Trading Statement

Alba Mineral Resources PLC
03 January 2007





                           Alba Mineral Resources plc

                           ('Alba' or 'the Company')



                      Award of Licences and Trading Update


Alba, the UK based exploration company announces the award of a further five
exploration licences and one permit across its diversified commodities portfolio
and provides an update of progress in Aberdeenshire.



Highlights



•    New exploration focus for 2007



•    Alba's 50 per cent. owned UK subsidiary Mauritania Ventures Limited ('
     MVL') awarded third uranium exploration permit in Mauritania



•    Crown Estate Commissioners award Alba four gold and silver exploration
     licences in Scotland



•    Alba awarded nickel exploration licence at Milletorp in southern Sweden



•    Companhia Vale do Rio Dolce ('CVRD') of Brazil waive option and withdraw 
     from Scottish exploration in Aberdeenshire





Mauritania: Award of third exploration licence



The Company is pleased to announce that MVL has been awarded a third uranium
exploration permit (313), which covers an area of 1,493 km(2), in northern
Mauritania. MVL's three uranium exploration permits in Mauritania now total
4,465 km(2), with three additional uranium exploration permits pending that
cover 4,478 km2. In addition, two gold and base-metals exploration permits
within the same target area and covering approximately 2,985 km(2) area also
pending.



http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/9093o_-2007-1-3.pdf



Work programme development has commenced on the uranium permit areas in
Mauritania with database construction and detailed target generation studies
using remote sensing (Landsat and ASTER). Field-based exploration work will
commence in January 2007.





Sweden: Award of eighth exploration licence



The Swedish Mining Inspectorate (Bergsstaten) has recently granted Alba an
eighth nickel exploration licence in southern Sweden.  The Milletorp Nr1 licence
covers an area of 4.96 km(2), and is centred on a gabbro intrusion that contains
disseminated sulphide mineralization. Milletorp is situated 24 km south of Kleva
Ni-Cu-Co mine near Vetlanda, a past producing mine, where the Company has
another exploration licence located nearby. Several of the granted licences
demonstrate potential for other metalliferous targets, which the Company will
also evaluate.





Scotland: Crown Estate Commissioners issues gold and silver exploration licences



The Crown Estate Commissioners have issued four gold and silver exploration
licences in Alba's favour at Aberfeldy and Ochil Hills, both in Perthshire,
Kilmelford in Argyllshire and at Arthrath in Aberdeenshire.



Each licence represents a different style and age of mineralization: Dalradian
mesothermal-vein (Aberfeldy), Devonian epithermal (Ochil Hills) Devonian
intrusion-hosted (Kilmelford), and Ordovician mafic intrusion (Arthrath). Land
access negotiations are underway and upon conclusion of access agreements it is
hoped that field programmes will be initiated during Q2 2007.





Agreement with CVRD



Alba have been advised by INCO (Europe) Ltd, whose parent company were recently
acquired by CVRD, that they will not be exercising their option to continue
exploration activities at the Company's Aberdeenshire  property in Scotland.



This decision is based partly on their interpretation of recent geophysical
results where moderate and low conductors were established over the 7 km strike
length of the project area, and CVRD's criteria for continued involvement. Alba
will continue to work on the property and the wider regional area, with a view
to assessing the potential of the known area as a large tonnage, economically
viable deposit.





Managing Director's Statement



Michael Nott, Managing Director, Alba Mineral Resources commented, 'We are
particularly pleased to have been awarded a third uranium exploration permit in
Mauritania where we have established a large ground position now totalling some
4,465 sq kilometres on especially prospective ground. We will commence our
ground exploration work employing surface radiometrics and lithogeochemical
sampling in January 2007.



Whilst we are disappointed that CVRD have decided to withdraw from the agreement
in Scotland, the Company believes that the nickel project in Aberdeenshire, with
established infrastructure, continues to have economic merit when compared to
other sulphide nickel occurrences throughout the world.  Alba will continue with
an exploration programme, both locally and regionally, to explore the economic
potential of this known area of mineralization.



In addition to our work in Aberdeenshire and Mauritania, the licences in Sweden
and Scotland offer the Company significant opportunities to carry forward
additional projects with the positive goal of establishing economically viable
deposits.



We plan to focus our exploration efforts on these areas within the constraints
of the financial resources available to the Company and the Company will be
looking to raise additional funds in the foreseeable future to enable it to
continue to advance the development of its project portfolio.''.







ENDS



Enquiries

Michael Nott, Managing Director
Alba Mineral Resources plc                  Tel: [phone]

Justine Howarth/ Victoria Thomas
Parkgreen Communications                    Tel: [phone]

Liam Murray

City Financial Associates                   Tel: [phone]





Notes to Editors



Alba Mineral Resources plc is a committed, technically driven explorer with a
commodity focus on uranium, nickel and gold. Alba currently has interests in a
number of well researched properties owned in its own right or in conjunction
with other parties, primarily in Scotland, Mauritania and Sweden. The Company
also has gold and base metal interests in Scotland and Ireland.



The Company's overall corporate and exploration strategy will continue to be one
of developing a portfolio of well-researched, promising and prospective
exploration properties that will be pursued further, either in the Company's own
right or in conjunction with other parties.



To create and realise value, projects will be either sold outright (in whole or
part), spun off into a separate company, joint ventured to include a cash
consideration and/or maintaining a 'Net Smelter Return' or developed into
operating mines. The Company will have a principal focus on the Arthrath
nickel-copper-platinum group elements project in Scotland, uranium and
copper-gold in Mauritania, and nickel and copper-gold in Sweden.



Alba will actively assess, as a priority, the uranium potential of the three
uranium permits awarded in Mauritania, and are fully committed to continuing
nickel exploration in Sweden as part of a collaborative exploration effort part
funded by the Altius Minerals Corporation of Canada.



Precious- and base- metal properties in Ireland and Scotland will continue to
form part of the Company portfolio and will be carried forward on a timely
basis, with a view to seeking joint ventures on each where warranted.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange