LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - June 8, 2012) - African Copper ("ACU" or "the Company") (AIM:ACU)(BOTSWANA:AFRICAN COPPER), the copper production and exploration company focussed on Botswana, announces that it has secured an additional loan of USD6.0 million from its controlling shareholder ZCI Limited ("ZCI"). The purpose of the new loan is to provide the Company with further working capital for its Mowana Mine facilities, partially to cover the funding gap caused by the failure of the Ball Mill pinion shaft in May 2012. This has impacted working capital since normal payables were incurred in May 2012 but revenues were significantly reduced. The Mowana plant resumed operations on 5 June 2012 after the successful replacement of the pinion shaft, mill gearbox and liners. Daily production is progressively increasing and management is looking to exceed the record production level of 809 Mt of copper in concentrate that was realized in March 2012.

The new USD6.0 million convertible loan from ZCI is a secured loan facility with a simple interest rate of 7 per cent., repayable on 31 March 2014 (the "Facility"). Interest will be accrued annually and interest payments deferred until 31 March 2014. The Facility is convertible into ordinary shares of 1p each in ACU at a conversion price of 2.40p per share equivalent to the 60 day volume weighted average closing share price of ACU on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange.

The maximum aggregate number of new ordinary shares which may be issued pursuant to the conversion rights attaching to the Facility is 163,036,390 new ordinary shares, which would, were the Facility to be converted in full, increase ZCI's interest in the enlarged issued share capital of the Company from 84.19 per cent. to 91.09 per cent. assuming the existing ZCI USD8.4 million convertible loan facility was also converted. The terms and conditions of the Facility are on substantially similar terms to the previous term loans from ZCI and bring ACU's total interest-bearing loans (including accrued interest at 31 March 2012) from ZCI to USD71.78 million, excluding the existing convertible loan of USD8.4 million and the Facility of USD6.0 million.

As ZCI owns 84.19 per cent. of ACU's total issued ordinary share capital at the date of this announcement and is providing financing to the Company, the Facility falls within the definition of a related party transaction under Rule 13 of the AIM Rules for Companies. The independent directors of the Company consider, having consulted with its nominated adviser Canaccord Genuity Limited, that the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as its shareholders are concerned.

For further information please visit www.africancopper.com.

Notes to Editors:

African Copper Plc is an AIM and Botswana listed copper producer and exploration company, currently focussed on Botswana. The Company's flagship project is the copper producing open pit Mowana mine. ACU also owns the rights to the adjacent Thakadu-Makala deposit. Both deposits are situated on the highly prospective Matsitama belt, located close to Botswana's second largest city, Francistown, in the north-eastern part of the country.

African Copper Plc
Brad Kipp
Chief Financial Officer
+1 (416) 847 4866
bradk@africancopper.com
www.africancopper.com

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Tavistock Communications (PR and IR)
Simon Hudson
+44 (0) 20 7920 3150

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Canaccord Genuity (NOMAD and Broker)
Andrew Chubb/Tarica Mpinga
+44 (0) 20 7523 87000