Mercator Minerals Ltd. is pleased to announce 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. "All start up activities are expected to be complete by the end of February and the mill is expected to be at capacity next month," said Mike Surratt, President and CEO.

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 announces an off take agreement is signed with Trafigura for 50,000 tons of copper in concentrate for delivery this year. The agreement is for delivery at domestic smelters, and is in addition to the current MRI contract. "This is a considerably better contract for us with the domestic shipping," stated Surratt.

"2009 was another milestone year for Mercator," stated Surratt. "We completed the construction and commenced operating the Phase 1 at Mineral Park, acquired a major copper project with a full feasibility study that has increased our copper reserves by 113% with only 7% share dilution, completed most of phase 1.5, and ended a year that saw one of the worst economic down turns in history with over $60 million in the bank (unaudited). Even though the mill commenced operations in April, Mineral Park produced more than 31 million pounds of copper, 1.9 million pounds of moly and 200,000 oz. of silver. With the increased production from phase 1.5, we look forward to another record year and continued growth from Phase 2 and the El Pilar project."