27 February 2012
Aureus Mining Inc.
TSX : AUE
AIM : AUE    
Aureus Mining Inc. (�Aureus� or the �Company�) announces encouraging drilling and trenching results from exploration programmes undertaken at the Leopard Rock gold target, the south eastern extension of the Ndablama prospect, on its 100% owned Archaen Gold exploration Licence in Liberia. Leopard Rock is 40 km ENE of Aureus�s flagship New Liberty Gold Project.
 
�         Results from the first 9 Diamond drill holes of a 24 hole programme (3,691 metres) returned multiple gold intercepts which include high grade highlights of:
 
-       17.6 g/t over 4 metres
-         9.4 g/t over 6 metres
-         9.5 g/t over 3 metres
-         9.2 g/t over 2 metres
-         5.5 g/t over 4 metres
 
�         Drilling to date has been designed to test a North West trending, gold bearing shear zone over a strike length of 800 metres. Results from 15 holes are still pending.
 
�         A systematic soil geochemistry, trenching, channel sampling and geological mapping programme over the same target area has outlined that the mineralised system extends over at least 1.2km and is still open to the NE and SW. Highlights of the trenching and channel sampling programme include:
 
-         6.4 g/t over 11 metres
-         6.9 g/t over 4 metres
-         5.6 g/t over 7 metres
-         4.0 g/t over 7 metres
-         2.0 g/t over 13 metres
-         1.3 g/t over 27 metres
 
�         Regional exploration programmes have outlined a gold corridor greater than 13km in strike length, which is defined by gold in soil anomalies and reconnaissance trenching and drilling. Diamond drilling undertaken on three targets within the gold corridor has intersected gold mineralisation in primary rock: at Leopard Rock, Ndablama and Gondoja. Only 15% of the gold corridor has been drill tested to date. Future drilling programmes will now focus on the Ndablama target and the area around Gondoja, as defined by gold in soil anomalies.
 
Commenting on the results, David Reading, Chief Executive Officer of Aureus, said:
�The drilling and trenching results from Leopard Rock are very encouraging and demonstrate the highly prospective nature of our licence area in Liberia. It highlights the value in the Company additional to the exciting New Liberty Project, where civil construction is expected to start in Q4 of this year and production in Q4 2013. To date we have only explored 10% of our 546km² total licence area with soil geochemistry, and outside of New Liberty we have only undertaken reconnaissance drilling programmes on four targets. However, this work has already outlined an extensive 13km gold corridor. Between now and the end of the field season, in July, we will be pushing hard to cover more ground and drill test additional targets.�
 
 
Leopard Rock gold target � soil geochemistry, reconnaissance trenching and Diamond drilling programmes outline a +1.5km shear zone target which is still open to the NW and SE.
 
The Leopard Rock gold target is located approximately 40km ENE of the New Liberty deposit within the Archaen Gold exploration license. Exploration work has been in progress on this target area over the last five months and includes programmes of soil geochemistry, geological mapping, rock chip channel sampling, trenching and Diamond drilling. This work has outlined a +1.5km, NW-SE trending gold in soil anomaly which is associated with sheared ultramafic and meta-basalt rocks.
 
A trenching and channel programme within the shear zone has confirmed bedrock gold mineralisation over a least 1.2km of the soil anomaly and further trenching results are pending to the south west. All of the trench and channel sample results are given in table one below:
 
Table 1: Leopard Rock trench and channel sample results

Trench ID	From (m)	To (m)	Length (m)	Au Grade g/t	Including g/t
LT01	24	33	9	1.0
LT02	15	28	13	1.0	4m @ 0.6
LT06	71	79	8	0.7
LT08	25	33	8	1.3
LT09	18	45	27	1.3	13m @ 2.0
LT010	6	31	25	1.8	4m @ 6.9
	34	50	16	0.5
	95	97	2	1.4
LT012	0	5	5	0.5
	17	29	12	1.0
	32	38	6	0.8
	64	82	18	0.7	7m @ 1.0
LT013	113	121	8	1.7
LT016A	28	46	18	0.7
LT017A	58	63	5	0.7
	76	88	12	0.5
LT018	53	59	6	1.6
LT019	78	86	8	0.6
	94	96	2	1.7
LT020	41	49	8	0.7
	61	63	2	1.8
LT021	54	63	9	0.8
LT022	0	12	12	0.6
	33	35	2	7.0
LCS1	0	7	7	4.0
	9	15	6	1.8
LCS2	0	11	11	6.4
	13	20	7	5.6
LCS3	20	29	9	1.6
Assay grade data is un-cut.

 
The trenching and surface channel sampling work has outlined multiple gold zones over widths of 2 to 27 metres which have returned grades ranging from 0.5 g/t to 7 g/t. All trenches were excavated to a depth of two metres and channel sampled at continuous one metre intervals along the base of the trench.
 
A Diamond drilling programme designed to test the 800m strike of the target zone   commenced in December 2011. To date 24 holes have been completed for 3,691m. Results have been received for the first 9 holes and are tabulated as follows:
 
Table 2: Leopard Rock Diamond drill hole results

Borehole ID	From (m)	To (m)	Core Length (m)	Au Grade g/t	Including g/t
LDD001	2	22	20	1.9
	52	61	9	1.9	3m @ 5.0
LDD002	52	54	2	1.7
LDD003				NSV
LDD004	79	83	4	5.5
	87	91	4	17.6
LDD005	2	10	8	1.0
	42	44	2	9.2
LDD006	24	35	11	1.7
	39	43	4	1.0
	56	59	3	9.5
LDD007	27.5	33	5.5	1.0
	45	46	1	1.4
LDD008	40.4	45	4.6	0.7
	51	54	3	0.7
	74	78	4	1.9
LDD009	107	113	6	9.4	4m @ 13.9
Assay grade data is un-cut. NSV - No Significant Value

 
The Diamond drilling cores demonstrate that the gold mineralisation is associated with disseminated pyrite, pyrhotite and arsenopyrite locating within sheared and altered ultramafic and metabasalt rocks which have been intruded by granitic dykes. Gold zones vary from thin (1-4 metres) higher grade (+5 g/t) bodies to wider intercepts (8-20 metres) grading 0.7 to 2.0 g/t. Further Diamond drilling is planned along the north-west extension of the mineralised system as defined by gold in soil anomalies and trenching.
 
 
Exploration programmes highlight +13km gold corridor extending from Leopard rock to Gondoja
 
Regional exploration work has been undertaken within the Leopard Rock, Ndablama and Gondoja areas involving soil geochemistry, channel sampling, trenching and Diamond drilling. The gold in soil anomalies define a zone of continuous anomalism over 13km in length and widths of over 1km. The gold in soil anomalies have been drill tested and trenched at the Ndablama, Leopard Rock and Gondoja targets and in all cases this work has returned gold mineralisation within the bedrock confirming the source of the soil anomalies. To date only 15% of the gold corridor has been drill tested. Once the Leopard Rock drilling has been completed the company intends to move the Diamond rigs to Ndablama to complete another 3,500 metres of drilling and then onto the Gondoja targets to complete a further 4,000 metres of drilling. 
 
The location of the Leopard Rock target, the gold corridor and the Diamond drilling and trench results are illustrated in the following links:
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Image-1.png
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Image-2.png
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Image-3.png
http://aureus-mining.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Image-4.png
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contact Information
 

Aureus Mining Inc. David Reading / Jeremy Cave Tel: +44(0) 20 7257 2930	Buchanan Bobby Morse / James Strong Tel: +44(0) 20 7466 5000
RBC Capital Markets Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker Martin Eales / Richard Hughes / Jonathan Hardy Tel: +44(0) 20 7653 4000	GMP Securities Europe LLP Joint Broker Richard Greenfield / Alexandra Carse Tel: +44(0) 20 7647 2800

Qualified Person
The Company's Qualified Person responsible for preparing this release is David Reading, who holds a MSc in Economic Geology from University of Waterloo, Canada and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. David Reading is the President and CEO of Aureus Mining Inc. and consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears and confirms that this information is accurate and not false or misleading.
 
Assay and sampling information are taken from the Company�s database as prepared on New Liberty site by the project geologists. Drill core is split on site and sent under custody to the Alex Stewart-OMAC sample preparation facility in Monrovia where pulps are prepared and dispatched to the OMAC laboratory in Ireland for analysis by fire assay with an atomic absorption finish.
 
Quality control and quality assurance procedures include the regular and methodical implementation of field duplicates, blank samples, standards and laboratory repeats as well as regular and specific programmes of re-assaying and umpire laboratory assaying.
 
About Aureus Mining
The Company's assets include the New Liberty gold deposit in Liberia (the "New Liberty Gold Project"), which has an estimated Reserve of 873,000 ounces of gold grading 3.1 g/t and an estimated Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource of 1,086,000 ounces of gold grading 3.6 g/t and an estimated Inferred Mineral Resource of 483,000 ounces of gold grading 3.5 g/t. A technical update for the New Liberty gold project was released in February 2012, de-risking and building on the robust preliminary economic assessment ("PEA"), filed in December 2010. This update outlined an improved pre-tax NPV of US$ 260 million based on a US$ 1,350/oz. average gold price and a discount rate of 8 %, with an 8 year mine life and an average production of 123,000 ounces per year modelled for the first four years.
The New Liberty Gold Project is located within the Bea Mountain mining license which covers 457 km² and has a 25 year, renewable, mineral development agreement. The Bea Mountain mining license also hosts the proximal gold targets of Ndablama, Gondoja and Weaju, which are the focus of exploration programs during 2012 along with the Company�s Archaen Gold exploration license contiguous with and immediately south of the Bea Mountain mining license and containing the Leopard Rock target.
 
The Company also has gold assets within exploration properties in Cameroon.
 
 
Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains certain forward-looking information. All information, other than information regarding historical fact that addresses activities, events or developments that Aureus Mining believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future is forward-looking information. Forward-looking information contained in this press release includes, but may not be limited to, the future plans and objectives of Aureus Mining and their anticipated future growth, mineral resource estimates and the anticipated exploration and development activities of Aureus Mining. The foregoing and any other forward-looking information contained in this press release reflects the current expectations, assumptions or beliefs of Aureus Mining based on information currently available to Aureus Mining. With respect to the forward-looking information contained in this press release, Aureus Mining has made assumptions regarding, among other things: general business, economic and mining industry conditions; and it has also been assumed that no material adverse change in the price of precious and/or base metals occurs, no unusual geological or technical problems occur and no significant events occur outside of the normal course of Aureus Mining�s respective business.
 
Such forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations, including: risks normally incidental to exploration and development of mineral properties; uncertainties in the interpretation of results from drilling and test work; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with expectations; uncertainty of mineral resources estimates; adverse changes in precious and/or base metal prices; and future unforeseen liabilities and other factors including, but not limited to, those listed under �Risk Factors� in the Preliminary Prospectus of Aureus Mining Inc. dated April 20, 2011, a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and in the Aureus Mining Admission Document, a copy of which is available at www.aureus�mining.com.
 
Any mineral resource figures referred to in this press release are estimates and no assurances can be given that the indicated levels of minerals will be produced. Such estimates are expressions of judgment based on knowledge, mining experience, analysis of drilling results and industry practices. Valid estimates made at a given time may significantly change when new information becomes available. While Aureus Mining believes that the mineral resource estimates in respect of their respective properties are well established, by their nature mineral resource estimates are imprecise and depend, to a certain extent, upon statistical inferences which may ultimately prove unreliable. If such mineral resource estimates are inaccurate or are reduced in the future, this could have a material adverse impact on Aureus Mining, as applicable. Due to the uncertainty that may be attached to inferred mineral resources, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will be upgraded to an indicated or measured mineral resource as a result of continued exploration.
 
Forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable law, Aureus Mining disclaims any obligation to update or modify such forward-looking information, either as a result of new information, future events or for any other reason.