Drilling Program Completed In Vietnam

5th March 2002

Asian Mineral Resources Limited (AMV- NZSE:2Y) has completed a 4,100 metre diamond drilling program in 13 holes on its Ta Khoa concession in Vietnam.

Ten of the holes were designed to further test the King Snake zone where earlier results had been quite encouraging. Three of the holes intersected mineralization, namely holes BP01-12, 16 and 18, while in the other holes the zone was either represented by a graphitic shear containing barren sulphides or the zone was missing due to faulting.
Results were as follows:
BP01-12
Previously reported on 21/1/2002.

BP01-16 ( 51600E/51145N) (Dip-70 Azimuth 020)
The King Snake zone was thin and sheared with a band of semi massive sulphides from 334.66 to 335.25m. containing 1.37% Ni; 0.51% Cu; 0.09% Co; 0.34g Pt/t; 0.77g Pd/t.
Samples on either side contained anomalous mineralization.

BP01-18 (51200E/ 51300N) (Dip-62 Azimuth 020)
The King Snake zone occurred as a zone of sheared graphitic sediments, very sheared ultramafic rocks and a 10cm. band of massive sulphides from 175.47 to 180.25m. From 178.05 to 179.59 the mineralization was anomalous, and included the sulphide band as follows:
178.47to 178.58m. containing 1.00% Ni; 0.24% Cu; 0.06% Co; 0.29g Pt/t; 0.85g Pd/t.

The most significant result in the program was obtained from BP01-20 (50075E/ 50408N), which was drilled to test a geophysical anomaly on the north side of the Ban Phuc intrusive body. The hole intersected the Ban Phuc intrusive from 126.75 to 233m. thereby confirming the geophysical ground magnetic indications which suggested that the intrusive plunges to the northeast. This is of significance as it increases the potential to locate additional cumulate sulphide resources in the Ban Phuc intrusive, and it provides new exploration opportunities in that area.

Since the drilling did not discover a major sulphide deposit of 20 million tonnes or greater on the property, Falconbridge Limited have advised AMR that they are withdrawing from the option agreement which gave them the right to acquire a 51% interest in AMR Nickel Limited.

This means that AMR can now proceed with definition drilling and the commencement of a feasibility study on the Ban Phuc deposit. As the first step in this process a re-interpretation of the resources at Ban Phuc will be carried out to include all new data and geological interpretations. In addition, the possibility remains for finding smaller lenses, of between half to two million tonnes of economic mineralization, in the 2.6 kilometre long King Snake zone.

Asian Mineral Resources Limited is a New Zealand company that is quoted on the unlisted securities board maintained by the New Zealand Stock Exchange. The Company has 10.56 million shares outstanding. It is carrying out exploration on the 600 square kilometre Ta Khoa concession in Vietnam, which includes the Ban Phuc nickel deposit. This deposit currently has an indicated massive sulphide resource of 1 million tonnes grading 3.4% nickel, 1.3% copper and 0.08% cobalt within a low-grade halo in a large footwall shear. A separate indicated resource within the adjacent ultrabasic intrusive body contains 4.5 million tonnes grading 1.3% nickel, 0.15% copper and 0.02% cobalt.

Asian Mineral Resources Limited holds 70% of the project through its wholly owned subsidiary AMR Nickel Limited.

T.E. Bates
Managing Director

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