Anooraq announces update on mineral rights and JSE Listing

12-11-2006

December 11, 2006 - Anooraq Resources Corporation (“Anooraq” or the “Company”) (TSXV: ARQ; AMEX: ANO) is pleased to announce that the Department of Minerals and Energy of South Africa has issued new order prospecting rights to the Company for the farms Rietfontein 2 KS, Malokongskop 780 LR and Drenthe 778 LR, which are a portion of its properties on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex. The farms which cover a total of 5,857 hectares are all situated near the town of Mokopane in the Limpopo Province in South Africa. The Drenthe farm is part of the Boikgantsho Joint Venture with Anglo Platinum Limited.

The respective new order rights granted are valid for a period of five years, from 28 November 2006 to 27 November 2011. The granting of the old order rights to new order rights is in line with the requirements of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002 (“MPRDA”).

Deputy CEO Mr Tumelo Motsisi said:
“I am very pleased with the approvals, as the conversion of the old order prospecting rights is an important element of advancing our projects. Such approval also meets a key objective of the MPRDA: providing security of tenure for prospecting, exploration and mining.”

In June 2004, the South African Reserve Bank gave approval for Pelawan Investments (Pty) Ltd. (“Pelawan”) to convert its 50% interest in the Ga-Phasha Project into a majority interest in Anooraq via a reverse takeover transaction (“RTO”). The Ga-Phasha Project, a 50:50 joint venture between Anooraq and Anglo Platinum, is located on the North Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Complex. One of the conditions of the approval of the RTO was for Anooraq to effect an inward listing on the then JSE Securities Exchange (“JSE”) by October 2005. This date was subsequently extended to December 2006.

In keeping with the above, Anooraq announces that it has recently been granted approval by the South African Reserve Bank to effect its inward dual listing on the JSE. The listing of Anooraq’s entire issued share capital on the South African bourse is currently subject to formal approval by the JSE. This inward listing on the JSE by the end of the year would mean that Anooraq and Pelawan have satisfied a key approval requirement of the RTO. The Company would also retain its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange and secondary listing on AMEX.

ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF ANOORAQ BY
Managing Director and Deputy CEO
Anooraq Resources Corporation
For further details on Anooraq and its South African properties please visit the Company’s website www.anooraqresources.com
or contact:
Investor Relations Phumzile Langeni
Vancouver, Canada Executive Director, Investor Relations
Phone: (604)684-6365 Johannesburg, South Africa
Toll Free: 1-800-667-2114 Phone: +2711 883-0831 or +2783 745-5834

The TSX Venture Exchange and the American Stock Exchange have neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future production, reserve potential, exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that Anooraq (“the Company”) expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, and
continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and those actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 20-F filing with the
United States Securities Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Cautionary and Forward Looking Information