Caijiaying Zinc Deposit

GRIFFIN MINING LIMITED 15 July 1999 GRIFFIN MINING LIMITED SUBSTANTIAL GRADE INCREASE ANNOUNCED FOR CAIJIAYING ZINC DEPOSIT Griffin Mining is pleased to announce a substantial increase in the zinc grade of the Caijiaying zinc deposit in China. Chairman Craig Niven said: 'this increase in the zinc grade at Caijiaying is one of the most important developments at Caijiaying since Griffin acquired its interest in the project. A higher zinc grade dramatically improves project economics. It allows for savings to be made in capital and operating costs for the same annual rate of zinc production with less ore being processed. The higher the grade the lower the variable costs per pound of zinc produced with savings in energy input and transport'. The Board is now sufficiently confident in the robustness of the Caijiaying project to make the investment required to produce a full bankable feasibility study. The recent placing of $500,000 at 30 US cents (19p) will only fund part of this process. The Company is considering alternative methods of financing the balance of funding required in a way that maximises the potential benefits to existing shareholders. After the completion of the 1998 work programme, the Company commissioned its geological consultants, Crowe Schaffalitzky Associates ('CSA'), to re-calculate the resource estimate based on the previously announced new ore-body interpretation. The new in situ resource estimate is; 21.6 million tonnes at 8.87% zinc at a 4% minimum zinc cut-off or, 50.7 million tonnes at 5.01% zinc at a 1% minimum zinc cut-off The new resource estimates continue to contain significant quantities of precious metals. This polygonal estimate was completed in Micromine software using the new shallow-dipping ore-block model. Sectional blocks were extrapolated half way to the next section (50 metres). In order to allow direct comparison to previous estimates, the model did not include partially drilled infill sections. Accordingly, it is regarded as 'Inferred' under the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy code for the reporting of mineral resources (the JORC Code, 1996). The previous resource estimate was calculated by Bateman Kinhill in a pre-feasibility study dated 1994 as; 27.6 million tonnes at 7.4% zinc at a 4% minimum zinc cut-off or, 57.8 million tonnes at 4.8% zinc at a 1% minimum zinc cut-off The Bateman Kinhill resource estimate was based on the Chinese interpretation of steeply dipping, narrow mineralised bodies. The new interpretation results in changes to both grade and tonnage, the overall effect of which is likely to improve project economics in increased grade but lower tonnage. In order to compare directly to the previous resource estimate only the 100 metre spaced drill sections were used, even though some infill data is available. The latter data suggests difficulties in correlation but as it is incomplete the effect cannot yet be quantified. Additional in-house calculations using different parameters were also conducted by CSA which showed similar grades. These give confidence that as further infill data is collected, the grade should not diminish even though the tonnage may reduce due to the correlation issue. The Directors believe that this could further improve the economics of the project. Griffin is now proceeding with negotiating contracts for the underground work programme. This programme will be designed to confirm visually the new ore-block interpretation, obtain a bulk sample for metallurgical tests and conduct a structural/geo-technical survey. It will also enable more cost-effective infill drilling to be done underground instead of from the surface. 15th July 1999 Further information Craig Niven (Chairman) - United Kingdom Telephone: + 44 (0) 171 321 2077 Philip Davies - Charles Stanley & Company Limited Telephone: + 44 (0) 171 739 8200 Griffin Mining Limited's shares are quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange (symbol GFM) and traded on the Canadian Dealing Network in Toronto (symbol GRFM). Corporate information and share prices can be accessed via the Newstrack Service on Reuters (symbol GFM.L), Bloomberg (symbol GFM LN), ICV Topic (1180). The Company's news releases are available on the Company's web site: www.griffinmining.com The Company's news releases can be received via electronic mail by emailing Roger Goodwin on griffin@griffin mining.demon.co.uk