Ann: Dril Testing of Aberfoyle Tin and Tungsten Systems Commences, page-2

NIUMINCO COMMENCES DRILL TESTING OF THE ABERFOYLE TIN AND TUNGSTEN SYSTEMS IN TASMANIA Niuminco advises that its 72.4% owned subsidiary, TNT Mines Ltd, commenced its diamond drilling program on Wednesday, 23 November at its Aberfoyle/Rossarden exploration licence, EL27/2004. This seven (7) hole, 1090m program will further test the well-known tin and tungsten mineralised Lutwyche and Kookaburra vein systems, which are part of the major historically mined Aberfoyle system near Rossarden in North-Eastern Tasmania. The services of Tasmanian drilling and supervisory contractors have been obtained. ABERFOYLE HISTORY Aberfoyle was one of Australia’s largest historic tin and tungsten mining centres with recorded production from underground mining of the parallel vein swarm system of 2.1 million tonnes at a recovered 0.94% tin and 0 .28% tungstate. The historical exploitation of the Aberfoyle District was focused on the main Aberfoyle vein system which, towards the middle and end of the 1970s, was being worked out. Evaluation focus switched to the Lutwyche vein system. After an extensive deep diamond drilling program from surface (the S prefixed holes in Figure 1), the Aberfoyle company undertook extensive underground development and evaluation of the Lutwyche system at about 400 m below surface. This consisted of a cross cut from the main Aberfoyle workings, then extensive development on the various vein systems at that depth, considerable underground drilling and sampling, and the raise boring of a ventilation shaft to surface. Aberfoyle geologists were reported as estimating a resource of about one million tonnes at around 0.9% combined tin and tungstate. Under the present JORC code, this would now reasonably be termed an Exploration Target. The potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature, and there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. There is little separately recorded production from Lutwyche before the entire operation was terminated due to the collapse of the tin price cartel in about 1980. While the Aberfoyle system did not outcrop, due to it being covered by younger sediments, the Lutwyche vein system and a sub-parallel one, Kookaburra, did outcrop (Figure 1). Each of the latter pair dips about 45° in a south-westerly direction and the Aberfoyle underground exploration also indicated cross cutting vein sets of mineralisation. All mineralisation is reasonably assumed to be related to the underlying granitic cupola which was revealed at depth in the main Aberfoyle underground workings.