07:00London,09:00Helsinki,14August2017-AfarakGroupPlc("Afarak"or"theCompany")(LSE:AFRK,NASDAQ:AFAGR)

AFARAKGROUP:EXTENSIONOFOPENCASTMININGANDNEWPROJECTSATSTELLITE

HighwallatStellitetoincreaseto70metresAdditional4.5milliontonnesofopencastmineableore

Increaseoflifeofminebyafurther12.5yearsAfarakGroup,throughitsjoint-ventureChromexGroup,isintheprocessofredesigningitsoperationalplanatStellitemineinSouthAfrica,followingtheconceptstudyonanundergroundminingdevelopment,aimedatextendingthecurrentlifeofmine.Withthenewconcept,managementtookadecisiontoinsteadextendtheopencastminingonthecurrentMG4seambyfurtherincreasingthehighwallto70m.TheCompanyisintendingtomineitsMG4reservesinthisfashion,untiltheoperationalcostofminingreachestheestimatedlevelsofcostofminingtheseamintheunderground,improvingefficiencyandsavingthecostoftheundergroundminingdevelopment.Thenewapproachaddsanother4.5milliontonnesofopencastmineableproductandincreasestheopencastlifeofminebyfurther12.5years.Inaddition,Stellitewouldstillbeinthepositionto,inthefuture,developtheundergroundminingofitsLG6reserves,withanestimatedlifeofmineof11.5years.Whilethenumbersareintheprocessofbeingindependentlyverifiedwithanewresourcestatement,tobeissuedinduecourse,thedevelopmentsignificantlychangesthepreviousexpectationsintermsoftheplannedproductionoutputfromStellite.ThisdevelopmentwillpositivelycontributetoAfarak’sperformanceoverthemedium-termthroughitsshareinthejointventure.ThisdevelopmentisalsoenablingAfaraktolookatadditionalopportunities,includingfurtherincreasesinthetotalmassyieldoftheplant,followingthesuccessoftheShakingtablesproject.Theseinitiativescurrentlyincludeinvestmentsintoadditionalcyclesofbeneficiationandtheexpansionoftheproductmixthroughtheintroductionofthehighervalueaddchemicalgrade

concentrateproducingandPGMrecoveryplants.Theseprojectsareintheinitialstagesofdevelopmentandthefirstproductionresultscouldbeexpectedduring2018.GuyKonsbruck,CEOofAfaraksaid:“AfarakiscontinuouslyinvestinginitsassetsandthesedevelopmentswillfurtherincreasetheCompanyscompetitivenessandvertical-integrationandmakeitmoreindependentfromthirdpartysuppliersofore.Afarakexpectsthejointventuretocontinuebeinganimportantcontributortoitsperformanceoverthemedium-termonaccountoftheseinitiativesatStelliteandtheincreasedactivityattheMecklenburgmine” AFARAKGROUPPLCGuyKonsbruckCEOForadditionalinformation,pleasecontact:AfarakGroupPlcGuyKonsbruck,CEO,+35621221566,guy.konsbruck@afarak.comJeanPaulFabri,PRManager,+35621221566,jp.fabri@afarak.comFinancialreportsandotherinvestorinformationareavailableontheCompany'swebsite:www.afarak.com.AfarakGroupisaspecialistalloyproducerfocusedondeliveringsustainableGrowthwithaSpecialityAlloysbusinessinsouthernEuropeandaFerroAlloysbusinessinSouthAfrica.TheCompanyislistedonNASDAQHelsinki(AFAGR)andtheMainMarketoftheLondonStockExchange(AFRK).Distribution:NASDAQHelsinkiLondonStockExchangeMainmedia