Mr. Fernando Ganoza reports

ATICO REPORTS CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2016

Atico Mining Corp. has released its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2016, posting net income of $1.97-million. (Amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars unless stated otherwise.)

Fernando E. Ganoza, chief executive officer, commented: "We have had a strong beginning of the year, with record production and positive financial results. In the first quarter, we saw sustainable growth in throughput at the El Roble mine, which resulted in our third consecutive record quarter at the operation. The financials for the quarter showed an impressive AISCC [all-in sustaining cash cost] of $1.36, robust net earnings and a resilient ability to generate cash in a weak metal price environment." Mr. Ganoza added, "We will continue to optimize the mine in the subsequent quarters, focus on delivering on our 2016 guidance, and explore the potential both at the El Roble mine and the 6,670-hectare prospective land package surrounding the operation."

First quarter financial highlights

• Net income for the first quarter amounted to $1.97-million, compared with net income of $2.41-million for the same period last year. The net income was mainly affected by a lower metal price environment.
• Sales for the first quarter decreased 10 per cent to $12.1-million when compared with the same period last year. The decrease is due to lower realized prices and lower metal content in the concentrate as compared with the same period last year. Copper accounted for 83.3 per cent, gold 16.6 per cent and silver 0.1 per cent of the total amount provisionally invoiced during the quarter. The average realized price per metal on provisional invoicing was $2.12 per pound of copper, $1,220.53 per ounce of gold and $15.27 per ounce of silver.
• Cash costs(1) were $83.13 per tonne of processed ore and 86 cents per pound of payable copper produced, a 25- and 26-per-cent decrease over the same period last year, respectively.
• Income from operations was $2.27-million, while cash flow from operations, before changes in working capital, was $5.17-million. Cash used for capital expenditures amounted to $1.66-million.
• At quarter-end, 2,628 wet metric tonnes of non-invoiced concentrate remained at the company's warehouses.
• The all-in sustaining cash cost(1) per payable pound of copper produced for the first quarter of 2016 was $1.36.

                FIRST QUARTER SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL RESULTS

                                                 Q1 2016           Q1  2015

Revenue                                      $12,122,542        $13,452,803
Cost of sales                                ($8,514,948)       ($8,638,213)
Income from mining operations                 $3,607,594         $4,814,590
As a % of revenue                                     30%                36%
Selling, general and administrative
expenses                                      $1,270,708         $1,185,698
Income from operations                        $2,272,729         $3,521,528
As a % of revenue                                     19%                26%
Income before income taxes                    $2,796,289         $3,470,429
Net income (loss)                             $1,966,760         $2,414,704
As a % of revenue                                     16%                18%
Operating cash flow before changes
in non-cash operating working
capital items(1)                              $5,169,499         $5,324,612

First quarter operations review

During the quarter, the company produced 4.27 million pounds of copper, 2,566 ounces of gold and 8,313 ounces of silver. When compared with the same period last year, production increased 113 per cent, 12 per cent and 32 per cent for copper, gold and silver, respectively. The increase in overall metal production is mainly attributed to a 60-per-cent increase in processed material. Copper production in particular saw a 31-per-cent increase in the copper head grade. In the case of gold production, the increase in processed material was partially offset by a 30-per-cent decrease in the gold head grade.

Cash costs(1) for the period were $83.13 per tonne of processed ore and 86 cents per pound of payable copper produced, a 25-per-cent decrease in the cost per tonne and a 26-per-cent decrease in the cash cost per pound of payable copper over the same period last year. The decrease in the cash cost per pound of payable copper net of byproducts is mainly explained by a 60-per-cent increase in processed materials over the same period in last year. The all-in sustaining cash cost(1) per payable pound of copper produced was $1.36.

                    FIRST QUARTER OPERATIONAL DETAILS

                                                 Q1 2016           Q1  2015
Production (contained in
concentrates)(i)
Copper (000s lb)                                   4,277              2,003
Gold (oz)                                          2,566              2,291
Silver (oz)                                        8,313              6,308
                                                 -------            -------
Mine
Tonnes of material mined                          53,752             32,664
                                                 -------            -------
Mill
Tonnes processed                                  53,715             33,558
Tonnes processed per day                             778                557
                                                 -------            -------
Copper grade (%)                                    3.81               2,91
Gold grade (g/t)                                    2.21               3.14
Silver grade (g/t)                                  7.87              11.33
                                                 -------            -------
Recoveries
Copper (%)                                          94.4               93.2
Gold (%)                                            67.3               67.5
Silver (%)                                          61.4               51.6
                                                 -------            -------
Concentrates
Copper concentrates (dmt)                          9,674              4,839
Copper (%)                                          20.1               18.8
Gold (g/t)                                           8.3               14.7
Silver (g/t)                                        26.7               40.6
                                                 -------            -------
Payable copper produced (000s lb)                  4,084              1,890
                                                 -------            -------
Cash cost per pound of payable
copper(1)(2) ($/lb)                                 0.86               1.16
                                                 =======            =======

(i) Subject to adjustments due to final settlement.
(1) These are non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) measures.
(2) Net of byproduct credits.

The financial statements and MD&A (management's discussion and analysis) are available on SEDAR and have also been posted on the company's website.

El Roble mine

The El Roble mine is a high-grade underground copper and gold mine with nominal processing plant capacity of 800 tonnes per day, located in the department of Choco in Colombia. Its commercial product is a copper-gold concentrate.

Since obtaining control of the mine on Nov. 22, 2013, Atico has increased/upgraded the operation from a nominal capacity of 400 tonnes per day. The mine has a continuous operating history of 22 years, with recorded production of 1.5 million tonnes of ore at an average head grade of 2.6 per cent copper and an estimated gold grade of 2.5 grams per tonne. Copper and gold mineralization at the El Roble property occurs in volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) lenses.

Since entering into the option agreement in January, 2011, to acquire 90 per cent of El Roble, Atico has aggressively explored the mine and surrounding claims. The company has completed 31,377 metres of diamond drilling and identified numerous prospective targets for VMS deposits on the 6,679-hectare property. This exploration led to the discovery of high-grade copper and gold mineralization below the 2000 level, the lowest production level of the El Roble mine. Atico has developed a new adit access from the 1880 elevation to develop these new resources.

El Roble has a measured and indicated resource of 1.87 million tonnes grading 3.46 per cent copper and 2.27 g/t gold, at a cut-off grade of 0.93 per cent copper equivalent. Mineralization is open at depth and along strike, and the company plans to further test the limits of the resource.

On the larger land package, the company has identified a prospective stratigraphic contact between volcanic rocks and black and grey cherts. The contact has been traced by Atico geologists for 10 kilometres. This contact has been determined to be an important control on VMS mineralization on which Atico has identified 15 prospective target areas for VMS-type mineralization occurrence, which is the focus of the surface drill program at El Roble.

Qualified person

Thomas Kelly (SME registered member 1696580), chief operating officer of the company and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 standards, is responsible for ensuring that the technical information contained in this news release is an accurate summary of the original reports and data provided to or developed by Atico.

We seek Safe Harbor.