New Audited Mining & Development Report Confirms 2.0 Million Ounce Open Pit Mineable Reserve and Underground Resource at Jerooy

Oxus Mining plc ("Oxus" or "the Company") (OXS.L) announces that a new Audited Mining and Development Report has been received from Wardell Armstrong for the Jerooy Gold Project located in the Kyrgyz Republic. The June 30, 2002 report, funded by Conquest Resources Limited ("YQR" TSX-V) ("Conquest") under its option and joint venture agreement with Oxus forms the first part of the Technical Feasibility Study to be completed on the Jerooy deposit by mid-August 2002.

Wardell Armstrong has confirmed an open pit reserve and "mineable" underground resource totalling 2.0 million ounces of gold and has estimated a global classified resource as follows:

Wardell Armstrong, June 2002 - Global Classified
Resource Jerooy Northwest Deposit

Under the terms of a joint venture agreement in May 2002, Conquest has the right to earn a 66.67% interest in the Jerooy Project through the purchase, from Oxus, of a 100% interest in the project holding company, Norox Mining Company (“Norox”). To date, Conquest has earned a 4% interest in Norox, and Oxus holds the remaining 96%.

As announced yesterday, the Kyrgyzstan Government’s State Agency for Geology and Mineral Resources has annulled the mining licence issued to Talas Gold Mining Company (“Talas Gold”) in respect of the Jerooy deposit. Norox regards the annulment of the mining licence as invalid and is disputing the matter. Talas Gold is 66.67% owned by Norox and 33.33% owned by Kyrgyzaltyn, the State owned mining company. Talas Gold was granted the exclusive rights to develop the Jerooy gold deposit pursuant to a Joint Venture Agreement signed on 9 September 1998. The Joint Venture Agreement remains in full force and effect. The annulment of the mining licence does not affect Norox’s rights to develop the Jerooy project, and complete the bankable feasibility.

Oxus’ principal project at Amantaytau in Uzbekistan is unaffected. Oxus remains focused on concluding the project finance arrangements to enable the construction of its Amantaytau Phase I mine.

Resources

Wardell Armstrong has estimated a Global Classified Resource for the Northwest Zone at Jerooy of 17.26Mt at an average grade of 3.42g/t gold containing 1.90Moz of gold in the measured and indicated categories together with a further 7.9Mt at an average grade of 5.17g/t gold containing 1.32Moz in the inferred category.

The Wardell Armstrong resource estimate has considered a potential open pit area above 3,400m elevation and an underground resource beneath this down to 3,080m elevation. However, the current study is the first to attempt to divide the main core zone both from a geological and statistical standpoint. The Wardell Armstrong classification is based upon the Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC
Code, 1999) and complies fully with Canadian National Policy 43-101.

Wardell Armstrong’s study indicates an , unclassified open pit resource for the Northwest zone at Jerooy, above a 2.7g/t cut-off, of 6.0Mt @ 6.71g/t Au, containing 40,593kg of gold (1.31Moz). From this, a classified resource within the 2.7g/t wireframe (and applying a 2.7g/t cut-off) of 4.3Mt @ 7.98g/t (1.10Moz) has been defined of which 93% is at the Measured and Indicated level. A further 1.7Mt @ 3.61g/t (0.2Moz) within the 1.0g/t halo wireframe, above a 2.7g/t cut-off has also been estimated of which 73% is at the Measured and Indicated level.

In the underground domain, down to 3,080m elevation, an unclassified resource estimate for the Northwest zone, above a 5.0g/t cut-off of 3.35Mt @ 11.17g/t Au, containing 37,446kg of gold (1.2Moz) has been defined. From this, a classified resource estimate, excluding outlying veins, within the main 5g/t wireframe of 1.94Mt @ 12.73g/t (0.79Moz) has also been estimated, although only 24% of the tonnage is at the Measured and Indicated level.

The Wardell Armstrong report indicates the importance of recognising that the application of cut-off grades at the resource level is for illustrative purposes only, as the reserve optimisation process will consider the entire block model and calculate a true cut-off based on relevant economic and mining parameters. Thus, more applicable is an estimation of a global classified resource, as outlined in the earlier table.

An analysis of the distribution of the classified resources shows that the vast majority of tonnage suitable for transfer to reserves is located in the open pit area, whilst the bulk of the underground resource is at the Inferred level.

Additional resource potential exists in the Southeast, Central, Southern Stockwork, Apophysis, Western and Northern zones but these require further exploration and investigation.

Reserves
The new resource model was used to determine an optimal economic pit shell based on refined economic and technical parameters. The effect of an underground operation on the economic shell was also determined based on an estimated underground mining cost.

This study used the complete resource down to 3,040m, with no cut-off applied, so as to determine the true economic depth of the open pit. Only Measured and Indicated resources were considered as potential ore in the optimisation process.

Open pit reserves for the deposit have been estimated at 7.731Mt @ 5.22g/t, containing 40,359kg of gold (1.30Moz). Of this some 5.332Mt @ 6.61g/t, containing 35,248.8kg (1.13Moz) of gold, is contained within the high and medium grade material.

As stated earlier, the uncertainty of the underground resource has led to its exclusion from the reserve inventory. However, grade and tonnage estimates down from the 3,380m level, and using a 5.0g/t Au cut-off and 2.7g/t cut-off for internal waste, indicates a provisional economic base to the underground resource at 3,060m. The underground resource thus defined is 1.744Mt at an in situ grade of 12.52g/t Au in the Measured, Indicated and Inferred categories, but excluding peripheral veins (below 2m in width).

Wardell Armstrong suggests a “mineable” underground resource, allowing for losses and dilution, of 1.807Mt at 11.62g/t Au, containing 20,997kg of gold (0.68Moz). The “mineable” resource cannot be classified as a reserve owing to the inclusion of Inferred material and uncertainty in the geological continuity between the currently explored and sampled 80m adits. Further underground exploration prior to detailed mine planning is required to raise the level of certainty of this material to full reserve status.

Wardell Armstrong, June 2002
pen Pit Reserves (Measured & Indicated) Jerooy Northwest Deposit

Wardell Armstrong, June 2002
Underground Resource (Measured, Indicated & Inferred) Jerooy Northwest Deposit

Roger Turner, Chief Executive of Oxus, said today: “We are pleased with the findings yielded to date and we look forward to receiving the full results from the study later in August.”

END

Contacts:

Oxus Mining
Tel: +44 (0) 1483 714 411
Roger Tuner, CEO
Sacha Borthwick, VP Corporate Development

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

College Hill
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7457 2020
Archie Berens

Website: www.oxusminingplc.com

Email: oxus@oxus.demon.co.uk