Vancouver, British Columbia – December 5, 2011 – Mercator Minerals Ltd. (TSX: ML) (“Mercator” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced private placement (the “Offering”) of 11,428,572 units (“Unit”) to raise gross proceeds of C$20 million.  Each Unit was comprised of one common share (the “Common Shares”) and one-quarter of one common share purchase warrant (the “Warrants”).   Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional Common Share of the Company at a price of C$2.50 per share until December 2, 2014. A finder’s fee of C$0.54 million was paid in connection with the financing.

The Company intends to use the proceeds received from the sale of Units primarily to optimize and compress the construction schedule for the development of the El Pilar project. This will include commencement of the detailed engineering work, payment of the Change of Land Use (“CUS”) permit fees, payment for land and right of way costs and to allow for the delivery of a “construction ready” project. These activities will allow for a quicker start-up when construction financing for the El Pilar project is available.  The proceeds may also be used for general corporate and working capital purposes.

Bruce McLeod, President and CEO stated, “The optimization work to be conducted on the El Pilar project will include revising our mineral reserves and mine plan to capture the benefits of reducing the lift height on the leach pads to three meters. This opportunity could increase the net present value (discounted at 8%) of an already robust and attractive project by US$100 million to over US$435 million.”

The El Pilar feasibility study can be found on SEDAR and on the Company’s website (see November 9, 2011 press release: Mercator Minerals Files El Pilar Technical Report ).

The securities offered have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This email shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any State in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

For further information please visit www.mercatorminerals.com or contact: