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Gold/Mining/Energy : Precious and Base Metal Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: loantech who wrote (29715)	5/19/2004 9:43:26 AM
From: Salt'n'Peppa	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 39344

Etruscan - Pre-Stripping Underway at Samira Hill Gold Mine biz.yahoo.com Etruscan Resources Inc. - Pre-Stripping Underway at Samira Hill Gold Mine Wednesday May 19, 9:05 am ET WINDSOR, NOVA SCOTIA and MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(CCNMatthews - May 19, 2004) - Etruscan Resources Inc. (EET.TSE) and Semafo Inc. (SMF.TSE) announced today that the Samira Hill Gold Project in Niger continues to move forward on schedule and on budget, with the start of pre-strip mining from the main Samira Hill pit. Commissioning of the plant will occur in July and August, and the first gold pour remains scheduled for September 2004. The mining contractor, BCM International Limited ("BCM") of Ghana, has been fully mobilized and has been advancing the initial phase of pre-stripping to expose the top of the ore zone. The Canadian drilling contractor, St. Lambert, has been contracted to carry out the initial campaign of grade-control drilling in advance of mining of ore, which is planned for early June. The vast majority of supplies and equipment have arrived at site and the plant is in its final stages of assembly. Major infrastructure works are well underway with all 6 CIL tanks and the raw water pipeline to the plant complete as well as all of the foundations and related concrete work (please see photograph updates on Etruscan's website www.etruscan.com ). The power plant modules have now arrived at site and are currently undergoing assembly by Delmas of France, the supplier. BCM is proceeding on track with the earthworks on the tailings dam. The piping and electrical installations are now in full swing. All of the management staff has been appointed, with local Nigeriens filling the majority of the operator and labor positions. Key operator personnel have been sent to Semafo's Kiniero Mine in Guinea and to Managem operations in Morocco for training. The full management and operating team will be in place well in advance of start up. Annual production from Samira Hill in the first year is forecast to be 135,000 ounces at a cash cost of US$177 per ounce. With current mineable reserves of 10,073,626 tonnes grading 2.21 grams of gold per tonne the mine is expected to produce an average of 100,000 ounces of gold per year at an average cash cost of US$203 per ounce. Current gold resources for the Samira Hill Gold Project are 1,491,000 ounces (measured + indicated) and 505,000 ounces (inferred) as estimated by Resource Service Group Pty Ltd ("RSG") of Perth, Australia. Samira Hill will operate under the Nigerien company, Societe des Mines du Liptako ("SML") SA. SML is a limited liability company governed by the laws of Niger and is owned 80% by African GeoMin Mining Development Corporation Limited ("AGMDC") and 20% by the State of Niger. AGMDC is in turn owned by Semafo (50%) and Etruscan (50%). Etruscan, Semafo and the State of Niger participate to the overall project management through their representation on a joint technical committee. Managem S.A., the mining division of Groupe ONA is providing project management for the Samira Hill Gold Project. GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants Limited (GBM) of the United Kingdom has been engaged to work with the project manager on all aspects of the project. GBM is an independent firm of engineering consultants specialising in assisting clients with the development, design and construction of new mining projects, and was engaged in 2000 by Ashanti Goldfields as an owner's representative during the development of the 500,000 ounce per year Geita gold mine in Tanzania. The common shares of Etruscan are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "EET". The common shares of SEMAFO are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "SMF". More extensive information on Etruscan can be found on its home page at www.etruscan.com. More extensive information on Semafo can be found on its home page at www.semafo.com . ----------------------------------------------------------- Contact: Etruscan Resources Inc. Richard Gordon Investor Relations Phone: (902) 798-9701 Fax: (902) 798-9702

To: loantech who wrote (29715)	5/19/2004 7:08:47 PM
From: Condor	Respond to of 39344

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