VANCOUVER, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – Mercator Minerals Ltd. (“Mercator” or the “Company”) reports its results for the three month period ended March 31, 2011. This release should be read with the Company’s unaudited financial statements and management discussion and analysis available on the Company’s website and filed on SEDAR under the Company’s issuer profile.

FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS AND SIGNIFICANT ITEMS

• Net cash flow from operations of $8.5 million for the first quarter of 2011, compared to $nil in the first quarter of 2010.
  
  


• Net loss of $6.2 million for the first quarter of 2011 compared to a net loss of $11.4 million for the first quarter of 2010.
  
  


• Revenues of $55.8 million for the first quarter of 2011, a $25.3 million increase, or 83%, over the first quarter of 2010.
  
  


• Mining and processing costs, including freight, smelting and refining of $36.9 million, a $10.1 million increase, or 38%, over the first quarter of 2010.
  
  


• Produced 9.0 million pounds of copper in concentrates and 0.5 million pounds of cathode copper, a 3.3 million pound increase over the first quarter 2010 production of 6.2 million pounds. Produced a monthly record of 3.9 million pounds of copper in March 2011.
  
  


• Produced 1.0 million pounds of molybdenum in concentrates, a 0.4 million pound increase over the first quarter 2010 production of 0.6 million pounds.
  
  


• In April 2011, met the requirements of its completion guarantee under the terms of the Silver Wheaton silver agreement following 30 consecutive days of mill operation at an average of 35,000 tons per day.
  
  


• Capital expenditures of $19.5 million included $12.4 million for the Phase 2 mill expansion and $7.1 million for the natural gas turbine installation. Both of these projects are scheduled for commissioning in July 2011.
  
  


• The initial quarterly credit facility principal payment of $4.8 million was made at March 31, 2011.
  
  


• Cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash, totalled $33.3 million at March 31, 2011.
  
  


• The Company has restated its first quarter of 2010 comparative results to correct a prior period cutoff error affecting copper revenue and certain costs and expenses. For the three months ending March 31, 2010 the Company overstated the net loss for the period by $3.6 million. The correction of this error affects only the interim 2010 financial statements and has no impact on the Company’s reported revenue or costs and expenses for the year ended December 31, 2010.

All financial information contained herein should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis and unaudited financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2011 and the Management Discussion and Analysis and Audited consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009 and related notes thereto available under the Company’s profile on www.sedar.com.

Gary Simmerman, BSc, Mining Eng. FAusIMM, Mercator’s Vice-President Engineering, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, supervised the preparation of and verified and approved the technical information contained in this release

Mercator Minerals Ltd.

Mercator Minerals Ltd. is a TSX listed mining company with an experienced management team that has brought the mill expansion at the Mineral Park Mine, one of the largest and most modern copper-moly mining-milling operations in North America, to production in less than 2 years. Mercator management is dedicated to maximizing profits at the Mineral Park Mine and the development of the El Pilar copper project in Mexico.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

MERCATOR MINERALS LTD.

Per: “Michael L. Surratt”
Michael L. Surratt,
President