Placing, Acquisition & Update

Hambledon Mining PLC
29 January 2007




PRESS INFORMATION                                             29th January 2007

                              HAMBLEDON MINING PLC

                        US$16m Placing, two Acquisitions

                             Update on Sekisovskoye

   (All references to '£' are to the British Pound, '$' are to United States
                                    dollars
                        and 'ounces' are to troy ounces)

Hambledon Mining plc ('Hambledon' or the 'Group' or the 'Company'), the
AIM-listed mining and exploration company developing precious metal deposits in
Kazakhstan, is pleased to announce it has raised a total of $16 million (after
expenses) by way of a placing ('the Placing') of new ordinary shares of 0.1
pence in the Company ('Ordinary Shares') to fund two acquisitions and associated
planned developments, and to provide working capital for the Group. The Company
also confirms that its Sekisovskoye project remains on schedule with production
expected to start in mid-2007.

Highlights

   •Acquired 'TOO Ognyovka', owner of the Ognyovka treatment plant


   •Entering final negotiations to acquire a Kazakh company which holds the
    rights to gold deposits estimated to contain 600,000 ounces of gold


   •Raised $16 million from a placing of the Company's shares to finance the
    acquisitions and the associated planned developments

Sekisovskoye update

   •Mining operations continuing over winter at planned rate


   •All foundations and major plinths completed


   •Erection of leach tanks commenced


   •Tertiary mill installed


   •Notification of readiness for shipment of first primary mill received


   •Jaw crusher being installed, retaining wall, feed bin and vibrating
    feeder completed


   •Store building completed


   •Boiler received on site


   •Start of commissioning of process plant on schedule for the second
    quarter 2007


Nicholas Bridgen, Chief Executive of Hambledon Mining plc, commented:

'At Sekisovskoye, mining and construction of the process plant are proceeding
well. We are on budget and on schedule. We expect commissioning to start in the
second quarter of this year.

'The two acquisitions mark a significant stepping up of the scale of our
operations. They not only add additional resources to our growing existing
deposits but, more importantly, provide near term cash flow and are capable of
multiplying our free cash flow several times over. This will increase
profitability and will provide us with a stronger financial base'.


Placing

The Company has raised a total of $16 million (after expenses) by way of the
Placing to new and existing investors of 57,022,000 new Ordinary Shares at an
issue price of 15p per Ordinary Share.

The capital raised will provide the Company with funds to finance the
acquisition of Ognyovka and of a second Kazakh company with gold deposits, as
well as associated planned developments and working capital for the Group.

Esterel Trust, a discretionary trust of which George Eccles, the Chairman of
Hambledon, is a potential beneficiary, acquired 33,000 ordinary shares pursuant
to the Placing and, accordingly, Mr Eccles is now interested in 144,750 ordinary
shares representing 0.003 per cent. of the issued ordinary share capital of the
Company.

Application has been made for the admission of the new Ordinary Shares to
trading on AIM and dealings are expected to commence on 31 January 2007.

Ognyovka processing facility

We are pleased to announce the acquisition of TOO Ognyovka, owner of the
Ognyovka processing facility.

The processing facility is configured to treat up to 350,000 tonnes per year of
the copper, gold and silver-containing residues (slag) from zinc smelters.
By-product concentrates of iron ore and coke will also be produced. The first
stages of a significant expansion of the facility have already been completed by
the previous owners, including an extension of the mill building, construction
of the ore handling system and mill-feed storage bins.

Maximum production from the existing facility will depend on the content of the
slags treated. Typically, these may contain from 1.5% to 2.2% copper, 1 to 4
grammes per tonne of gold and around 150 grammes per tonne of silver.
Metallurgical recoveries will be lower than those typical from the treatment of
primary ores but nevertheless are expected to lead to a highly profitable
operation.

Contracts for the procurement of slag and for the sale of the main concentrate
are in place.

The processing facility has been closed for over two years and TOO Ognyovka is
currently undergoing a process of rehabilitation under court protection from
creditors which currently total some $3.8 million. Hambledon will acquire the
debts of the principal creditor, with a nominal value of $2.7 million, for a
cash payment of $1.7m, and will then have the right to buy TOO Ognyovka itself
for approximately $8,000. Of the remaining debts, $0.3m must be paid in cash
immediately. Under the rehabilitation plan submitted, which is expected to be
approved, the remainder will be paid over the following three years out of
earnings.

The process facility, though old, is in good condition. The Company plans to
recommission the existing facilities and is likely to complete the planned
expansion.

Acquisition of gold company

Negotiations are currently being finalised for the acquisition of a company
which holds the rights to two deposits with resources approved by the Kazakstan
authorities totalling some 600,000 ounces. Further details will be published
upon completion and signature of the acquisition agreement.

The Directors consider that the acquisition, which has been agreed in principle
by all parties, is highly likely to be completed. In the event that it is not,
the funds allocated to this will be used to accelerate the development of
underground mining at Sekisovskoye, further exploration, and for other corporate
purposes.

On completion, the acquisitions announced today are expected to enhance and
diversify the Company's portfolio, thereby providing a firm base for the
Company's future growth.

Sekisovskoye update

Mining operations have recommenced after a brief shut down over the Christmas /
New Year period. Excavation activities continue to operate at planned rates with
excellent results being obtained from the local blasting contractor. Currently,
waste material being mined is being used for the construction of the tailings
dam and the completion of the ore stockpile pad. Ore mining is being deferred
until March for direct placement on the stockpile.

Orders for the final two BelAZ dump trucks and second bulldozer have been placed
which will complete the entire planned mining fleet for the life of the open
pit.

Maintenance agreements with Atlas Copco and Hitachi have been put in place to
ensure that the initial high equipment availabilities are maintained and the
training of the Sekisovskoye maintenance team is enhanced.

Construction of the process plant continued through the Christmas and New Year
period. Erection of the main CIL leach tanks commenced in early January.

All steelwork and sandwich panelling for the process plant building has been
received and is either stored on site or in Ust-Kamenogorsk. Erection of the
building commenced in mid January.

Manufacture of the two main 1.2 megawatt ball mills is complete with dispatch of
the primary mill scheduled for before the end of January and the second in mid
February. The mill plinths for the primary and secondary mills have been
completed. The mechanical installation of the tertiary mill is already complete.

Installation of the crushing circuit is progressing with the completion of the
retaining wall, installation of the feed bin and vibrating feeder. The jaw
crusher is ready for installation. All crushing and conveying foundation work is
complete and all conveyor frames and belts have been received and are currently
stored on site.

All foundation work for the boiler house has been completed and the modular
boiler has been received. Technicians from the Russian manufacturer are expected
onsite in late January to supervise the installation and commissioning.

Construction of the site store building is now complete.

The electrical substation site is complete. The main 16MW transformer has been
delivered to site and the installation of the power line is nearing completion.
All small 6kV/440V transformers have been received and are awaiting
installation. The 500kVA back-up generator has also been delivered.

Overall, the process plant construction is on schedule for start-up in Quarter
2, 2007 and the Directors are very pleased with the progress made to date.

Exploration drilling was temporarily stopped for the holiday period and
recommenced in mid January.


Enquiries

Hambledon Mining plc
Nicholas Bridgen, Chief Executive                    Telephone: [phone]

Bankside Consultants
Michael Spriggs / Michael Padley                     Telephone: [phone]


Note to Editors'

Hambledon Mining plc is an AIM-listed mining and exploration company which is
developing an open pit mine and constructing an 850,000 tonnes per year
treatment plant at its Sekisovskoye gold deposit in East Kazakhstan. After the
start of open pit processing, the Company plans to develop the much larger
underground resources.

Production from the open pit will average over 40,000 ounces per annum for five
years, though this is expected to rise to around 100,000 ounces when the higher
grade underground ore is added to the feed. The Company also holds the rights to
and is exploring the adjacent Tserkovka licence territory which includes several
areas of interest including the Tserkovka deposit itself.

Ends



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