Pan Australian Resources NL (PNA) – Advancing its Laotian Gold Project Towards Feasibility and Production

• On 14 June 2002, PNA shareholders are to vote on a number of steps that have the capability to materially enhance their company resulting in gold production possibly by December 2004, by approving the acquisition of the Phu Bia coppergold project in Laos from Newmont.
• The results of initial scoping studies suggest that Phu Bia could be capable of producing 70,000ozpa of gold from a 3mtpa heap leach operation advancing into 25,000ozpa of gold and 25,000tpa of copper from a concentrate in a 3mtpa conventional plant, that could later be expanded to 5mtpa.
• Further infill drilling is currently required to complete the pre-feasibility study on Phu Bia and assess the initial processing route as heap leach and/or CIL, with a combined CIL/heap leach route potentially capable of materially higher gold production. The treatment alternatives depend mainly on drilling higher grade targets of 4 to 5g/t at Ban Houayxai and 8g/t at Long Chieng Track, plus the 3 to 12g/t gossans, and deeper copper-gold mineralisation at Phu Kham.
• PNA also still has its Puthep copper project in Thailand on which it is waiting for Cabinet approval in order to advance it to the next stage having completed a viable pre-feasibility study.