Award of Options

TORONTO, Sept. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Horizonte Minerals Plc, (AIM:HZM, TSX:HZM) ('Horizonte' or 'the Company'), the AIM and TSX quoted exploration and development company focused in Brazil, has on the basis of the recommendation of its Remuneration Committee and in accordance with the rules of the Company's 2006 Option Scheme and Enterprise Management Incentive Scheme, awarded 3,500,000 options ('the Awarded Options') to directors and senior management who joined the Company during 2012 to buy ordinary shares in the Company.  The Awarded Options include the following amounts to a director of the Company:

All of the Awarded Options have an exercise price of 15.4p and are exercisable from 25 September 2014. The total number of options outstanding is 26,730,000 which represents 7.42% of current issued share capital of 360,046,710 ordinary shares.

The block listing for ordinary shares of 1p each for the outstanding options already exists. These shares will be allotted and issued in due course upon the exercise of options pursuant to the Company's share option schemes. These shares will rank pari passu with the existing issued ordinary shares of the Company.

About Horizonte Minerals:
Horizonte Minerals plc is an AIM and TSX listed exploration and development Company with a portfolio of nickel and gold projects in the Carajas District of Brazil.  The Company is focussed on creating value by generating and rapidly advancing exploration projects in tandem with joint ventures with major mining companies, providing mid-term cash flow, which is then used to develop the business and pipeline projects.

Horizonte has two committed major mining partners: Teck Resources Limited, a major strategic shareholder in the Company, and AngloGold Ashanti Limited, a JV partner on the gold portfolio.

Horizonte owns 100 per cent of the advanced Araguaia nickel project located to the south of the Carajas mineral district of northern Brazil. The project has defined a resource with size and grades comparable to other world-class projects in northern Brazil. A NI 43-101 compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment has been completed on the project and Horizonte is now advancing Araguaia into the Prefeasibility Stage.

In addition, Horizonte and AngloGold Ashanti plc have a joint venture whereby AngloGold Ashanti plc can earn into 51% of the Falcao gold project by expending US$4.5 million over three years with the right to earn a further 19% by taking the project to Pre-feasibility Study.

Horizonte is well funded to accelerate the development of its core projects.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the potential of the Company's current or future property mineral projects; the success of exploration and mining activities; cost and timing of future exploration, production and development; the estimation of mineral resources and reserves and the ability of the Company to achieve its goals in respect of growing its mineral resources; and the realization of mineral resource and reserve estimates. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to risks related to: exploration and mining risks, competition from competitors with greater capital; the Company's lack of experience with respect to development-stage mining operations; fluctuations in metal prices; uninsured risks; environmental and other regulatory requirements; exploration, mining and other licences; the Company's future payment obligations; potential disputes with respect to the Company's title to, and the area of, its mining concessions; the Company's dependence on its ability to obtain sufficient financing in the future; the Company's dependence on its relationships with third parties; the Company's joint ventures; the potential of currency fluctuations and political or economic instability  in countries in which the Company operates; currency exchange fluctuations; the Company's ability to manage its growth effectively; the trading market for the ordinary shares of the Company; uncertainty with respect to the Company's plans to continue to develop its operations and new projects; the Company's dependence on key personnel; possible conflicts of interest of directors and officers of the Company, and various risks associated with the legal and regulatory framework within which the Company operates.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, 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.

SOURCE Horizonte Minerals plc