VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - April 22, 2013) - Ivanplats (TSX:IVP) announced today that the first Class A Common Shares that have been held under a six-month lock-up agreement in connection with the company's October 2012 initial public offering (IPO) are being released on April 22 and 23, 2013. In addition, the company also will release the first tranche of 12 quarterly Class A Common Shares, after their conversion from Restricted Class B Shares.

Ivanplats has made a commitment that, starting on or about the date of this first release, it would consider transactions by which locked-up Class A Common Shares could be released early and sold to designated purchasers. Ivanplats recently identified a potential transaction structure that would accomplish this objective, subject to prevailing commercial and market factors. The transaction is under detailed consideration and regulatory review at this time.

About Ivanplats

Ivanplats (TSX:IVP), with offices in Canada, the United Kingdom and South Africa, is advancing and developing its three principal projects:

• The Kamoa copper discovery by Ivanplats in 2009, in a previously unknown extension of the Central African Copperbelt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
  
  
• The Platreef Discovery of platinum-group elements, nickel, copper and gold by Ivanplats on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. In 2010, Ivanplats discovered the "Flatreef", a zone of high-grade mineralization that lies within a flat to gently dipping portion of the Platreef and potentially is amenable to selective underground mining methods.
  
  
• The historic, high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper mine, also on the Copperbelt in the DRC and now being dewatered and upgraded to support a future return to production of copper, zinc and other metals following a care-and-maintenance program conducted between 1993 and 2011.
  
  

Ivanplats also is evaluating other opportunities as part of its objective to become a broadly based international mining company.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements in this release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in the company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this document, the words such as "could", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "should" and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information.

Statements in this release that constitute forward-looking statements or information include, but are not limited to: (1) statements regarding Ivanplats considering transactions by which locked-up Class A Common Shares could be released early and sold to designated purchasers; and (2) statements regarding a potential transaction structure that would accomplish this objective, subject to prevailing commercial and market factors.

All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Ivanplats' management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include those described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the company's 2012 MD&A and Annual Information Form. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements.