Eritrea Resource play (ERP)

[Ed Monton]

Northern Mining Progress on Work Programs in Eritrea

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(CCNMatthews - Aug. 3, 2004) - NORTHERN MINING
Explorations Ltd. (Explorations MINIERES DU NORD - "MDN") is
pleased to announce that its 75% owned subsidiary, Eritrean
Minerals Corporation ("EMC") has completed work programs at its
Harab Suit and Matite Exploration Licence areas in Eritrea, East
Africa.

Harab Suit Exploration Licence

A surface sampling program was completed in July at the Harab
Suit Exploration Licence in the northwest of Eritrea. This
licence area covers 420 km2 and includes the abandoned Tamanti
gold mine, which operated in the late 1930's during the Italian
colonial era. A total of 1,002 channel samples covering a linear
extent of about 2 km were taken from exposures of shear zones in
the licence area. These shear zones are intermittently exposed
over a distance of approximately 14 km and frequently form small
hills protruding from the alluvial plain of the Barka River, so
that channel sampling provides an effective sampling method. The
samples are being assayed at Genalysis Laboratory Services PTY
Limited in Australia and results are awaited.

This sampling will determine the surficial gold distribution
along the shears sampled and provide drilling targets.

Matite Exploration Licence

The Matite Exploration Licence covers an area of 520 km2 and is
located about 20 km northwest of the town of Nakfa in the north
of Eritrea. The underlying rocks in the licence area consist
predominantly of a sequence of felsic volcanic rocks that have
been affected by intrusions ranging from intermediate to
ultrabasic in composition. The felsic volcanics appear to be
predominantly pyroclastic in nature and show intensive
silicification and sulphidation alteration.

The objective of this current program on Matite is to investigate
an occurrence of a mineralised breccia exposed in a stream bed,
and to take samples from artisan pits in the vicinity. Previous
grab sample results from this mineralised breccia, following its
discovered by EMC in 1996, produced sufficiently high gold and
base metal grades to indicate that a more systematic surface
sampling program was justified.

Artisan gold miners have since removed material from the breccia
outcrop over an area of approximately twenty square metres,
exposing an apparent depth of mineralisation of about three
metres, which has enabled further surface sampling to be
undertaken. A series of channels has now been cut in the outcrop,
totalling approximately twenty five metres. EMC has also sampled
other artisanal workings in the area. The samples are being
assayed at Genalysis Laboratory Services PTY Limited in Australia
and results are awaited.

This sampling will determine the lateral extent of the occurrence
the distribution of gold and base metals in the breccia. The
results will determine the nature of a drilling program.

The sampling program is being directly supervised under Dr. Tim
Williams, geologist and a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI
43-101.

MDN is a Montreal-based Canadian exploration company which holds
a 30% interest in the Tulawaka gold project is currently under
construction, a majority interest in 17 adjacent licences in
Tanzania, a majority interest in four properties in Eritrea, and
other gold and base metal exploration interests in Quebec,
Canada.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
NORTHERN MINING Explorations Ltd.
Carlos H. Bertoni, M. Sc.
CEO
or
NORTHERN MINING Explorations Ltd.
Tim Williams, Ph.D.
COO
or
NORTHERN MINING Explorations Ltd.
Paul-A. Girard
Vice-President, Investor Relations
[phone]
Web: www.mdn.qc.com
Email: [e-mail]