MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Feb. 23, 2012) - Richmont Mines Inc. (News - Market indicators)(NYSE Amex:RIC),("Richmont" or the "Corporation"), is pleased to announce its fourth quarter and fiscal year results for the period ended December 31, 2011. Financial results are based on International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and dollars are reported in Canadian currency, unless otherwise noted.

Highlights:

• Full year 2011 revenue increased 31% to $118.6 million; Net earnings of $25.9 million, or $0.81 per share, are a record for the Corporation, and are well above the $9.3 million, or $0.33 per share in 2010;
  
  
• Q4 2011 revenue growth of 24% to $32.3 million; Net earnings of $6.1 million, or $0.19 per share, versus $4.6 million, or $0.15 per share, in the comparable period of 2010;
  
  
• 2011 gold sales of 76,143 ounces, 12% above the 68,123 ounces of gold sold in 2010;
  
  
• $68.7 million in working capital at December 31, 2011, and $63.5 million of cash and cash equivalents;
  
  
• Wasamac property resource base expanded significantly to 556,385 Au ounces of Measured and Indicated Resources and 2,130,532 Au ounces of Inferred Resources; PEA expected towards the end of Q1 2012.

Martin Rivard, President and CEO of Richmont Mines commented: "Our operations delivered strong results in 2011, with net earnings increasing 178% year-over-year and our cash flow up a notable 112% to $38.8 million. In addition, our drilling efforts during the year enabled both of our operating mines to more than replace their annual production in addition to delivering a 12% increase in gold sales over 2010 levels. This performance is all the more noteworthy in light of the health and safety milestones achieved at our operations - one and two years of no lost-time accidents at our Island Gold Mine and at our Camflo Mill, respectively, and an impressive four years of no lost-time accidents at our Beaufor Mine. We are very proud of these achievements, and would like to thank all of our employees for the essential roles that each and every one of them played toward realizing these notable successes while also generating Richmont's record 2011 results."

Q4 2011 Results

Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $32.3 million, a 24% improvement over last year's $26.1 million. Net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2011 were $6.1 million, or $0.19 per share, compared with the $4.6 million, or $0.15 per share earned in the fourth quarter of 2010. Total precious metals revenue increased $6.2 million, or 24% to $32.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with $26.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. This was driven primarily by a 21% increase in the average sales price per ounce of gold in Canadian dollars. In the fourth quarter of 2011, 18,992 ounces of gold were sold at an average price of US$1,716 (CAN$1,697), versus gold sales of 18,591 ounces at an average price of US$1,359 (CAN$1,400) in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Cost of sales totalled $19.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from $16.3 million in the year-ago period, primarily a reflection of a 21% increase in the number of tonnes processed from the Island Gold Mine and higher costs at the Beaufor Mine. The average cash cost per ounce of gold sold decreased slightly to US$882 (CAN$872) in the fourth quarter from US$894 (CAN$884) in the third quarter of 2011, primarily as a result of improved recovered grades at the Beaufor Mine. On a year-over-year basis, however, fourth quarter average cash cost per ounce of gold sold increased from US$730 (CAN$752) in the comparable period of 2010, reflecting a decrease of the recovered grade at Island Gold Mine, and increased mining costs at the Beaufor Mine.

Exploration and project evaluation costs, net of exploration tax credits, totalled $3.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from $2.0 million in the comparable period in 2010, reflecting higher expenses associated with the Corporation's expanded exploration programs at the Wasamac property as well as at the Island Gold Mine, the effects of which were offset by lower exploration costs at the Beaufor Mine.

Full Year 2011 Results

Revenue for the 12 months ended December 31, 2011 totalled $118.6 million, a notable improvement from last year's $90.5 million. Net earnings for the year were $25.9 million, or $0.81 per share, a significant improvement over last year's $9.3 million, or $0.33 per share. Total annual precious metal revenue increased 36% to $118.2 million in 2011 from $87.2 million in 2010, driven by a 12% increase in the number of ounces of gold sold and a 21% increase in the average gold sales price. For the full year, 76,143 ounces of gold were sold at an average price of US$1,570 (CAN$1,553), versus gold sales of 68,123 ounces in 2010 at an average price of US$1,243 (CAN$1,280). Other revenue declined to $0.4 million in 2011 from $3.3 million in 2010, reflecting that there was no custom milling revenue during 2011.

Cost of sales for the full year totalled $71.7 million, versus $66.1 million in the year-ago period, primarily a reflection of higher costs at the Beaufor Mine, increased tonnage at Island Gold and higher depreciation and depletion at both mines stemming from increased gold sales and a higher rate. However, the average cash cost per ounce of gold sold in Canadian dollars decreased by $22 or 3% to US$821 (CAN$812) for the full year of 2011 from US$810 (CAN$834) in 2010, as lower costs at Island Gold offset the higher costs at Beaufor Mine that were driven by increased mining costs due to the greater amount of development necessary to access the ore zones and higher milling costs associated with operating the Camflo Mill at less than 30% capacity. Richmont expects the utilisation of the mill to increase with the ramping up at the Francoeur Mine throughout 2012.

Exploration and project evaluation costs, net of exploration tax credits, totalled $11.0 million in 2011, well above the $7.4 million in the comparable period of 2010, reflecting higher expenses associated with the Corporation's exploration programs at the Wasamac and Monique properties as well as at the Island Gold Mine, partially offset by lower exploration costs at the Beaufor Mine.

Strong Cash Position

At December 31, 2011, cash and cash equivalents were $63.5 million, compared with $40.0 million at December 31, 2010. At December 31, 2011, Richmont Mines had working capital of $68.7 million and only 33.1 million shares outstanding.

Operational Highlights

Island Gold Mine

The Island Gold Mine processed 67,019 tonnes of ore in the fourth quarter of 2011 at an average recovered grade of 5.56 g/t, versus comparable fourth quarter 2010 results of 55,553 tonnes and an average recovered grade of 6.49 g/t. Fourth quarter gold sales from this mine increased to 11,987 ounces at an average price of US$1,704 (CAN$1,685) per ounce in 2011, versus gold sales of 11,589 ounces at an average price of US$1,356 (CAN$1,397) per ounce in the comparable period of 2010. Cash costs at Island Gold increased to US$847 (CAN$837) from US$680 (CAN$700) in the fourth quarter of 2010, primarily a reflection of a lower recovered grade.

For the 12 months ended December 31, 2011, 261,731 tonnes of ore were processed at an average recovered grade of 5.85 g/t, and a record 49,196 ounces of gold were sold at an average price of US$1,566 (CAN$1,549) per ounce. This compared to 251,237 tonnes of ore processed an average recovered grade of 5.68 g/t, and gold sales of 45,865 ounces at an average price of US$1,238 (CAN$1,275) per ounce in 2010. The year-over-year improvement reflected a 4% increase in tonnage and a 3% improvement in recovered grades. Cash costs at Island Gold decreased by 6% in Canadian dollars year-over-year, to US$766 (CAN$758) from US$783 (CAN$806) in 2010, primarily a reflection of a slightly higher recovered grade and lower mining costs. In addition, the Island Gold Mine achieved the notable health and safety record of one year with no lost-time accidents in 2011.

As of December 31, 2011, total Proven and Probable reserves at the Island Gold Mine were 171,814 gold ounces, up 7% over the Proven and Probable reserves of 161,197 gold ounces at the end of December 2010. This increase was attributable to 13,080 metres of definition drilling completed during 2011, partially offset by 12 months of production at the mine. Estimated Measured and Indicated resources at the Island Gold Mine decreased to 153,920 ounces of gold at December 31, 2011 from 188,511 gold ounces at December 31, 2010, primarily reflecting the successful transformation of resources into reserves as a result of definition drilling carried out during the year. Estimated Inferred resources were 67,238 ounces of gold at the end of 2011 versus 138,732 gold ounces at the end of 2010, with the decrease primarily attributable to the reinterpretation of the Goudreau Zone following drilling and development work completed during 2011, the result of which was a year-over-year reduction in both tonnage and grade.

Exploration efforts in 2011 at Island Gold further confirmed the potential at depth at this mine. Specifically, drilling identified four main zones (G, C, D and E1E) between -500 metres and -900 metres of vertical depth over a corridor length of 150 metres that spans between the Lochalsh and Island Main zones. Richmont is focused on expanding the reserve and resource base of this asset, and remains optimistic about the long-term possibilities at Island Gold. To this end, a total of 51,500 metres of drilling are planned in 2012, which will include surface exploration, underground exploration and definition drilling. In particular, the Corporation will complete 35,000 of deep drilling at Island Gold during 2012 with the goal of establishing resources below this mine's current infrastructure.

Richmont is targeting annual production of 45,000 to 50,000 ounces of gold at the Island Gold Mine in 2012.

Beaufor Mine

A total of 25,944 tonnes of ore were processed from the Beaufor Mine at an average recovered grade of 8.40 g/t in the fourth quarter of 2011. This compared to 30,486 tonnes and a recovered grade of 7.14 g/t in the comparable period of 2010. Fourth quarter gold sales from this mine were unchanged at 7,005 ounces in 2011 at an average realized price of US$1,737 (CAN$1,718) per ounce, versus gold sales of 7,002 ounces an average price of US$1,365 (CAN$1,406) in the year-ago period. Cash costs at this mine increased to US$941 (CAN$931) in the fourth quarter of 2011, versus US$815 (CAN$839) in the comparable period last year, as the benefits realized from the notable 18% improvement in recovered grade were mitigated by the 15% decline in processed tonnage that resulted in higher costs per tonne.

For the full year 2011 a total of 100,888 tonnes of ore were processed from the Beaufor Mine at an average recovered grade of 8.31 g/t, and 26,947 ounces of gold were sold at an average price of US$1,576 (CAN$1,559). This compared to tonnage of 104,945, an average recovered grade of 6.60 g/t, and realized gold sales of 22,258 ounces at an average sales price of US$1,253 (CAN$1,290) in 2010. Cash costs at the Beaufor Mine for the 12 months of 2011 increased to US$921 (CAN$911) from US$867 (CAN$892) last year, reflecting higher costs per tonne, primarily as a result of the greater amount of development necessary to access the ore zones, partially offset by a notable improvement in the recovered grade. Richmont would like to highlight that the Beaufor Mine reached the noteworthy milestone of four years without a lost-time accident, a significant achievement for any mine, and a testament to the dedication of every member of the Beaufor team.

Proven and Probable reserves at the Beaufor Mine increased slightly to 69,191 gold ounces at December 31, 2011, from 68,998 gold ounces at December 31, 2010. This reflects the addition of reserves established within the mine's existing underground infrastructure as a result of definition drilling in 2011, offset by gold production from the mine during the year. The Corporation is planning 10,000 metres of definition drilling and 15,000 metres of exploration drilling at the Beaufor Mine in 2012, and an additional 4,000 and 5,000 metres, respectively, at the near-surface W Zone, located to the west of the mine's existing infrastructure. Richmont continues to be optimistic about the future potential of the Beaufor Mine and previously identified near-surface zones on the Beaufor property.

Drilling in 2011 similarly resulted in a 5% increase in Measured and Indicated resources to 182,334 ounces of gold at the end of December 2011 versus 173,453 ounces of gold at the end of 2010. Inferred resources as of December 31, 2011 remained unchanged year-over-year at 182,185 ounces of gold. Existing resources are mostly below the existing infrastructure of the mine, and Richmont plans to re-evaluate the future potential of this area in 2012.

Richmont is targeting annual production of 20,000 to 25,000 ounces of gold at the Beaufor Mine in 2012.

Camflo Mill

The Camflo Mill processed a total of 30,945 tonnes during the fourth quarter of 2011, down 4% from the 32,392 tonnes processed during the fourth quarter of 2010. For the full year, a total of 111,007 tonnes were processed at the Camflo Mill, down from tonnage of 191,093 in the year-ago period. This reflects that no custom milling was completed in 2011, whereas 82,939 tonnes were custom milled in 2010. The Camflo Mill began treating development ore from the Francoeur Mine in the third quarter, and processed a total of 13,077 tonnes of ore during the last two quarters of 2011.

2011 Exploration and Project Development Progress

Francoeur Mine

While progress was made at the Francoeur Mine during 2011, the development rate to provide access to the 16^th and 17^th levels of the mine was slower than anticipated. Consequently, as previously announced, the asset did not achieve its original target of recovering 10,000 to 15,000 Au ounces from development during the year. As of December 31, 2011, a total of 4,999 metres of underground development and 13,911 metres of definition drilling had been completed at Francoeur during the year, and 13,077 tonnes of low-grade development ore from Francoeur were processed at the Camflo Mill during the last two quarter of the year, which generated 1,265 ounces of gold. Development ore continues to be transported and processed at the Camflo Mill during the first quarter of 2012, and commercial production is expected to begin at Francoeur in mid-2012.

The Corporation plans to complete a total of 9,100 metres of exploration drilling and 25,000 metres of definition drilling at the Francoeur Mine in 2012. All of the definition drilling completed in 2011 and approximately 12,000 metres of additional definition drilling planned in early 2012 will be applied toward a re-estimation of Francoeur's reserves and resources, using updated mining costs, gold price and cut-off grade. Approximately 70% of the definition drilling in the upper levels of the mine (above the 16^th level) has been completed, while only 10% has been completed in the lower portion. Based on the definition drilling information obtained to date, the mineralized zone appears to be more discontinuous than in the initial geological model, and grades are mostly in the range of 4.5 g/t to 5.5 g/t Au versus the 2009 probable reserve grade of 6.9 g/t Au. Richmont will reassess Francoeur's reserves and mining plan in the second quarter of 2012, and will provide production guidance and an updated reserve and resource estimate for this mine at that time.

Significant Increase in Wasamac Gold Resource Estimate

Richmont completed approximately 52,000 metres of drilling on its Wasamac property during 2011, and announced an updated resource estimate for the property in December. Specifically, Measured and Indicated resources increased 35% to 556,385 Au ounces as of December 2011, from 411,073 Au ounces at the end of 2010, and Inferred resources increased 111% year-over-year to 2,130,532 Au ounces, from 1,007,875 Au ounces previously. The increases were generated by the Corporation's extensive 2011 exploration drilling program as well as from the addition of existing geological data in the area surrounding the Main Zone. The results obtained at Wasamac during the year further strengthened Richmont's belief that Wasamac has the potential to play a pivotal role in the Corporation's objective to expand its production profile. Richmont will continue to be very active on Wasamac in 2012, beginning with a 32,000 metre exploration drilling program focused in the upper portions of zones 1, 2 and 3 and the deeper part of the Main Zone. This drilling is currently underway, and technical work required for a preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") for a 6,000 tonne per day underground operation is being completed. Richmont expects the PEA to be available at the end of the first quarter of 2012. For complete details regarding Wasamac's updated resource calculation, please refer to the December 15, 2011 press release entitled "Richmont announces significant gold resource increase at Wasamac", and the Regulation 43-101 report on the updated Wasamac resource estimate that was filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) on January 27, 2012.

Monique Exploration Program and Open Pit Resource Estimate

During 2011, Richmont completed over 8,100 metres of exploration drilling on the G and J zones of the Monique project, located near Val-d'Or, Quebec, with the objective of evaluating the potential for a small open pit operation on the property. In late December 2011, the Corporation announced Indicated open pit estimated resources of 728,164 tonnes grading 2.35 g/t Au for 55,112 ounces of gold. Richmont submitted the required documentation for the permitting of an open pit operation in November 2011, and also began a 1,700 metre surface drilling program in early December 2011. Richmont's objectives for 2012 include processing a 5,000 tonne bulk sample from Monique at the Corporation's Camflo Mill, located approximately 50 km away, and completing more technical work on the property in order to evaluate the potential extension of the resources at depth using more selective underground mining methods. Please see the December 20, 2011 press release entitled "Richmont Mines announces open pit resources at its Monique property" and the Regulation 43-101 report on the Monique property resource estimate, filed on SEDAR on February 3, 2012, for additional details.

2012 Corporate Exploration and Definition Drilling Plan and Budget

Richmont plans to complete more than 100,000 metres of exploration drilling during 2012, and will also incur other costs related to the ongoing project advancement of the Monique property, the completion of technical work required for the Wasamac PEA and the realization of a 1,100 metre underground exploration drift at the Island Gold Mine, for a total approximate amount of $25 million. An additional 45,500 metres of definition drilling is planned in 2012. Please see Table 1 below for a breakdown on a property-by-property basis.

Recent Corporate News

In October 2011, Richmont completed a private placement of 980,500 common shares at $10.50 per share with the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the Fonds régional de solidarité Abitibi-Témiscamingue, s.e.c. (collectively, the "Subscribers"), for a total cash consideration of $10.3 million. In addition, the private placement entitled the Subscribers to 245,125 warrants to purchase additional Richmont common shares at an exercise price of $13.00 per common share before December 31, 2012. The Corporation noted that the net proceeds will be used to fund advance exploration work at the Wasamac gold property. Please see the October 31, 2011 press release entitled "Richmont Mines Inc. completes CAN$10.3 million private placement" for full details.

In mid-January 2012, Richmont announced that Mr. Bob Buchan was appointed to the Board of Directors as Vice Chairman. In conjunction with this appointment, Mr. Buchan and two members of his immediate family invested $10 million in Richmont in the form of convertible debentures bearing an annual interest rate of 7.6% that are convertible into Richmont common shares at a conversion price of $12.17 per share. Full details are available in the January 11, 2012 press release entitled "Gold industry veteran Bob Buchan joins the Board of Directors of Richmont Mines as Vice Chairman", and the February 1, 2012 press release entitled "Richmont Mines completes CAN$10 million private placement with Mr. Bob Buchan".

Outlook

"We are enthusiastic about our plans for 2012", stated Martin Rivard. "In particular, we are looking forward to completing a PEA at the end of the first quarter for our Wasamac property; an asset that we believe has the potential to play a pivotal role in Richmont's gold production profile going forward, and where we are evaluating the possibility for an underground bulk-mine operation. We are also looking forward to advancing our Monique property in 2012, and are planning to process a 5,000 tonne bulk sample at our Camflo Mill during the year. Operationally, our focus in 2012 is threefold. Firstly, we are taking all necessary actions to ensure that the Francoeur Mine transitions smoothly into commercial production. Secondly, we will continue to focus on efficiency and productivity at our two producing mines with particular attention on managing cash cost levels. And lastly, we are planning approximately 45,500 metres of definition drilling and more than 100,000 metres of exploration drilling during 2012, highlighting our ongoing efforts to expand the reserve bases at both of our operating mines and further advance our exploration and development assets. I would also note that Richmont management continues to actively evaluate external sources of growth for the Corporation through our strategic evaluations of potential acquisitions and partnerships. The work completed and the accomplishments realized in 2011 have put Richmont on solid operational and financing footing for 2012, and management will continue to strive to deliver continued results for our shareholders going forward."

Martin Rivard, President and Chief Executive Officer

About Richmont Mines Inc.

Richmont has produced over 1,200,000 ounces of gold from its operations in Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland since beginning production in 1991. The Corporation currently produces gold from its Island Gold and Beaufor mines, and is currently advancing its Francoeur Mine to commercial production, which should increase Richmont's production to an annual rate of approximately 100,000 ounces of gold. With extensive experience in gold exploration, development and mining, the Corporation is well positioned to cost-effectively build its Canadian reserve base through a combination of organic growth, strategic acquisitions and partnerships. Richmont routinely posts news and other important information on its website (www.richmont-mines.com).

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that include risks and uncertainties. When used in this news release, the words "estimate", "project", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "believe", "hope", "may" and similar expressions, as well as "will", "shall" and other indications of future tense, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and apply only as of the date on which they were made.

The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements include changes in the prevailing price of gold, the Canadian-United States exchange rate, grade of ore mined and unforeseen difficulties in mining operations that could affect revenue and production costs. Other factors such as uncertainties regarding government regulations could also affect the results. Other risks may be set out in Richmont Mines' Annual Information Form, Annual Reports and periodic reports.

Regulation 43-101 ("R 43-101")

The geological data in this news release has been reviewed by Mr. Daniel Adam, Geo., Ph.D, General Manager, Exploration and Sustainable Development, an employee of Richmont Mines Inc., and a qualified person as defined by R 43-101.

The reserve and resource calculations of the Island Gold Mine and the Beaufor Mine properties as of December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010 were performed by qualified persons as defined by R 43-101 and were supervised by Mr. Daniel Adam, Geo., Ph.D., General Manager, Exploration and Sustainable Development, an employee of Richmont Mines Inc.

The reserve and resource calculation of the Francoeur Mine was based on an amended technical report filed on SEDAR on May 19, 2010 that was prepared by employees of Richmont Mines who are qualified persons as defined by R 43-101.

The resource estimate of the Wasamac property is based on the 43-101 technical report filed on SEDAR on January 27, 2012, and was performed by Mr. Daniel Adam, Geo., Ph.D., General Manager, Exploration and Sustainable Development, an employee of Richmont Mines Inc., and a qualified person as defined by R 43-101.

The resource estimate of the Monique property is based on the 43-101 technical report filed on SEDAR on February 3, 2012, and was performed by Mr. Raynald Vincent, Eng., M.G.P., Chief, Exploration Projects, an employee of Richmont Mines Inc., and a qualified person as defined by R 43-101.

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Concerning Resource Estimates

Information in this press release is intended to comply with the requirements of the Toronto Stock Exchange and applicable Canadian securities legislation, which differ in certain respects with the rules and regulations promulgated under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ("Exchange Act"), as promulgated by the SEC. The reserve and resource estimates in this press release were prepared in accordance with R 43-101 adopted by the Canadian Securities Administrators. The requirements of R 43-101 differ significantly from the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

U.S. Investors are urged to consider the disclosure in our annual report on Form 20-F, File No. 001-14598, as filed with the SEC under the Exchange Act, which may be obtained from us (without cost) or from the SEC's web site: http://sec.gov/edgar.shtml.

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