Mineral Resource/Reserve Update For Mineral Park Mine

VANCOUVER - Mercator Minerals Ltd reported an updated Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimate for the Company's Mineral Park mine in Arizona. The The estimate updates the previously published 2006 mineral resource and mineral reserve statement contained in the Technical Report - Preliminary Feasibility Study on Phase I & Phase II Copper - Moly Milling Expansion, Mineral Park Mine, Mohave County, Arizona ("2006 Study") to better reflect actual mined grades, especially in the transition zone from supergene to hypogene mineralization. The calculation of the June 2013 Estimate has been accomplished through two major enhancements from the 2006 Study: (1) mineralized zones were indentified and modeled, including the leach cap, supergene, transition, and hypogene zones; and (2) blasthole data from the last six years of mining, along with a portion of the blastholes from pre-Mercator operations, were digitized and entered into the database for interpolation purposes. This hybrid dataset, which includes both blasthole and drillhole information, was used to define the model for the new mineral resource estimate, and the interpolated grades were reconciled against a blasthole model. The updated mineral reserve estimate reconciles to within 1% of contained metal in areas mined in 2012.

The differences between the June 2013 mineral reserve estimate of 369 million tons grading 0.12% copper and 0.037% molybdenum and the mineral reserve reported in the Company's 2012 Annual Information Form (brought forward from the 2006 Study) of 389 million tons grading 0.138% copper and 0.040% molybdenum can primarily be attributed to: (1) mining of higher grade supergene material over the past six years, (2) lower copper grade in the transition zone, and (3) interpolation using a hybrid dataset (incorporating both drillholes and blastholes) to model the new mineral resource. The new mineral reserve estimate also incorporates updated operating costs, metal recoveries and metal prices of $2.60 per pound for copper and $9.65 per pound for molybdenum. The new mineral reserve results in an estimated mine life of 20 years.

"The updated mineral reserve and resource estimate confirms Mineral Park as a long life, large tonnage mine and provides more accuracy and predictability in our long term and short term mine planning," said D. Bruce McLeod, Mercator's President and CEO. "Given current metal prices, we have also designed an optimized five-year pit, which correlates with our production guidance, and will maximize cash flows until the debt repayment and copper hedging programs are complete."