Birim And Ashanti Get Green Light

..for Next Step Towards Mining Mampon

MONTREAL-- Birim Goldfields Inc. and Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited have received permission from the Ministry of Mines of Ghana to proceed with an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) on the Mampon gold deposit. This study is the final prerequisite to obtaining a mining permit for Mampon.

The EIS, to be conducted by Ashanti Goldfields, will be prepared under the terms of the ``Guidelines on Mining in Forest Reserves'', a document drawn up in collaboration between members of the mining industry and the Ghanaian government. This will put the Mampon project on the fast track to production. Four other companies with economic deposits in Ghana's productive forest reserves have also received the same indication from the Ministry of Mines.

In Birim's case, granting of the mining permit for Mampon means that the Company is in a position to receive an upfront royalty for the open-pittable ounces of gold identified in a feasibility study prepared by Ashanti. This study is now in its final stages of completion. The feasibility study will identify the number of recoverable ounces on which the royalty will be based in both the oxide and sulphide categories. In addition, Birim will receive further royalties, on a quarterly basis, from any production beyond the initial open pit stage. There is also a royalty payment escalation clause in the agreement should the price of gold exceed US $300 per ounce.

``We have been waiting a long time for this moment for a long time now and the timing is auspicious, given the market outlook for gold prices'', says Denis Simoneau, President of Birim Goldfields, adding ``This is a healthy sign that Ghana still remains one of the best countries to conduct mineral exploration''.

There are also additional indications that the Aboronye deposit, 500 metres to the west of Mampon and outside the forest reserve could host economic gold mineralisation, which could lead to additional royalties from Ashanti Goldfields.

Once the upfront royalty is received, Birim will be one of a few junior explorers with adequate funds in its treasury. The Company is eager to undertake important drilling programmes on the multiple targets it has outlined within the Bui Belt, in west-central Ghana, where Birim is the titleholder to more than 7,000 sq. km. Only one of these targets, the Tombe-Parabu prospect, has been tested with drilling so far and only to a very small extent.

Birim Goldfields Inc. is a mining exploration firm whose mission is to explore and develop gold deposits in Ghana, West Africa. The Company currently has 24.9 million common shares outstanding.