NEW YORK, NEW YORK--(Marketwire - Sept. 6, 2012) - BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) today announced that on July 18, 2012, it, on behalf of various investment funds and managed accounts which BlackRock advises, acquired 400,000 common shares (the "Common Shares") in the capital of Minera IRL Limited ("Minera") at a price of $0.66 per Common Share. After giving effect to the transaction, BlackRock has control or direction over a total of 18,246,926 Common Shares of Minera, representing approximately 12.01% of the outstanding Common Shares of Minera. The Common Shares were acquired in the ordinary course of business, for investment purposes only and not for the purpose of exercising control or direction over Minera.

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BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At June 30, 2012, BlackRock's AUM was $3.560 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients' needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares^® (exchange traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions^®. Headquartered in New York City, as of June 30, 2012, the firm has approximately 9,900 employees in 27 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at [ www.blackrock.com ].

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