Oxus Mining plc ("Oxus") (OXS.L) announces that Amantaytau Goldfields ("AGF") has commenced drawdown on its project finance facility to complete construction of the oxides project ("the Project") in Uzbekistan. The facility has been provided by Standard Bank London Limited and WestLB AG, with Société Générale acting as security agent, and consists of a $30 million senior term loan plus a $6 million cost overrun facility. It is anticipated that the National Bank of Uzbekistan will join the syndicate in the near future. The facility was secured without the need for additional finance from Oxus. This ensured there would be no further dilution to shareholders. Endeavour Financial has been the financial adviser to Oxus with respect to this financing.

The pre-production capital cost of the Project is $29.9 million, which includes all financing costs, pre-production interest, working capital and contingency. Construction is already well underway and first gold pour is expected in December 2003. The Project will initially produce 190,000 ounces of gold per year at a cash cost per ounce of $106. The Project will represent the first carbon-in-pulp plant to be installed in the former Soviet Union and the first new mine built with foreign investment to go into production in Uzbekistan. Oxus has a 50% interest in AGF and has management and operational control. At a $320 gold price, during the first two years of production, AGF is forecast to repay the senior term loan in full, and to generate a further $30 million cash to Oxus. Oxus will also receive an immediate $1.6 million repayment on account of its existing loan to AGF from the proceeds of the first drawdown.

The Project initially produces 650,000 ounces from the oxide ores from only 2 of 26 known gold deposits within AGF's 1,000 square kilometre licence areas. The total resource potential of AGF, including additional oxide ores (some of which are amenable to heap leaching), the sulphide ores and further exploration targets is currently evaluated at 21 million ounces. AGF is currently developing an aggressive exploration and development programme to convert these resources into mineable reserves and to increase the overall resource base, with the target of AGF producing in excess of 500,000 ounces of gold per year by 2006. Most of the deposits are open at depth and along strike and it is expected that significant further ounces will be discovered.

The AGF licence areas are only 30 kilometres away from the Muruntau mine, one of the largest open pit gold mines in the world, having already produced over 50 million ounces, and currently producing 1.8 million ounces per year with an estimated 30 years of further production potential. The AGF licence areas and Muruntau form part of the Tien Shan Gold Belt, which represents the second largest gold province in the world after South Africa's Witwatersrand Basin, and contains over 400 million ounces of gold in reserves and historic production. Oxus has additional exploration rights over a further 2,000 square kilometres on the Tien Shan Belt.

Bill Trew, CEO of Oxus, commented: "I believe, Oxus is now poised to become the investment of the decade. The timeous implementation of this project will give Oxus the cash to develop and grow into the worldclass company its destiny demands, in the shortest possible time.

"Our challenge now lies in developing Amantaytau into an operating mine giving superior returns to our shareholders. In doing this, the Oxus team will re-define the standards by which all other gold companies measure themselves.

"Our shareholders can finally look to the future knowing with certainty that Oxus will now become the success they deserve."

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Contacts:

Oxus Mining plc
Tel: +44 (0)1483 714411
John Donald, COO
Email: enquiries@oxusgold.co.uk

Brown Shipley Corporate Finance
Tel: +44 (0)20 7606 9833
Bill Staple

Website: www.oxusminingplc.com