Gippsland Limited

2002-01-22 ASX Announcement
Measured Resource - 12 million tonnes at 274g/t Ta2O5

SUMMARY

Measured Resource:	12 million tonnes @ 274 g/t Ta`2`O`5`
	7.247 million pounds Ta`2`O`5`
Indicated Resource:	2.1 million tonnes @ 260 g/t Ta`2`O`5`
	1.18 million pounds Ta`2`O`5`
Inferred Resource:	26 million tonnes @ 240 g/t Ta`2`O`5`
	13.7 million pounds Ta`2`O`5`
Feasibility Study:	Commencement of BFS January 2002
Plant Capacity:	Initial 1 Mtpa expanding to 2 Mtpa
Ta`2`O`5` Output:	420,000 lb/yr expanding to 840,000 lb/yr
World Ranking:	Aim to become world's No. 2 Ta`2`O`5` producer

Gippsland Limited is pleased to announce the results of the recently completed resource estimate for the Abu Dabbab tantalite deposit in Egypt. The estimate, which involved a complete reassessment of all of the available geological data generated from past exploration programs, brings the resource categories into line with the JORC Code.

CATEGORY	TONNE	GRADE			CONTAINED METAL
		Ta`2`O`5`	Nb`2`O`5`	Sn	Ta`2`O`5`	Nb`2`O`5`	Sn
Measured	12.00 M t	274 g/t	126 g/t	0.130 %	7.247 M lb	3.333 M lb	15,587 t
Indicated	2.1 M t	260 g/t	91 g/t	0.16%	1.18 M lb	0.41 M lb	3,340 t
Inferred	26 M t	240 g/t	110 g/t	0.06%	13.7 M lb	6.4 M lb	16,400 t
Total All Categories	39.9 M t	252 g/t	116 g/t	0.089%	22.1 M lb	10.2 M lb	35,300 t

Note: minor mismatch in totals due to rounding of tonnes and grade

The above resources were determined by wire-frame constrained ore block modelling at a cut-off of 0.01% Ta2O5 (tantalum pentoxide).

The above grades may be compared with the 220g/t Ta2O5 ores mined at Greenbushes in Western Australia.

To put the scale of the project into perspective, the combined Measured and Indicated Resources of 14.1 million tonnes have an in-situ contained metal value of approximately US$590,000,000 at present, typical on-going contract Ta2O5 prices of US$65-75 per pound. This may be equated to 2 million ounces of gold.

The Company plans to commence work on a Bankable Feasibility Study during January 2002. The study will be based upon open pit mining and an initial feed-rate of 1 million tonnes per annum producing 420,000 lbs/year Ta2O5 which the Company believes, will rank the facility as the world's second largest Ta2O5 producer. The initial plant design will make allowance for future expansion to 2 million tonnes per annum producing 840,000 lbs/year Ta2O5.

Gippsland has commenced discussions with 3 major consumers of Ta2O5 located in Europe, Japan and the United States with the view to conclude long-term off-take agreements.

Gippsland Director and Chief Geologist Dr John Chisholm stated that the modelling of the deposit had been completed following a comprehensive review of the extremely extensive and detailed database resulting from past exploration undertaken in the 1970s by Russian geologists and supplementary Italian exploration in the early 1990s. The mineralisation occurs within a granitic intrusion with the tantalum and niobium being distributed relatively consistently throughout the deposit. The tin content, which occurs as cassiterite (SnO2), decreases slightly with depth. The deposit does not contain significant radioactive elements which cause difficulties in the exploitation of many tantalite deposits within Australia and overseas.

Executive Chairman John Telford stated that following the detailed exploration programs of the 1970s and the early 1990s, the project was mothballed due to the then low tantalum pentoxide price and the lack of suitable technologies capable of processing fine-grained tantalum ores. Since the mid 1990s, significant metallurgical advances have been achieved, particularly with respect to enhanced gravity separation techniques, such that Abu Dabbab style ores are now successfully processed in a number of mining operations both within Australia and overseas.

Mr Telford stated: "These metallurgical advances plus the steadily increasing demand for Ta2O5, provide a most positive outlook for the project which seats Gippsland as a major force in the global tantalite business. Over the past two decades, new applications for tantalum have been discovered with regularity. Because of the metal's unique characteristics, research for new applications is ongoing. Tantalum is a metal of the future".

The Abu Dabbab project is subject to a 50:50 joint venture between the Egyptian Geological and Mining Authority (EGSMA) and Gippsland's 100% owned subsidiary Tantalum International Pty Ltd. Abu Dabbab is located 770km south of Cairo adjacent to the western shore of the Red Sea, 75km from the seaport of Quseir, and 25km from the Marsa Alam international airport.

Abu Dabbab has free access to unlimited quantities of process water and is situated in an area which poses no environmental or archaeological complications.

The project is fully supported by the Egyptian government and will enjoy a 100% exemption from Egyptian profits taxation for a period of 20 years.

John (Jack) Telford
Executive Chairman

Note: In accordance with Listing Rule 5.10 of the Australian Stock Exchange Limited, the geological information in this report that relates to mineral resources and ore reserves is based on information compiled by Gippsland Director Dr John Chisholm, who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, with over 25 years experience in the mining industry.

ASX 02.01.22