Mr. Andrew Smith reports

EAST AFRICA METALS INITIATES MINE PERMITTING FOR TERAKIMTI OXIDE GOLD PROJECT, ETHIOPIA

East Africa Metals Inc. has initiated the mine-permitting process for the Terakimti oxide gold project at the company's 70-per-cent-owned Harvest project located in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

The recent metallurgical testwork results combined with previously disclosed technical information (see news releases dated June 22, 2016, and Oct. 27, 2015) and an internal company engineering study in support of the development of a mineral resource estimate, the company has now completed the technical, environmental and socio-economic documentation to qualify the Terakimti oxide gold project for submission of a mine permit application to the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Terakimti oxide gold project profile:

• Mineral resource: 1,125,000 tonnes grading 3.2 grams per tonne gold and 24.0 grams per tonne silver containing 107,000 ounces of gold and 812,000 ounces of silver;
• Simulated heap-leach recoveries: 75.3 per cent gold and 39.7 per cent silver;
• Mining method: conventional open pit;
• Processing: heap leaching to produce gold-silver dore.

Proposed mining operation

The Terakimti oxide deposit is proposed as an open-pit mining operation followed by heap leaching and on-site processing to produce gold-silver dore. The combination of near-surface oxide gold and silver mineralization, hosted in soft rock when compared with other deposits, high and rapid extraction of gold at coarse crush sizes in metallurgical testwork along with satisfactory percolation rates all support this strategy for the development of the Terakimti project.

Project infrastructure

The Terakimti project is located in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, approximately 600 kilometres north of the Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The region has regular air service and very good modern transportation and power infrastructure. The existing power and infrastructure located close to the project site enhance the development potential of the proposed operation. The proposed mining operation would utilize grid power for the project, for which the nearest high-tension power line is approximately seven kilometres away. Primary road access to the site is by paved highway from the town of Shire, 40 kilometres south of the project. Shire has a population of approximately 60,000 people and sufficient services to serve as a base for off-site project activities. Local surface water and groundwater are expected to be sufficient for a heap-leaching operation, and the project would maximize recycling of process water.

Environmental impact and socio-economic assessment

An independent environmental impact and socio-economic assessment (EISA) study has been completed by Beles Engineering Pvt. Ltd. Co. of Ethiopia and forms an integral part of the mine permit application. This study examined the beneficial and adverse aspects of the proposed mining operation and concluded that the local population is in favour of the project, and the anticipated benefits would be positive and very important to the local community and to the local and regional governments.

The study identified a small number of local farmers within the 2.8-square-kilometre project concession that would require relocation so as not to be directly impacted by the mining activities. The company will liaise with the affected families and the community to develop a satisfactory resettlement plan.

Based on the findings of the study, the company believes it is possible to successfully manage the environmental and social impacts that would occur upon implementation of mining activities at Terakimti.

The mine permitting process

The first step in the permitting process, submission of the final draft documents to the Harvest joint venture committee for the consideration of the minority partners, has been completed. Once approval of the committee has been received, the mine permit application will be formally submitted to the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas for review. The company anticipates the Ministry of Mines' review will result in a recommendation to the Licensing commission for final approval of the licence.

Andrew Lee Smith, president and chief executive officer, stated: "Advancing the Terakimti gold-oxide project to the permitting stage will mark a significant milestone for company and highlights the excellent performance the company has achieved with its Ethiopian assets. The resource at Terakimti shares a similarity with other copper-gold projects in the region, such as the Bisha and Debwara deposits, in that the initial mining opportunity was defined by the surface gold-oxide resource followed by mining of copper-gold-zinc sulphide resources. Management believes that over time, the potential exists for mining at Terakimti to begin with the gold silver oxide and then transition to high-grade supergene copper oxide and eventually the copper-gold sulphide resource. The Terakimti oxide gold project will provide East Africa the opportunity to benefit from establishing the first heap-leach operation in the country and generate cash flow to reinvest in exploration and development to grow the company's resources in Ethiopia, which currently stand at 926,000 gold-equivalent ounces in the indicated category plus 860,000 gold-equivalent ounces in the inferred category."

                   EAST AFRICA'S MINERAL RESOURCES AT HARVEST AND ADYABO
   
Project                                         Ownership                    Resource summary

Adyabo 3 (indicated)                                 100%                 446,000 ounces AuEq
Adyabo 3 (inferred)                                  100%                 434,000 ounces AuEq
Terakimti oxide update 1 (indicated)  70% (permit pending)                132,000 ounces AuEq
Terakimti sulphide 2 (indicated)                      70%   348,000 ounces AuEq, 139 Mlb CuEq
Terakimti sulphide 2 (inferred)                       70%   426,000 ounces AuEq, 170 Mlb CuEq

The resources stated above have been previously disclosed in news releases.

                     TERAKIMTI UPDATED OXIDE MINERAL RESOURCES(1)

                                       NSR                  Grade         Contained metal
Mineralization  Mineralization         cut-
class                     type         off   Tonnes     Au    Ag    Cu     Au    Ag    Cu
                                      ($/t)    (000)  (g/t) (g/t)   (%)  (koz) (koz) (klb)

Indicated                Oxide      $15.74    1,110   3.20  23.6  0.08    114   841     -
Inferred                 Oxide       15.74       15   1.94  13.5  0.04      1     7     -

(1) Terakimti oxide resource update was disclosed Oct. 27, 2015, effective date Oct. 18,
2015. Full mineral resource estimate disclosure can be found in the company's press
release dated Oct. 27, 2015, available at its website or SEDAR. Subsequent to the
release of the oxide resource update, a review by the resource qualified person
identified an error in the tabulation of mineral resources. The corrected resource
information was disclosed via press release on Jan. 11, 2016. Metal prices for gold and
silver are $1,300/ounce and $17.50/ounce, respectively.

                  TERAKIMTI INITIAL MINERAL RESOURCES(1)

                                 NSR                     Grade                     
Mineralization  Mineralization   cut-                         
class                     type   off  Tonnes    Au    Ag   Cu   Zn  CuEq        
                                ($/t)   (000) (g/t) (g/t)  (%)  (%)   (%)                             

Indicated             Sulphide  23.9   1,841   1.1  17.5 2.20 1.65  3.98 
Inferred              Sulphide  23.9   2,583   1.0  20.6 1.09 1.42  2.60                
                       Primary  63.9     939   0.8  15.2 0.69 2.92  2.66               
                      Subtotal                                         
                      inferred         3,522   0.9  19.2 0.98 1.82  2.61 
                                       
                                          Contained metal          
Mineralization  Mineralization                             
class                     type      Au       Ag       Cu      Zn    CuEq 
                                  (koz)    (koz)    (klb)   (klb)   (klb)  

Indicated             Sulphide      63    1,033   89,477  66,871 146,645
Inferred              Sulphide      80    1,712   62,187  77,101 134,337               
                       Primary      25      459   14,198  60,358  49,862               
                      Subtotal                                         
                      Inferred     105    2,171   76,385 137,459 184,199

(1) Terakimti initial resource estimate as disclosed in the NI 43-101 
technical report dated Feb. 14, 2014, effective date Jan. 17, 2014. Full 
mineral resource estimate disclosure can be found on the company's 
website or SEDAR. Metal prices for gold, silver, copper and zinc are 
$1,400/ounce, $25.00/ounce, $3.50/pound and 90 cents/pound, 
respectively.

                     ADYABO MINERAL RESOURCES(1)
                                                             
                             Grade               Contained metal       
                                                         
Category     Tonnes   Au   Cu    Ag  AuEq     Au     Cu    Ag   AuEq
              (000) (g/t)  (%) (g/t) (g/t)  (koz)  (Mlb) (koz)  (koz) 

Indicated    3,215  3.92 0.24   1.4  4.29    408   16.8   132    446    
Inferred     5,930  1.43 0.50   2.9  2.27    273   65.7   559    434

(1) Adyabo project updated mineral resource estimate disclosed via 
press release dated June 14, 2016, effective date May 31, 2016. 
Metal prices for gold, silver and copper are $1,400/ounce, 
$20.00/ounce and $3.20/pound, respectively. Metallurgical recoveries 
of 97 per cent for gold, 72 per cent for copper and 50 per cent for 
silver were applied at Da Tambuk.

We seek Safe Harbor.