Drilling Starts In Vietnam

Asian Mineral Resources Limited
www.asianminres.com

NEWS RELEASE 04

7th November, 2000

DRILLING STARTS IN VIETNAM

Asian Mineral Resources Limited (AMV: New Zealand Unlisted Securities) has started a diamond drilling program on its Ta Khoa nickel property in northwest Vietnam. This 4,000 metre program will test geophysical targets in four areas of this large property at Ban Phuc, Ban Tang, Ban Nguon and Hong Ngai.

The drilling targets were identified from an airborne geophysical survey carried out in 1999 and defined by a ground UTEM survey completed earlier this year. The program commenced with two drill rigs. Two more will be added once access road construction is completed.

The holes are expected to have an average depth of about 250 metres. Most of the holes are designed to intersect newly discovered conductors and untested targets. One of these will test the 600 metre long Kingsnake conductor which appears to be associated with outcropping massive nickel sulphide mineralization which, as previously reported, assayed 4.1% nickel and 1.5% copper in a grab sample taken from the 1 metre wide exposure. These sulphides are adjacent to an altered peridotite rock type containing disseminated sulphide mineralization. A grab sample taken of this rock yielded assays of 6.12 gram platinum and 0.53 gram palladium per tonne. Other grab samples taken within shears in the peridotite assayed up to 17.2 gram platinum, 1.6 gram palladium and 1.9 gram gold per tonne.

The program is being carried out under the supervision of geologists from Falconbridge Limited and all samples will be analysed at Lakefield Research in Ontario, Canada. Asian Minerals does not expect to have any results to report until mid December, 2000 at the earliest.

Asian Mineral Resources is a New Zealand company that is quoted on the Unlisted Securities Board maintained by the New Zealand Stock Exchange. The Company has 9.8 million shares outstanding. It has been carrying out exploration in Vietnam for the past 8 years and holds a 70% interest in the 600 sq. km.Ta Khoa exploration concession, which includes the Ban Phuc nickel deposit. This deposit contains indicated resources of 1.4 million tonnes grading 2.3%Ni + 1.0%Cu + 0.08%Co and 1.2 million tonnes of 1.3%Ni + 0.15%Cu + 0.03%Co.

Falconbridge Limited of Canada has an option to acquire 51% of the Company’s holding in Ta Khoa by providing US$ 5.5 million of exploration funding prior to May 2003. Falconbridge has spent over US$ 1 million to date and is funding the current drilling program.

The information contained in this report is based on information compiled by a person who has more than five years experience in the field of activity being reported on. This report accurately reflects the information compiled by that person.

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