the en re 13 kilometre gold bearing structural corridor that stretches from the Gondoja target to the Leopard Rock South target. This mineralised corridor includes eight prospec ve targets, including the Ndablama target and increased the Company's mining licence to a total of 478km 2. The gran ng of the enlargement of the licence gives the Company the right for the commercial development of the en re mineralised gold corridor under the same parameters as detailed in Aureus' Mineral Development Agreement ("MDA"), subject to the gran ng of an Environmental Permit. During May 2015, all steel erec on and civil works at the process plant were completed, whilst commissioning ac vi es were completed on the Front End Comminu on Circuit, including both the milling and gravity circuits, with 2/7

3 commissioning work commencing on the extrac on circuits of the process plant including the Carbon in Leach ("CIL"), elu on and detox circuits. A significant milestone for the Project was achieved at the end of May 2015, with first gold being poured at the Project, in line with the Project schedule. Following the first gold pour, work con nued on the commissioning of the process plant including the final commissioning of CIL tanks and the installa on of the Ver mill. During July 2015, the plant passed a 24 hour performance test and reached its name plate capacity, with the first shipment of gold doré being transported from New Liberty to MKS PAMP in Switzerland for refining. During the period between the plant reaching nameplate capacity in mid July 2015 and the end of August 2015, there were a further three gold doré shipments from New Liberty, whilst plant commissioning ac vi es con nued to progress towards commercial produc on levels. Following Liberia being declared free of Ebola by the WHO for the second me on September 3, 2015, there was a small resurgence of cases of EVD within Monrovia during November On December 3, 2015, the last two Ebola pa ents in Liberia were discharged from hospital following a second consecu ve nega ve test for EVD. Human to human transmission of Ebola was declared over in Liberia 42 days a er this test on January 14, During November 2015, in accordance with the Company's strategy of building a long term and sustainable gold district in Liberia, the Company entered into an agreement to acquire three highly prospec ve explora on licences totalling 281km 2 from Sarama Resources Ltd. ("Sarama"). The licences were located con guous to the Company's Bea Mountain Mining Licence and close to the New Liberty Gold Mine. Prior to the acquisi on agreement, Sarama had conducted a US$ 1.8 million explora on programme over the licences including an airborne magne c survey and regional soil sampling programme, which lead to the iden fica on of a 15 km gold in soil anomaly that straddles the Cape Mount and Cape Mount East licences and corresponds to the westerly extension of the Bea Mountain Greenstone Belt. Sarama also undertook a 15 hole 1,600 metre drill programme with gold mineralisa on being intercepted in all but one of the 15 drill holes. The Company experienced unexpected commissioning issues and equipment failures within the process plant during the la er stages of 2015, resul ng in gold produc on of 17,172 during Op misa on ac vi es con nued to focus upon improving plant performance, in par cular within the gravity and CIL circuits of the process plant, to within its original design specifica ons during late 2015 and early 2016, and resulted in improvements in overall gold recovery levels throughout January and February As a direct result of the opera onal improvements made within the process plant, gold recovery levels steadily increased from approximately 73% in mid January 2016 to reach a stable level of 90% by the end of February Commercial Produc on was declared at New Liberty, effec ve March 1, 2016, with gold produc on in excess of 9,000 ounces during the month of February 2016, and gold recovery levels con nuing to remain in excess of 90% throughout opera ons during March. Commen ng on 2015 opera ons, David Reading, President and Chief Execu ve Officer of Aureus Mining, said: "2015 was a difficult period for the mining industry and the Company, however it was also a transforma onal period for the Company as we made a successful transi on from gold developer to producer. Although the commissioning stage of 3/7

4 the Project brought some unexpected challenges, I am proud that we were able to successfully navigate through them, and declare commercial produc on at New Liberty. "The near term focus of the Company is to complete the new mine plan and finalise a debt repayment schedule with our lenders, whilst ensuring that mining progresses to schedule throughout the wet season to facilitate the availability of sufficient ore stock for con nued plant opera ons. "I would like to extend my thanks to our shareholders and lenders for their con nuing support as we now look forward to delivering profitable ounces from the New Liberty Gold Mine in accordance with our longer term business plan." Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis The Financial Statements and the accompanying Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the year ended December 31, 2015 are available for review at the Company's website, mining.com, and on and should be read in conjunc on with this press release. Contact Informa on David Reading / Paul Thomson Tel: +44(0) Numis Securi es Limited (Nominated Adviser) John Prior / James Black / Paul Gillam Tel: +44(0) Buchanan Bobby Morse / Anna Michniewicz Tel: +44(0) RBC Capital Markets (Financial Advisor) Richard Horrocks Taylor / Richard Hughes Tel: +44(0) About The Company's assets include the New Liberty Gold Mine in Liberia (the "New Liberty Gold Mine," "New Liberty" or the "mine") which has an es mated proven and probable mineral reserve of 8.5 Mt with 924,000 ounces of gold grading 3.4 g/t and an es mated measured and indicated mineral resource of 9,796 Kt with 1,143,000 ounces of gold grading 3.63 g/t and an es mated inferred mineral resource of 5,730 Kt with 593,000 ounces of gold grading 3.2 g/t. A Defini ve Feasibility Study ("DFS") has been completed, the first gold pour has taken place and work con nues on commissioning the plant for full scale commercial produc on. The mine is expected to have an 8 year life and annual produc on of 119,000 ounces for the first 6 years of produc on. The foregoing mineral reserve and mineral resource es mates and addi onal informa on in connec on therewith are set out in the Company's technical report dated March 25, 2015 and en tled "New Liberty Gold Project, Bea Mountain Mining Licence Southern Block, Liberia, West Africa, Defini ve Project Plan." The New Liberty Gold Mine is located within the Southern Block of the 100% owned Bea Mountain mining licence. This licence covers 478 km² and has a 25 year, renewable, mineral development agreement. The Bea Mountain mining license also hosts addi onal gold projects of Ndablama, Gondoja, Weaju and Leopard Rock 4/7

5 which are the focus of explora on programs during Ndablama has an indicated mineral resource of 386,000 ounces of gold grading 1.6 g/t and inferred mineral resource of 515,000 ounces of gold grading 1.7 g/t and Weaju has an inferred mineral resource of 178,000 ounces of gold grading 2.1 g/t. The Yambesei (759 km 2 ), Archaen West (112.6 km 2 ), Mabong (36.6 km 2 ) and Mafa West (15.6 km 2 ) licences will also be subject to preliminary reconnaissance geological work. The foregoing mineral resource es mates and addi onal informa on in connec on therewith are set out in the Company's technical report dated December 1, 2014 and en tled "Ndablama and Weaju Gold Projects, Bea Mountain Mining Licence, Northern Block, Technical Report on Mineral Resources" ("Ndablama and Weaju Technical Report 2014"). The Company also has a gold explora on permit in Cameroon. Qualified Persons The Company's Qualified Person is David Reading, who holds a MSc in Economic Geology from University of Waterloo, Canada and is a Fellow of the Ins tute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. David Reading is the President and CEO of Aureus Mining Inc. and has reviewed and approves this press release. Forward Looking Statements Certain informa on contained in this Announcement cons tutes forward looking informa on. This informa on may relate to future events or the Company's future performance. All informa on other than informa on of historical fact is forward looking informa on. The use of any of the words "an cipate", "plan", "con nue", "es mate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "predict" and "poten al" and similar expressions are intended to iden fy forward looking informa on. This informa on involves known and unknown risks, uncertain es and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those an cipated in such forward looking informa on. No assurance can be given that this informa on will prove to be correct and such forward looking informa on included in this Announcement should not be unduly relied upon. This informa on speaks only as of the date of this Announcement. Such forward looking informa on includes, among other things, statements or informa on rela ng to: the applica on of proposed financing proceeds to strengthening the Company's balance sheet and reduc on of accounts payable, the Company's ability to meet future debt repayment obliga ons and to obtain waivers and amendments in respect thereof, the Company's New Liberty Gold Mine in Liberia (the "New Liberty Gold Mine"), the con nua on of commercial produc on at the New Liberty Gold Mine and the proposed plans rela ng thereto regarding opera ons, the provision of addi onal mining equipment and explosives and their impact on the mining rate, es mates rela ng to tonnage, grades, waste ra os, recovery rates and future gold produc on, life of mine es mates, expecta ons regarding throughput gold produc on, mill treatment and plant feed, es mates of capital and opera ng costs and start up costs, an cipated sources of funding, expecta ons regarding the engagement of external contractors, es mates of revenues and pay back periods, expecta ons regarding opera ng parameters, as well as the other forecasts, es mates and expecta ons rela ng to the New Liberty Gold Mine included in this Announcement; the future market price of commodi es; produc on targets; metables; the con nued lis ng of the common shares of the Company on the TSX and AIM. With respect to forward looking informa on contained in this Announcement, assump ons have been made regarding, among other things: general business, economic and mining industry condi ons; interest rates and foreign exchange rates; the impact of proposed provision of addi onal equipment and explosives on the 5/7

6 mining rate; the parameters and assump ons employed in the New Liberty Technical Report, (including but not limited to, those rela ng to future mining and opera ng costs, processing and recovery rates, net present values and internal rates of return, ming for the commencement of produc on, tax and royalty rates, future gold prices, metallurgical rates, opera ons and management, grades); the supply and demand for commodi es and precious and base metals and the level and vola lity of the prices of gold; the ability of the Company to raise sufficient funds from capital markets and/or debt to meet its future obliga ons and planned ac vi es; the obtaining of waivers and amendments from the Company's creditors in respect of its debt repayment obliga ons; the business of the Company including the poli cal environments and legal and regulatory frameworks in Liberia with respect to, among other things, the ability of the Company to obtain, maintain, renew and/or extend required permits, licences, authoriza ons and/or approvals from the appropriate regulatory authori es and the ability of the Company to con nue to obtain qualified staff and equipment in a mely and cost efficient manner to meet its demand. Actual results could differ materially from those an cipated in the forward looking informa on contained in this Announcement as a result of the risk factors, including: risks normally incidental to explora on and development of mineral proper es; the inability of the Company to obtain required financing, when needed and/or on acceptable terms or at all; the inability to obtain required waivers and amendments from the Company's creditors in respect of its debt repayment obliga ons and consequen al risks of default thereon; risks related to opera ng in West Africa; health risks associated with the mining workforce in West Africa; risks related to the Company's tle to its mineral proper es; adverse changes in commodity prices; risks related to current global financial condi ons; risks that the Company's explora on for and development of mineral deposits may not be successful; the inability of the Company to obtain, maintain, renew and/or extend required licences, permits, authoriza ons and/or approvals from the appropriate regulatory authori es and other risks rela ng to the legal and regulatory frameworks in Liberia, including adverse changes in applicable laws; compe ve condi ons in the mineral explora on and mining industry; risks related to obtaining insurance or adequate levels of insurance for the Company's opera ons; uncertainty of mineral resource and reserve es mates; the inability of the Company to delineate addi onal mineral resources; risks related to environmental regula ons; uncertain es in the interpreta on of results from drilling; uncertain es in the es mates and assump ons used, and risks in the methodologies employed, in the New Liberty Technical Report and that the comple on of addi onal work at the New Liberty Gold Mine could result in changes to the forecasts, es mates and expecta ons contained in the New Liberty Technical Report; risks related to the legal systems in Liberia; risks related to the tax residency of the Company; the possibility that future explora on, development or mining results will not be consistent with expecta ons; infla on; changes in exchange and interest rates; risks related to the ac vi es of ar sanal miners; ac ons of third par es that the Company is reliant upon; lack of availability at a reasonable cost or at all, of plants, equipment or labour, including required equipment, explosives and other necessary material not being delivered in the expected me frame, or at all; the inability to a ract and retain key management and personnel; poli cal risks; the inability to enforce judgments against the Company's directors and officers; and future unforeseen liabili es and other factors. The forward looking informa on included in this Announcement is expressly qualified by this cau onary statement and is made as of the date of this Announcement. The Company does not undertake any obliga on to publicly update or revise any forward looking informa on except as required by applicable securi es laws. 6/7

7 END This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange FR WGUCAWUPQUAU 7/7