Anooraq Announces Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum Dispute Settled & Extended Joint Venture Agreed Between Parties

VANCOUVER, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Anooraq Resources Corporation ("Anooraq" or the "Company") (TSXV: ARQ; NYSE Amex: ANO; JSE: ARQ) confirms it has entered into a settlement and new project agreement (the "Agreement") with Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum Ltd. ("Ivanplats") to replace and supersede the 2001 agreement relating to the Rietfontein property located on the northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in South Africa. The 2001 agreement granted Ivanplats the right to earn a 50% interest in the Rietfontein property through expenditure related to exploration activities undertaken in accordance with approved technical programs.

The Agreement settles the arbitration process relating to disagreements with respect to the exploration activities undertaken at the Rietfontein property. Salient terms of the Agreement are as follows:

    1   Both parties abandon their respective claims under dispute forming
        the subject matter of arbitration.

    2   The existing joint venture (JV) between the parties is amended such
        that the current Rietfontein JV is extended to incorporate a defined
        area of Ivanplats' adjacent Turfspruit mineral property. Both parties
        retain their existing prospecting rights in respect of mineral
        properties in their own names but make these rights and technical
        information available to the extended JV ("the Extended JV").

    3   Anooraq is awarded a 6% free carried interest in the Extended JV,
        provided that the Extended JV contemplates an open pit mining
        operation, incorporating the Rietfontein mineral property. Anooraq
        has no financial obligations under the Extended JV terms and
        Ivanplats is required to fund the entire exploration programme to
        feasibility study with no financial recourse to Anooraq. On delivery
        of the feasibility study Anooraq may elect to either:-

           -  retain a participating interest in the Extended JV and finance
              its pro rata share of the project development going forward; or

           -  relinquish its participating interest in the Extended JV in
              consideration for a 5% net smelter return royalty in respect of
              mineral products extracted from those areas of the Rietfontein
              mineral property forming part of the Extended JV mineral
              properties.

    4   Anooraq will be entitled to appoint a member to the Extended JV
        technical committee and all technical programmes going forward will
        be carried out with input from Anooraq.

Philip Kotze, CEO of Anooraq, said, "We are pleased with the resolution of this dispute. The revised agreement maintains our interest in the Rietfontein mineral property but extends the possibility for further development with the addition of Turfspruit. We look forward to working with Ivanplats in taking this project to the feasibility study level."

For further information, please visit our website www.anooraqresources.com, call investor services in South Africa at +27 11 883 0831 or in North America at 1 800 667 2114 or use the contacts referenced below.

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The NYSE Amex has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address the engagement of a new chief financial officer, future production, reserve potential, exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that Anooraq expects are forward looking statements. Anooraq believes that such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, including assumptions that Anooraq will be able to engage a new chief financial officer within a reasonable period of time. Forward looking statements, however, are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, changes in and the effect of government policies with respect to mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and those actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements. For further information on Anooraq, investors should review the Company's annual information form filed on www.sedar.com or its form 20-F with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its other home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE Anooraq Resources Corporation

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