Endeavour Mining Delivers 102,691 Oz of Gold Production in First Half of 2012 and Updates Guidance

VANCOUVER, July 16, 2012 /CNW/ - Endeavour Mining Corporation ("Endeavour") (TSX:EDV, ASX:EVR, OTCQX:EDVMF) announces total production of 102,691 ounces of gold in the first half of 2012, including 4,813 ounces produced at Nzema from ore purchased from an independent producer ("purchased ore").  As a result of the strong H1 performance, the Company is updating its full year 2012 production guidance to between 187,000 and 202,000 ounces of gold (see Table 2).  Endeavour anticipates releasing its full quarterly results in early August.

Production results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2012 include 27,863 ounces from the Nzema mine and 22,865 ounces from the Youga mine for total gold production of 50,728 ounces (see Table 1). Nzema cash costs (excluding purchased ore ounces) were in the range of $620-640 per ounce and Youga's cash costs were in the range of $590-610 per ounce. Costs were at the lower end of guidance for both mines, due in part to successful cost containment initiatives. At Nzema, the number of employees has been reduced by restructuring some positions and continuing efforts to optimize throughput at the plant are reducing unit costs. Both Youga and Nzema have reduced inventory levels as well as supply costs through bulk buying and improved sourcing.

Neil Woodyer, CEO, stated
"We are pleased to deliver above-guidance production results from our two mines for the first half of 2012. Our strong performance to date has allowed us to increase our production guidance for the year by about 8%. Given our focus on growth, the most important result of expanding production is increasing cash flow, which funds exploration, potential acquisitions and development, including construction of our third mine, now underway."

Table 1: Gold production from the first two quarters of 2012

Table 2:  Full year 2012 Gold Production Guidance, Updated to between 187,000 and 202,000 ounces

Note 1: Effective July 1, 2012, Nzema formally agreed on terms for a two year contract to purchase on average 4,000 tonnes of material per month (less than 2% of overall throughput at Nzema) at a minimum grade of 6 g/t.  Ore purchase cost is 60% of the recoverable gold at spot gold prices, the incremental processing costs are negligible and the ore supplier pays 50% of the 5% royalty on recovered ounces. At a gold price of $1,600 per ounce, purchased ore milling is expected to add approximately $5 million to operating cash flow on an annualized basis

Qualified Persons

Adriaan "Attie" Roux, Pr. Sci. Nat, Endeavour's Senior Vice President - Operations, is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information related to mining operations in this news release.

About Endeavour Mining Corporation

Endeavour is a gold producer delivering growth.  Endeavour owns two gold mines producing approximately 180,000 oz per year in Ghana and Burkina Faso that are generating significant operating cash flows to fund exploration and development growth. In addition to upside potential at its current operations, Endeavour's third gold mine, Agbaou in Côte d'Ivoire has entered the construction phase for an additional 100,000 oz per year during Q1 2014. Endeavour's strong financial base encourages investments in long-term operational growth, exploration to replace and increase reserves, and funding for acquisitions.

Endeavour Mining Corporation is listed on the TSX (symbol EDV) and ASX (symbol EVR), and also trades on the OTCQX (symbol EDVMF).

On behalf of Endeavour Mining Corporation

Neil Woodyer
Chief Executive Officer

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" including but not limited to, statements with respect to Endeavour's plans and operating performance, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of future production, future capital expenditures, and the success of exploration activities. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects", "expected", "budgeted", "forecasts" and "anticipates". Forward-looking statements, while based on management's best estimates and assumptions, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to the successful integration of acquisitions; risks related to international operations; risks related to general economic conditions and credit availability, actual results of current exploration activities, unanticipated reclamation expenses; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; fluctuations in prices of metals including gold; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, increases in market prices of mining consumables, possible variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry; delays in the completion of development or construction activities, changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, tax rules and regulations, and political and economic developments in countries in which Endeavour operates. Although Endeavour has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Please refer to Endeavour's most recent Annual Information Form filed under its profile at www.sedar.com for further information respecting the risks affecting Endeavour and its business.

SOURCE Endeavour Mining Corporation