Runruno Drilling Results

Metals Exploration PLC
16 January 2006

                             METALS EXPLORATION PLC

      ADDITIONAL DRILL HOLE ASSAY RESULTS RECEIVED FOR THE RUNRUNO PROJECT

                RESULTS CONTINUE TO MEET COMPANY'S EXPECTATIONS

16 January 2006

The Board of Metals Exploration PLC ('the Company') is pleased to announce that
results have been received for the next five drill holes (MXD1-MXD6) of the
current diamond drilling programme being undertaken at its Runruno Project.
These results are considered by the Board to be highly encouraging.

The results appear to continue to vindicate the Company's belief that by
focusing on achieving better drill core recoveries (i.e. >90%), the gold assay
results should be better than those obtained during the 1969-1972 drilling
carried out by Fil-Am Resources Inc. ('Fil-Am').  As mentioned in previous
announcements, the drill core recoveries experienced during Fil-Am's drilling
campaigns in the 1970s were very poor, particularly within the interpreted zones
of possibly higher grade gold mineralisation.

As previously reported, during the drilling of the first drill hole (MXD1), a
1.6 metre section of drill core was lost from within the hangingwall
mineralisation. The Company re-drilled this zone by drilling another hole
(MXD3,) close to MXD1, in an to attempt to recover this part of the zone for
analysis. Although the drill hole intercepted a high-grade miners' tunnel at the
location where the Company expected to intersect the best portion of the
hangingwall section of the mineralisation, good mineralisation was nevertheless
intersected on either side of the tunnel, particularly on the footwall side.

RESULTS

The results are highly encouraging as they continue to vindicate the Company's
belief that the Runruno resource, as previously defined in the 1970s, could be
upgraded to an average grade higher than 1.4 g/t Au as a result of focusing on
achieving good drill core recoveries.

The key results from holes MXD2 to MXD6 are summarised below:

   Drill-hole        Intercept (metres)         Au        Mo      'in-ground value of metal'
       ID          From       to     Width      g/t        %     Au US$/t  Mo US$/t  Total US$/t
                                                                                     

MXD2               72       80        8      1.86     0.079      32.74     40.84     73.58

MXD3               37       40        3      2.20     0.044      38.72     22.75     61.47
                   45       46        1      1.54     0.018      27.10      9.31     36.41
                   46       47 0% core recovered - intersected high-grade miners' tunnel
                   47       53        6      3.31     0.045      58.26     23.27     81.52

MXD4               39       40        1      1.30     0.105      22.88     54.29     77.17
                   88       90        2      2.32     0.024      40.80     12.64     53.44
                   92       98        6      1.98     0.012      34.86      6.44     41.30

MXD5*              37       40        3      2.33     0.027      41.01     13.96     54.97
                   84       95       11      4.33     0.079      76.21     40.84    117.05

MXD6               114      116        2      2.07     0.012     36.40      6.10     42.50
                   120      125        5      1.39     0.026     24.45     13.29     37.74
                   156      166       10      2.05     0.026     36.05     13.55     49.60



Notes:   *    Drill hole MXD5 was terminated prematurely at 101 metres depth due
to difficult ground conditions.

1.       Reporting of the above intercepts was determined by applying an upper
and lower boundary defined by a low grade cut-off of 0.7g/t Au. Some intercepts
include single metre, internal intercept grades of less than 0.7g/t Au.

2.       No high grade cut-off has been applied to the individual gold or
molybdenum assays.

3.       'In-ground value of metal' represents an arithmetic calculation of the
value in US$/t of the contained metal per tonne using the current metal prices
(as at 12 January 2006) of US$547/oz gold(1) (US$17.6/g Au) and US$23.5/lb
molybdenum(2) (US$51,700/t Mo). Given the limited nature of exploration
activities to date, no assurance or implication is being given, or should be
assumed to be being given, by the inclusion of these values in this announcement
that the Runruno Project has been, or will in the future be, deemed to be
economic.



DISCUSSION

Drilling was put on hold over the Christmas-New Year period and has just
re-commenced. There are now four diamond drilling rigs operating at Runruno.

To date, 6 drill holes have been completed over a strike distance of
approximately 400 metres, spaced 100 metres apart. Including the two drill holes
completed by Greenwater in 2001-2002, the total distance covered has been
extended over 800 metres strike.  The next row of drill holes will be drilled
100 metres downhill from the first 6 holes, but spaced 200 metres apart along
strike. This will enable more rapid drill coverage of the resource area for
preliminary evaluation purposes.

SAMPLING & ANALYSIS

Sample Preparation

The drill core is taken from the drill site to a secure compound at the
Company's field camp and is logged by the geologist. The drill core is then
split into two equal halves along its long axis, with one half being sampled at
predetermined intervals, bagged and sent for analysis. The remaining half-core
is retained in core boxes and stored on site for future reference.

The bagged half-core samples are being submitted to an independent 'ISO17025
accredited' laboratory for sample preparation and analyses for gold and
molybdenum. All of the half-core samples are crushed by the laboratory and a
900-1000 gram split is taken, pulverized and presented for analysis.

The remaining crushed sample is retained in bags and stored at the laboratory
for a period of three months before being returned to the Company for storage.
These remaining crushed samples will be used in the future for additional
analyses for gold, molybdenum, silver, sulphur and other elements as deemed
necessary, for example, for resource estimation work.

Analytical Techniques

Gold:   Gold analysis is by classical 'Screen Fire Assay' technique that
involves sieving a 900-1000 gram sample to 200 mesh (75microns). The entire
oversize and duplicate undersize fractions are fire assayed and the weighted
average gold grade calculated. This is one of the most appropriate methods for
determining gold content if there is a 'coarse gold' component to the
mineralisation.

Molybdenum:    The sample is dissolved in Aqua Regia (3:1 HCl:HNO3) and
Molybdenum analysis is carried out by Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical
Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) method.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS

Au          chemical symbol for gold

Mo          chemical symbol for molybdenum

HCl         chemical symbol for Hydrochloric Acid

HNO3        chemical symbol for Nitric Acid

g           gram

t           tonne

g/t         grams per tonne, which is equivalent to parts per million (g/t
            Au = grams of gold per tonne)

%           percent (0.034% Mo = 340 parts per million of molybdenum)

lb          avoirdupois pound (= 453.59237 grams)

oz          troy ounce (= 31.103477 grams)

micron      A unit of length equal to one thousandth of a millimetre or one
            millionth of a metre.

200 mesh    the number of openings (200) in one linear inch of screen mesh (200
            mesh approximately equals 75 microns)



SOURCES OF INFORMATION

(1)  www.kitco.com



(2)  www.adanacmoly.com and www.metalprices.com



QUALIFIED PERSON

Gary Powell (a Director of the Company) has been involved in the mining and
exploration industry for more than 20 years. He has a Bachelor of Applied
Science degree in geology and is a member of the Australasian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy and the Australasian Institute of Geoscientists. He has
compiled, read and approved the technical disclosure in this regulatory
announcement.

ENQUIRIES:

Steven Smith - Chairman:                            + 44 (0) 7797 721 858

Jonathan Anderson - Investor Relations:             + 44 (0) 7950 410 680  or
                                                    [phone]

Philip Haydn-Slater - WH Ireland Limited:           + 44 (0) 2072 201 666


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