Centamin PLC: Suspension of operations

PERTH, AUSTRALIA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/13/12 --

For immediate release                                   13 December 2012
TSXV: IEA

                Centamin plc ("Centamin" or "the Company")
                           (LSE:CEY, TSX:CEE)
                        Suspension of operations

Centamin advises that it has received an illegal retrospective claim
from Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) for LE403 million
(c. US$65 million) for diesel fuel supplied from December 2009 until
January 2012. Furthermore, EGPC has refused to authorise future supply
of diesel to the Sukari Gold Mine until this amount is paid. The
Company, with EMRA's support, has been seeking to have the fuel
supplies re-instated. Discussions are on-going but fuel supplies have
reached critical levels.

In addition, following the Market Update of 26th November, Centamin
wishes to advise that, having obtained all necessary permissions from
the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA) in line with normal
procedures, it commenced the process of gold exports. However, during
this process an unforeseen and arbitrary request from customs officials
for prior approval by the Minister of Finance halted the shipment.
This approval has been urgently sought but has not yet been
forthcoming.

In light of these developments, it is with regret that, due to a
resultant lack of diesel and a short-fall in working capital in Egypt
for the local operations the decision has been taken to suspend
operations at Sukari and to place the mine on care and maintenance
until these issues are satisfactorily resolved.

Centamin will take vigorous action to defend its rights to continue the
extraction and export of gold from the Sukari mine, to obtain fuel
supplies and to challenge the illegal retrospective claim from EGPC.


For more information please contact:

Centamin plc                                         Buchanan
Josef El-Raghy, Chairman                             Bobby Morse
Andy Davidson, Head of Business Development          Cornelia Browne
and Investor Relations
(andy.davidson@centamin.co.uk)                       Gabriella Clinkard
+44 20 7569 1671                                      + 44 20 7466 5000








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