Mawson West Drilling Confirms Tenor and Strike-Continuity of Mineralisation at the Lufukwe Project

PERTH, AUSTRALIA and TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 30, 2012) - Mawson West Limited (TSX:MWE) ("Mawson" or the "Company") is pleased to announce reconnaissance drilling results from the Lufukwe Project ("Lufukwe"), 80 kms south of Mawson's Dikulushi mine. The results confirm the continuity of copper-silver mineralisation along at least 1270 m of strike at Lufukwe.

Eight HQ diamond holes for 985 m were drilled at Lufukwe to test historical diamond drilling results and investigate continuity of the sandstone-hosted copper-silver mineralisation. Seven of the drill holes were distributed along a 1270 m-long segment of the host unit, and hole 12LKDH008 intersected the target 40 m down-dip of hole 12LKDH001. The drill holes were orientated at -60° towards the east to provide for approximate true width intersections of the host unit which dips 40° to the west. All of the holes intersected disseminated copper-silver mineralisation, successfully confirming both the continuity of mineralisation and the width and tenor of historical drill results. The low proportion of acid-soluble copper in the intersections confirms the bulk of the copper is contained in sulfide minerals.

The principal host unit at Lufukwe is the Monwesi Sandstone. Mineralisation is focussed in the lower part of this unit and is characterised by a higher silver-copper ratio than Mawson's other deposits at Kapulo and Dikulushi. Oxidation and weathering are interpreted to have variably leached copper in the upper 50-100 m of the prospect and significant portion of the Monwesi Sandstone is oxidised in each of the holes from 12LKDH002 to 12LKDH006. The effect of weathering decreases with depth, and the intersections in holes 12LKDH001, 12LKDH007 and 12LKDH008 represent effectively unweathered mineralisation.

The Monwesi Sandstone host has been traced in outcrop and as a surface chemical anomaly at >75 ppm Cu along a strike length of approximately 14 km around the Lufukwe Anticline. The current drilling program has therefore tested less than 10% of the target strike extent. The mineralised zone at Lufukwe remains open along strike and down dip and further diamond drilling and preliminary metallurgical test work is planned for 2013.

A table of the Lufukwe diamond drilling results is presented below.

Assays were completed at the Dikulushi site laboratory, independently managed by Societe Generale de Surveillance SA ("SGS"). Sample preparation was done using equipment housed separately and exclusively employed for exploration samples to reduce the likelihood of contamination. Samples sent to the SGS laboratory at Dikulushi were prepared and analysed by the following procedures. Received samples were crushed to a nominal 10 mm and a 250 g split was pulverised to 90% passing -75 um. Following a multi-acid digestion the samples were analysed by AAS. A quality control sampling program of reference standards, duplicates and umpire assays is ongoing to monitor the integrity of all exploration assay results.

The disclosure in this news release has been prepared under the supervision of Adam Anderson, BSc Hons (Geology), MAusIMM, MAIG of Mawson West, a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, who has reviewed and approved the content of this news release.

About Mawson West Limited

Mawson West is a copper and silver mining company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Mawson West's operations are in Africa, in the southeastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo ("DRC").

The Company has two key projects, the Dikulushi Copper-Silver Mine, and the Kapulo Copper Mine which is presently under construction. Multiple exploration targets are being investigated within the company's 7,242 square kilometer landholding.