Plains Creek Phosphate announces the appointment of Owen Ryan as Executive Chairman

VANCOUVER, Feb. 4, 2013 /CNW/ - The Board of Directors of Plains Creek Phosphate Corporation ("Plains Creek", or the "Company") (TSX‐V: PCP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Owen Ryan as a new additional director, Executive Chairman, Interim President and CEO with immediate effect. Glenn Laing and Carson Phillips have stepped down from their executive positions and will not be seeking re-election at the next annual general meeting of shareholders, which is scheduled for March 7, 2013 (the "AGM"). Mr. Laing has entered into a consultancy agreement with the Company to provide advisory services as and when requested.

Mr. Ryan brings to Plains Creek extensive experience as a senior level mining executive. Previous roles include; Head of Group Business Development for Anglo American plc in London, Head of Global Mining Research and Sales at UBS Investment Bank in London and Head of Mining and Commodity Research at Old Mutual Asset Management in Cape Town, South Africa. Mr. Ryan was recently a Non-Executive Director of TSX-listed Western Coal Corporation. He is currently a Non-Executive Director of Mongolia Minerals Corp., an unlisted Canadian public company.

Mr. Ryan is respectively a partner and director of London based Scarab Capital Partners LLP and Scarab Investments Ltd.  He is also a founding shareholder and Chairman of Alameda Minerals Ltd, a Chile based mining exploration and development junior. Mr. Ryan holds a BSc in Civil Engineering and an MBA, both from the University of Cape Town.

Mr. Ryan stated, "I look forward to the challenge of leading this junior phosphate mining company into its next phase of development. The Company has completed a bankable feasibility study establishing a proven phosphate reserve with world class potential that deserves to be brought rapidly into production. We have a core of strong shareholders who currently support this vision and I look forward to building value for all shareholders and stakeholders."

The Board is currently in the process of examining its strategic alternatives including restructuring and refinancing the Company. It is the intention of the Board that should any shareholder approvals be required in this respect, these will be sought at the AGM on the March 7, 2013.

About Plains Creek

Plains Creek Phosphate Corporation is a Canadian mining exploration and development company focused on advancing its Farim Phosphate Project (the "Project") in Guinea‐Bissau, West Africa. The Project currently comprises a phosphate deposit consisting of one continuous flat lying phosphate bed with Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves estimates, as disclosed in the Company's current technical report on the feasibility study (the "Feasibility Study") on its Project in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, dated effective December 19, 2012, filed on SEDAR on January 17, 2013 and publicly available on SEDAR under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. The Feasibility Study defines a Measured Resource of 64.6 MT at an average grade of 29.11% P₂O₅, an Indicated Resource of 28.1 Mt at an average grade of 27.68 % P₂O₅, and an Inferred Resource of 18.3 Mt at an average grade of 28.66 % P₂O₅ and states total proven and probable reserves of 33.0 Mt (dry) with an average ROM P₂O₅ grade of 30.4%. The Measured and Indicated Resource estimates stated above are inclusive of the resources comprising the proven and probable reserve estimates. A two-phased development is contemplated for the Project as an open pit mining operation. Phase One consists of a 1.0 Mt per year beneficiated phosphate rock concentrate project, as described in the Feasibility Study, and Phase Two would consist of the production of 2.0 Mt per year of phosphate rock concentrate with a beneficiation plant and associated infrastructure, pipeline and port.

The Company's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol "PCP". For additional information, please visit us at www.plainscreek.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

(Signed) "Owen Ryan"
Owen Ryan
Chairman, Interim President, Interim Chief Executive Officer and Director

Cautionary Statement

Statements in this release may be viewed as forward-looking statements. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. There are no assurances the Company can fulfill such forward-statements and the Company undertakes no obligation to update statements. Such forward looking statements are only predictions; actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks facing the Company, some of which are beyond the Company's control.

The reader should be cautioned that there are risks that could affect the potential development of the Project's mineral resources, which include: the political instability in Africa and Guinea-Bissau in particular, which is where the Project is located; and that additional financing will be required to ultimately develop the Project and the ability to obtain such financing on favorable terms will be affected by prevailing market conditions.  A more detailed discussion of such risks are outlined in the Company's Management's Discussion & Analysis and its current Feasibility Study, all of which are filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

SOURCE: Plains Creek Phosphate Corp.