Mercator Minerals Ltd. announced that the commissioning of phase 1.5 at its wholly owned Mineral Park mine in Arizona is underway. Phase 1.5 will take Mineral Park daily production up from a design capacity of 25,000 tons per day to a design capacity of approximately 32,000 tons per day. The principal aspect of the Phase 1.5 was the installation of the Phase 2 SAG mill and its related conveying and pumping systems. The installation of the second SAG mill was completed late January and currently motor run-ins and belt aligning work are underway. Phase 1.5 includes a significant part of Phase 2 equipment including the SAG mill, the reclaim conveyors, thickner, most of the water system, and the first raise of the tailings impoundment. Phase 2 construction continues to proceed on schedule, with the ball mill gears, lube skids and gear covers on site. The Phase 2 ball mills are scheduled for delivery in May, and have been fully paid for. Concrete, mechanical and electrical work is ongoing for Phase 2 which is scheduled for completion around the end of the year.

Mercator Minerals Ltd. Presents at Metals and Mining Conference, Mar-24-2010. Venue: Hilton Times Square, W 42nd street, New York, New York, United States.

Mercator Minerals Ltd. provided an update of the recent developments at its wholly owned El Pilar Copper Project in Northern Mexico. The company has presented the advanced basic engineering study for the sulphur burning acid plant for the El Pilar Copper Project in Northern Mexico. In the Feasibility Study developed by M3 Engineering & Technology Corp. the estimated capital cost, including contingency, of the acid plant was $56.9 million, for a 600 mtpd plant. An additional 150 mtpd of acid was projected to be purchased at market price. Subsequent to the completion and delivery of the feasibility study Aker, a well known acid plant designer was retained to do an advanced basic design and detailed cost estimate utilizing bids for all of the major equipment. The result of the review by Aker is a 750 MTPD plant with a capital cost estimate, including contingency, of $54.9 million. The result is a reduction of $2.0 million in capital cost and a substantial cost savings in operational cost due to the additional acid production of 150 mtpd. On January 9, 2010, the assembly of Ejido Miguel Hidalgo voted in favor of selling the surface rights necessary for the development of El Pilar Copper Project to Recursos Stingray, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercator. The next step is for the Ejido authorities to request from the Agrarian Authority the full title. The process of approval by the government and granting of land title is estimated to take between three and four months. In addition SEMARNAT (Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources) has approved the Environmental Impact Manifest (MIA) and has granted the environmental permit for the development of the Project. SEMARNAT concluded that the steps and measures included in the MIA that are to be adopted during construction and operations were adequate. Two important factors in the approval by SEMARNAT were that; Recursos demonstrated that water is available outside the main watershed and supply from the river to nearby communities would not be affected; and that the socio-economic study developed by a project consultant demonstrated that the Project will be a positive driving force for economic development in an area of the State of Sonora with low employment.