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Gold/Mining/Energy : Diamonds in Alberta, Ashton, Pure Gold, Montello, New Cla -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jesse who wrote (441)	2/9/1998 9:07:00 AM
From: Famularo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 822

NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CANADIAN CORPORATE NEWS FOR: ASHTON MINING OF CANADA INC. TSE, ME SYMBOL: ACA FEBRUARY 9, 1998 Ashton and Joint Venturers Plan $10 Million Alberta Program and Report Diamond Analysis VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--John S. Auston, President and CEO of Ashton Mining of Canada Inc., is pleased to provide further results from sampling of the K-6 and K-91 kimberlites in the Buffalo Hills Project, north-central Alberta. As reported on January 19, 1998 a clear yellow diamond of 0.76 carat in weight was found in the early stages of processing of the mini- bulk sample from kimberlite K-6. The full results of dense media separation analysis of this sample of 13.95 tonnes are now available and are tabulated below. Although only a few macrodiamonds other than the yellow stone reported earlier have been found, the presence of this stone alone is encouraging and indicates a need for further sampling. Microdiamond analyses in late 1997 showed K-91 to have one of the higher microdiamond counts found so far among the Buffalo Hills kimberlites. Results from analysis by dense media separation of core from the four holes (0.85 tonne) display a high degree of variability between holes. The best results were obtained from hole K-91-1, where 0.287 carat was recovered from a sample of 0.21 tonne, for an indicated content of 136 carats per 100 tonnes. The average indicated diamond content in material taken from the four holes is 35 carats per 100 tonnes. Although these results are derived from very small samples, they confirm the presence of a population of larger stones and point to the need for collection of a larger sample. /T/ Results are tabulated below: Kimberlite Sample Dry Sample Weight of Indicated Carats/ Type Weight Stones greater 100t. for Stones (tonnes) than 0.8 mm greater than (carats) 0.8 mm K-6 RC 4.13 .005 0.1 K-6 Pit 4.65 .067 1.4 K-6 x Core 5.17 .804 15.5 K-91 xx Core 0.85 .301 35.4 RC means reverse circulation x largest stone 0.75 carat (reported January 19, 1998) xx largest stones 0.14 and 0.13 carat /T/ Ashton and Pure Gold Minerals Inc. have now perfected their interests of 42.5 percent and 15 percent respectively in the Buffalo Hills option property, having met the requirement to expend $5.5 million as defined under the agreement dated October 1, 1996. Total landholdings held jointly, including the Buffalo Hills property, comprise of approximately 28 million acres, and Ashton is operator of the related exploration programs. All future programs on these landholdings will be funded pro-rata based on the joint venturers' interests. The joint venturers, Ashton, Alberta Energy Company and Pure Gold Minerals Inc., have finalized an initial exploration program for 1998 of $10 million. Included are provisions for the acquisition of a 10 tonne per hour dense media separation plant, collection of a bulk sample of in excess of 500 tonnes from the K-14 complex, mini-bulk sampling of kimberlite K-91, exploration drilling of a minimum of 15 new targets, and extensive airborne geophysical surveys. The winter field program is now underway, with drills to be mobilized within the next few days. Ashton is a diamond exploration company with interests in a wide range of properties in Canada and the United States. It is 62 percent-owned by Ashton Mining Limited of Australia, a leading explorer, producer and marketer of diamonds which holds an interest of 40.1 percent in the Argyle diamond mine in northwestern Australia. -30- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. John S. Auston President and CEO (604) 983-7750 or Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. Wayne D. Hillier Vice President, Exploration (604) 983-7750