African Queen Encounters Broad Zones of Mineralization at Its Odundu Property in Kenya's Rongo Gold Fields

Vancouver, British Columbia — African Queen Mines Ltd. (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has encountered broad zones of mineralization at its Odundu property in Kenya’s Rongo Gold Fields (the “Project”), in its trenching program and in the initial holes drilled to date in its ongoing core drilling program. The Project covers an area of approximately 97 sq. km in the Kanango gold mining area of the Migori District of Nyanza Province in Southwest Kenya near Lake Victoria. It is situated some 380 km. by road from the capital city of Nairobi and 60 km. N of the border with Tanzania, forming part of the rich Lake Victoria Greenstone Belt extending from Tanzania and hosting known world-class gold deposits including African Barrick Gold’s Bulyanhulu and North Mara Mines, within approximately 100 km. of the Project, and AngloGold Ashanti’s Geita Mine.

Trench results (see PR dated April 3, 2012) have now been received and the first five core drill holes (OD1 to OD5) totaling 1043metres have been completed at the Project. The assay results of trench channel samples received from ALS Chemex Laboratories confirm both low and higher grade gold mineralization over a strike of 567 meters. Of particular interest from the trenching program is that gold mineralization within the main Odundu shear zone exposed by trench B1 assayed 3.33 g/t au over 28 m. Within the same mineralized zone values of 4.40 g/t over 1 m, 10.00 g/t over 2.2 m and 29.30 g/t over 1 m were also recorded. Gold assay results obtained from Trench D include 33.00 g/t au over 1 m and 0.93g/t over 18 m. Trench E recorded an assay value of 3.85 g/t over 3 m.

Out of the ten initial planned core drill holes, five holes, namely OD1 to OD5, totaling 1043metres have been completed by Kenya-based Akili Minerals Services Limited on behalf of the Company. The drilling completed so far indicates that the anomalous northwest-southeast trending shear zone that has been traced over the property for approximately three kilometers is mineralized at depth within the confines of the drilling. This shear zone was initially discovered through the Company’s preliminary field reconnaissance work and later delineated through airborne and ground geophysics programs (see PR dated February 16, 2012). The core drilling indicates that the mineralization is hosted by a wide, intensely sheared rhyolitic-feldpar porphyry with basaltic and tuffaceous horizons. Significant quartz-carbonate and sulfide (pyrite/pyrrhotite) mineralization is visible within this shear zone. The mineralization observed in the drill cores is indicative of widespread hydrothermal alteration and hydraulic fracturing common to many other gold deposits in Archean greenstone terrains.

Geological cross-sections and computer modeling of these drill holes indicate that the mineralized zone trends northwest-southeast and dips steeply towards the northeast. Drill intersections with significant chlorite-quartz-carbonate and variable sulfide mineralization were recorded in holes OD2 through OD5 over uncorrected widths of 105metres, 89metres, 82metres and 62metres at vertical depths of 117metres, 89metres, 53metres and 92metres respectively. The entire drill cores of holes OD1 to OD5 have been logged, split and sampled, with the samples recently sent to Genalysis Laboratory Services Limited in South Africa for gold and multi-element analysis. Hole OD6, positioned approximately 85m along strike, will explore the southeast extension at depth. The drilling program and overall exploration initiatives of the Project is being overseen by the Company’s senior technical team.

The Company’s rights to the Project arise from an Earn-In and Joint Venture Agreement with Kenyan-based Abba Mining Company (“Abba”), under which the Company may earn up to an 85% interest in the Project by funding prescribed optional stages from exploration through feasibility. The Company is designated as manager and operator of the Project on behalf of the joint venture partners. The Project is being managed on behalf of the Company on-site by Senior Exploration and Consulting Geologist Mike Othitis (P.Geol. AIPG, MA, Bsc) who is a qualified person and has reviewed the contents of this press release. General Project oversight is being provided by Senior Consulting Geologist Pete Siegfried (M.Sc, MAusIMM) who is also a qualified person.

According to Irwin Olian, CEO of the Company, “We are delighted that trench sample results and drill cores from initial holes at Odundu confirm the presence of broad zones of mineralization. We will gain much more information from assays pending from samples from these drill cores, but it is certainly exciting to encounter mineralization over broad zones that is consistent with our structural model derived through our geochemical and geophysics data from initial exploration activities over the past year.”


About African-Queen

The Company is an exploratory resource company with diversified mineral properties in Southern, East and West Africa. It is exploring its properties in Mozambique, Ghana and Kenya for gold and other metals and it is undertaking exploration in Botswana and Namibia for diamonds, gold and other metals. In Mozambique the Company has approximately 230 sq. km. under license for gold and metals under an agreement with another company. In Ghana it has 28.9 sq. km. under license for gold. In Kenya it has approximately 850 sq. km. under license for gold and metals, and a further 737 sq. km. of gold and other minerals licenses under agreements with two other companies. The Company’s operations in Mozambique are carried out through its subsidiary PAM Mocambique Limitada and its operations in Ghana are carried out through its subsidiary AQ Ghana Gold Limited. Its operations in Kenya are being carried out through its operating subsidiary AQ Kenya Gold Limited. Its operations in Botswana are carried out through its operating subsidiary, PAM Botswana (Pty) Ltd.; its operations in Namibia are carried out through its operating subsidiary PAM Minerals Namibia (Pty) Ltd. The Company has its executive offices in Vancouver, Canada. The Company was incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada on April 30, 2008 and received certain southern African assets in a spin off transaction related to the acquisition of Pan African Mining Corp. by Asia Thai Mining Co., Ltd.


ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AFRICAN QUEEN MINES, LTD.

“Irwin Olian”
Irwin Olian, Chairman & CEO



For more information, contact:

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 |Irwin Olian, President and CEO |Carrie Howes, Corporate       |
 |E-mail:                        |Communications                |
 |tigertail@africanqueenmines.com|Email:                        |
 |Phone: (604) 899-0100          |carrie@africanqueenmines.com  |
 |Fax: (604) 899-0200            |Phone: Germany - +49 (0) 21141|
 |                               |740411                        |
 |                               |U.K. - +44 (0) 870 490 5443   |
 |                               |Canada - +1 416 900 3634      |
 |                               |Dubai - +971 55 997 0427      |
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The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of the information contained herein. The statements made in this press release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from the Company’s expectations.