VANCOUVER, BRITISH
COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – Feb. 20, 2014) – (In United States dollars, except
where noted otherwise)

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (“First
Quantum” or “the Company”) (TSX:FM)(LSE:FQM) today announced comparative net
earnings¹ of $133.8 million or $0.23
per share for the three months ended December 31, 2013 and $539.4
million or $0.96 per share for the full year 2013. These
results are inclusive of the recurring acquisition-related unfavorable
adjustments of $22.6 million and $69.0 million,
respectively for the three months and full year.

YEAR 2013
HIGHLIGHTS²

Expanded operating base, project
pipeline and geographic presence with the acquisition of Inmet Mining
Corporation (“Inmet”)

• Significantly
  increased production across all product lines:






• Copper
  up 34% to 412,281 tonnes




• Nickel
  up 28% to 47,066 tonnes




• Gold
  up 23% to 248,078 ounces







• Lowered
  cash cost of production:






• Copper
  down 13% to $1.30 per pound




• Nickel
  down 15% to $5.02 per pound







• Significantly
  higher sales volumes in all major commodities






• Copper
  up 31% despite a build-up in concentrate inventory at Kansanshi due to
  constrained smelting capacity in Zambia
  







• Gross
  profit unfavorably impacted by $313 million from lower
  commodity prices and the build-up in concentrate inventory at Kansanshi




• Further
  strengthened financial position:






• $1,439.9
  million of cash flow generated by operations³




• $778.5
  million cash balance including restricted cash at December
  31, 2013




• Progressed
  the restructuring of the Company’s capital and financing structure
  towards achieving pari
  passu ranking and credit support among all classes of its
  capital markets indebtedness. Significant aspects of this process were
  launched and completed in Q1 2014







• Invested
  $2,601.0 million in the expansion of the Company’s
  production base






• Completed
  the 14.5 million tonnes-per-annum expansion of the Kansanshi oxide
  circuit




• Advanced
  the Sentinel project towards commissioning in the second half of 2014




• Entered
  the peak construction phase of the copper smelter with commissioning
  targeted for mid-2014




• Stabilized
  all activities of the Panama
  project and advanced development along a realistic and clear timeframe







• Declared
  a final dividend of C$0.0930 per share in respect of the
  financial year ended December 31, 2013. Together with the
  interim dividend paid in September 2013, the dividend is
  14.3% of comparative net earnings

¹ Earnings attributable to
shareholders of the Company have been adjusted to remove the effect of unusual
items to arrive at comparative earnings. Comparative
earnings and comparative earnings per share are not measures recognized under
International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) and do not have a
standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. The Company has disclosed these
measures to assist with the understanding of results and to provide further
financial information about the results to investors.

² Results are compared to Year 2012
and include the results of the Çayeli mine (100%), the Las Cruces mine (100%),
and the Pyhäsalmi mine (100%) from

March 22,
2013, the date of acquisition.

³ Cash flow from operations before
changes in working capital and tax paid.

CEO’S COMMENTS

“Our operations
continued their good performances in the fourth quarter to complete an
outstanding year for the Company. Yet another record for quarterly production
was established at our Kansanshi copper mine even while it was adjusting its
product mix in response to the ongoing challenge of constrained in-country
smelting capacity. Our Ravensthorpe nickel mine also set a new quarterly
production record. But more importantly, the mine reduced its total cost by
over 15% making it both cash flow and earnings positive in the prevailing low
nickel price environment. As a result of the work done by our technical and
management teams, Ravensthorpe is well positioned to benefit from a
strengthening in the nickel price which several industry analysts are anticipating.
The successes at Kansanshi and Ravensthorpe in 2013 highlight the continuous
Company-wide efforts to ensure our workplaces are efficient, safe and
responsible” noted Philip Pascall , First Quantum’s CEO
and Chairman.

“Our project
development team is currently engaged on five major projects having recently
successfully constructed and commissioned the Stage 2 expansion of the
Kansanshi oxide circuit. Our 55 million tonnes-per-annum Sentinel project
recently passed 13 million man hours worked, is 75% complete overall and is
tracking for construction completion as planned. Major areas of Sentinel’s
process plant design, which are already complete, have been copied for use at
our Cobre Panama project, which is proceeding well along a realistic and clear
timeframe for construction completion in Q3 2017. The project is expected to
then be ready for commissioning and ramp-up over the following two quarters.

“During the last six
months, our teams have put a tremendous effort into restructuring our financing
and capital structure following our acquisition of Inmet. We’re very pleased
with what has been achieved to date and believe our stakeholders are reassured
that we have put in place the suitable capital structure and financial
flexibility to meet our growth and investment plans,” Mr. Pascall
concluded.

FINANCIAL
HIGHLIGHTS

OPERATING
HIGHLIGHTS

FULL YEAR 2014
GUIDANCE

• Total
  production






• copper
  between 418,000 and 444,000 tonnes




• nickel
  between 42,000 and 47,000 tonnes




• gold
  between 221,000 and 246,000 ounces




• zinc
  between 59,000 and 65,000 tonnes




• palladium
  and platinum between 22,000 and 24,000 ounces each







• Cash
  cost of production






• copper
  between $1.32 and $1.48 per pound




• nickel
  between $4.40 and $4.90 per pound







• Capital
  expenditures of $2.1 billion, with approximately $600
  million at each of Cobre Panama and Sentinel

CONFERENCE CALL
& WEBCAST

The Company will host a
conference call and webcast to discuss the results on Friday, February
21, 2014.

Conference call and webcast
details are as follows:

The conference call replay
will be available from 11:00 am (EST) until 11:59 pm (EST) on February
28, 2014.

COMPLETE FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS AND MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

The audited consolidated
financial statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the year
ended December 31, 2013 are available at www.first-quantum.com and should be
read in conjunction with this news release.

BASIS OF
PRESENTATION

This news release and the
Company’s financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS and
are presented in United States
dollars, except where noted. Changes in accounting policies have been applied
consistently to comparative periods unless otherwise noted.

On Behalf of the Board of
Directors of First Quantum Minerals
Ltd.

G. Clive Newall
, President

12g3-2b-82-4461

Listed in Standard and
Poor’s

Cautionary
statement on forward-looking information

Certain statements and
information herein, including all statements that are not historical facts,
contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the
meaning of applicable securities laws. These forward-looking statements are
principally included in the Development activities section and are also
disclosed in other sections of the document. The forward looking statements
include estimates, forecasts and statements as to the Company’s expectations of
production and sales volumes, expected timing of completion of project
development at Kansanshi, Sentinel, Enterprise and Cobre Panama, the impact of
ore grades on future production, the potential of production disruptions,
capital expenditure and mine production costs, the outcome of mine permitting,
the outcome of legal proceedings which involve the Company, information with
respect to the future price of copper, gold, cobalt, nickel, zinc, pyrite,
platinum-group elements (“PGE”), and sulphuric acid, estimated
mineral reserves and mineral resources, First Quantum’s exploration and
development program, estimated future expenses, exploration and development
capital requirements, the Company’s hedging policy, and goals and strategies.
Often, but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be identified
by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or
“does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”,
“scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”,
“intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”
or “believes” or variations of such words and phrases or statements
that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”,
“would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be
achieved.

With respect to
forward-looking statements and information contained herein, the Company has
made numerous assumptions including among other things, assumptions about the
price of copper, gold, nickel, zinc, pyrite, PGE, cobalt and sulphuric acid,
anticipated costs and expenditures and the ability to achieve the Company’s
goals. Although management believes that the assumptions made and the expectations
represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no
assurance that a forward-looking statement or information herein will prove to
be accurate. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are
based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements,
or industry results, to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements or information. These factors include, but are not limited to,
future production volumes and costs, costs for inputs such as oil, power and
sulphur, political stability in Zambia,
Peru, Mauritania,
Finland, Spain,
Turkey, Panama
and Australia,
adverse weather conditions in Zambia,
Finland, Spain,
Turkey and Mauritania,
labour disruptions, mechanical failures, water supply, procurement and delivery
of parts and supplies to the operations, the production of off-spec material.

See the Company’s Annual
Information Form for additional information on risks, uncertainties and other
factors relating to the forward-looking statements and information. Although
the Company has attempted to identify factors that would cause actual actions,
events or results to differ materially from those disclosed in the
forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that
cause actual results, performances, achievements or events not to be
anticipated, estimated or intended. Also, many of these factors are beyond
First Quantum’s control. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance
on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertake no
obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a
result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be
required by law. All forward-looking statements and information made herein are
qualified by this cautionary statement.

Contact Information:
North American contact:
Sharon Loung
Director, Investor Relations
(647) 346-3934 or Toll Free: 1 (888) 688-6577
(604) 688-3818 (FAX)
[email protected]

United Kingdom
contact:
Clive Newall
President
+44 140 327 3484
+44 140 327 3494 (FAX)
[email protected]

www.first-quantum.com