TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 4, 2013) - Anaconda Mining Inc. ("Anaconda" or "the Company") - (News - Market indicators) is pleased to report the results from the 1,000-tonne bulk sample that was extracted from the Romeo and Juliet prospect in late 2012. Five representative samples of crushed quartz, averaging 12.6 kg, were processed at Accurassay Laboratories in Thunder Bay by cyanide extraction (bottle roll testing). The weighted average assay of the five samples is 5.71 g/t gold and is representative of the gold grade within the near surface portion of the Juliet zone where the bulk sample was extracted. Table 1 contains the head grade assay results for the five samples.

Table 1. Gold head grade assay results from Anaconda's Romeo and Juliet bulk sample.

President and CEO, Dustin Angelo, stated, "We are very encouraged by these assay results. Production from Romeo and Juliet could add mill feed at substantially higher grade with only a fraction of the operating costs. We don't have to justify a whole new mill when we evaluate the economics of putting Romeo and Juliet into production. Our mill is already there. To move this project forward we have commenced detailed metallurgical and mine evaluation work." 

Romeo and Juliet Project Plan

The presence of very fine visible gold (nugget effect) and the result from Nova Gold's 10-tonne bulk sample from 1993 (as described below) suggested that the Romeo and Juliet prospect contained a gold resource with grades substantially higher than what is currently being mined at Pine Cove. Consequently, in late 2012, Anaconda extracted its own bulk sample from the Juliet zone to attempt to replicate the results of the Nova Gold bulk sample and to assist with the following initiatives, all with the goal of ultimately putting Romeo and Juliet into production.

• Better define the gold grade;
• Define vein continuity by better exposing the vein down dip;
• Test amenability of ore to processing at the Pine Cove mill;
• Provide samples for process testing; and
• Provide rationale for additional diamond drilling.

In the fall of 2012, a 1,000-tonne bulk sample was extracted from the Juliet zone and trucked to the Pine Cove mine where it was crushed over a two-day period using a contracted rock crusher. A splitter was attached to the crusher belt and about 10 tonnes of crushed quartz was collected. Approximately 6.5 tonnes were bagged and stored for metallurgical testing.

Five sub-samples, averaging 12.6 Kg, were collected from the bagged samples described above and sent to Accurassay Laboratories for cyanide extraction (bottle roll testing) using Accurassay's prescribed method. The samples returned a weighted average assay of 5.71 g/t gold which is considered to be representative of the gold grade within the near surface portion of the Juliet zone. The bulk sample was well mixed during the extraction, loading, crushing and sampling processes.

Anaconda has hired a mineral processing consultant to assist with the metallurgical testing and pilot milling of the Romeo and Juliet ore type. Ideally, the quartz vein hosted mineralization would supplement the current sulfide hosted mineralization to maximize the current circuit configuration of the mill. Simultaneously, the Company has been working with a mine engineering consulting firm to assist with preliminary resource estimates. Pending favorable resource estimates, Anaconda is considering an underground exploration program, to better define grades and geometry.

The Company expects next steps to include a diamond-drill program to further delineate the three zones and potentially help define grade. Initial stage drilling would probably consist of infilling between existing holes to determine vein continuity.

The Company is pleased to have the support of The Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency (ACOA) through its Productivity and Business Skills Development Program in funding a portion of the research cost associated with this project.

Overview of Romeo and Juliet

The Romeo and Juliet prospect is a series of gold-bearing quartz veins discovered in 1987 that are exposed approximately 1.5 kilometers northwest of the Pine Cove mine (Figure 1). The prospect is comprised of three zones referred to as Juliet, Connecting, and Romeo and have a combined strike length in excess of 300 meters. The veins trend about 30 degrees, dip approximately 60 degrees to the southeast and are up to 2 meters thick. Gold is present as fine disseminations within the quartz and as very fine clots and flakes along discrete, pale green sericite-coated vein margins. Sulphide minerals are rare.

The head grade obtained from the Romeo and Juliet bulk sample is representative of the grade of gold in the near-surface Juliet zone. Furthermore, historic assay results from diamond-drilling and sampling on both the Connecting and Romeo zones are similar to historic results from the Juliet zone. Surface exposures of both the Connecting and Romeo zones were known historically to contain visible gold. The nature of the veins and the gold tenor (fine disseminated gold and very fine gold along sericite coated quartz vein surfaces) suggest that the Connecting zone and Romeo zone veins are very similar and therefore could potentially exhibit similar gold grades.

Previous property owners drilled 18 shallow diamond drill holes which tested the prospect to a maximum vertical depth of 100 meters, highlights of which are presented in Table 2 (this data is historic in nature and has not been verified by Anaconda).

Table 2. Historic diamond-drill assay results (1990-2000).

In 1993, Nova Gold extracted a 10-tonne bulk sample from a section of the Juliet zone. A total of 3,035 kilograms were processed in a series of cyanide-leach bottle roll tests at the Technical University of Nova Scotia and returned a head grade of 36.68 grams per tonne gold (this data is historic in nature and has not been verified by Anaconda).

While the head grade of Anaconda's bulk sample is considerably lower than the 36.68 g/t gold head grade reported by Nova Gold, the variance can be attributed to the difference in bulk sample sizes (1,000 tonnes versus 10 tonnes) and that the Nova Gold bulk sample was extracted from a portion of the Juliet zone known to contain considerable visible gold.

It should also be noted, that during the crushing phase of its bulk sampling process, Anaconda personnel collected a series of grab samples which were assayed at Eastern Analytical Laboratory. These results confirmed the variability of gold content as the assays ranged from 2.06 g/t to 8.70 g/t gold.

In the fall of 2012, Anaconda trenched a historic 45 parts per billion gold-in-soil anomaly located northeast of the Romeo zone (Figure 1). The trench exposed two small shear zones which contained quartz veining up to 30 centimeters wide. Grab samples of the veins assayed between 0.48 g/t and 3.9 g/t gold. The newly exposed veins extend the Romeo zone approximately 35 meters to the northeast. The zone remains open to the northeast, southeast and down dip.

This news release has been reviewed and approved by David Evans, P. Geo., with Silvertip Exploration Consultants Inc., a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101.

*Fire Assay Samples: Crushed samples were placed in sealed plastic bags and delivered to the Eastern Analytical Laboratory in Springdale, Newfoundland by Anaconda personnel. The samples were then analyzed by Fire Assay methods with AA finish.

**Cyanide Leach: Crushed samples were placed in sealed plastic bags and were delivered to Accurassay Laboratory in Thunder Bay. Cyanide leaching (bottle-roll testing) was completed as per Accurassay's prescribed procedures. Gold grades were determined by fire assay method.

***While the Company has no reason to doubt the accuracy of the historic results, the existing data should not be relied upon until the Company's own exploration work confirms that the data meets National Instrument 43-101 standards for disclosure. Historic results and the work that generated them predate the enactment of National Instrument 43-101, and may not meet the requirements of that policy. Historical data for the Romeo and Juliet prospect were obtained from assessment files archived by the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources.

ABOUT ANACONDA

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Anaconda is a growth oriented, gold mining and exploration company with a producing asset located on the Baie Verte Peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada called the Pine Cove mine.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document contains or refers to forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements regarding targets, estimates and/or assumptions in respect of future production, mine development costs, unit costs, capital costs, timing of commencement of operations and future economic, market and other conditions, and is based on current expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to: the final approval of the private placement by the Toronto Stock Exchange; the grade and recovery of ore which is mined varying from estimates; capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates; inflation; changes in exchange rates; fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development of the any project caused by unavailability of equipment, labour or supplies, climatic conditions or otherwise; termination or revision of any debt financing; failure to raise additional funds required to finance the completion of a project; and other factors. Additionally, forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "plans," "may," "estimates," "expects," "indicates," "targeting," "potential" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements, including statements regarding Anaconda's beliefs in the potential mineralization, are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no responsibility to update them or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Company website: www.anacondamining.com

To view Figure 1. Romeo and Juliet Prospect: Diamond-Drill Plan, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Romeo-and-Juliet-bulk-sample-announcement-map.jpg.