Perth, Dec 4, 2007 (ABN Newswire) - The Company is pleased to advise that it has commenced drilling at its 100%-owned John Fardy zinc and copper deposit near Crookwell in NSW. The John Fardy deposit contains a JORC compliant resource of:

862,000 tonnes of 6.7% zinc equivalent

The resource has been estimated in the categories of measured, indicated and inferred with decreasing levels of confidence as follows:

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Resource                                 Zinc 
Category  Tonnes  Zn%  Cu%  Pb%  Ag g/t  Equiv. 
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measured  470,000  4.9  0.9  0.7  14     7.4 
indicated 301,000  3.3  1.1  0.3  13     5.8 
inferred   91,000  3.3  1.1  0.3  13     5.8 
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Total     862,000  4.2  1.0  0.5  13     6.7
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The exploration diamond drilling program has been designed to test the down plunge extension of the deposit. There is considerable potential to increase the resource beyond this target with this exploration. The drilling programme will comprise a minimum of 3,000 metres to depths of approximately 400 metres below surface. This program will take approximately three months to complete.

The Managing Director Derek Lenartowicz said "The Company considers that there are reasonable prospects for increasing the size of the already known resource, and for eventual economic extraction of this resource."

History

The John Fardy deposit is a massive sulphide deposit of pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena that is strata bound within a fine and coarse grained sequence of acid volcanics of Silurian age.

The exploration of the John Fardy deposit is at an advanced stage and it has included several diamond drilling programs by several previous explorers.