Arenal Production

8 Mar 2005 17:03

Uruguay Mineral Exploration Inc08 March 2005 URUGUAY MINERAL EXPLORATION INC. MEDIA RELEASE 8 MARCH 2005 SYMBOLS: UME (TSXV) UGY (AIM) Arenal Production Rises Strongly Production from Uruguay Mineral Exploration's Arenal mine is rapidly approachingthe targeted range of 8-9000 ounces per month. These figures were released todayduring a presentation made by the Company's President Chris Clark at theProspectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention in Toronto. Gold production for the quarter ended February 2005 was 18,912 ounces, anincrease of 2,978 ounces over the 15,934 ounces reported for the previousquarter. Average head grade for the February quarter was 2.12 g/t Au, comparedwith 1.76 g/t Au for the November quarter. This increase reflects the continueddevelopment of the Arenal pit and the commencement of access to the higher gradeparts of the deposit. The increase in gold production would have been even greater but for a higherthan average number of maintenance days being incurred during the quarter, aswell as a slight reduction in throughput caused by harder ore presenting fromArenal, which is being addressed by an upgrade of the crushing plant. President Mr Clark said "These numbers confirm that we have successfully madethe transition from explorer to mid-tier gold producer. The Arenal orebody isbehaving exactly as predicted and the Company remains on track to achieveprojected production of 70,000 ounces in FY 2005, and 100,000 ounces in FY 2006. Once the pre-strip of Arenal is complete, we will also start to bring ourproduction costs into line with projections." Uruguay Mineral Exploration Inc. was also represented by Mr Clark at the T1PSSeminar, which was held in London, England on March 5, 2005. ENDS Editors Notes: The Company's financial year-end is 31 May. Uruguay Mineral Exploration Inc. is a gold producer and exploration companyfocussed on identifying and developing mineral opportunities in Uruguay. UME isa fully integrated mining company, possessing the skills necessary to exploreand develop its discoveries. The Company operates the only producing gold minein the country (San Gregorio), and is also the leading mineral explorationcompany in Uruguay having assembled an exploration portfolio based on gold, basemetals (copper, nickel, lead, zinc) and diamond prospects. In the first half of2003, the Company discovered the Arenal deposit, currently the largest knowngold resource in Uruguay. It is quoted in Canada (TSXV) and London (AIM) andDurlacher Limited is the nominated adviser. This release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaningof Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act 1934, as amended.Although Uruguay Mineral Exploration Inc. has taken all care in preparing thisrelease, all statements included herein, other than statements of historicalfact, including without limitation exploration results, resource estimates,projected programs and statements of objectives involve certain risks anduncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differmaterially from those in the forward looking statements contained herein,include among others, weather, access to property, drill availability, assaylaboratory performance and availability of technical personnel. For further information, please contact Uruguay Mineral Exploration Inc.Tony Shearer, Chairman + 44 20 7523 5914; tony@tonyshearer.comChris Clark, President +59 82 601 6354; urumin@adinet.com.uyPJ Lewis + 44 7950 003 138; pjlewis@tiscali.co.uk Durlacher LimitedMathew Robinson +44 207 459 3600Jonathan Retter +44 207 459 3600 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange