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*** Zinc related post (EZM) ***


EuroZinc Announces Record Fiscal 2005 and Fourth Quarter Results
Thursday March 2, 9:00 am ET

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 2006--EuroZinc Mining Corporation (TSX:EZM - News; AMEX:EZM - News) -

All dollar amounts are expressed in US dollars unless otherwise noted

EuroZinc Mining Corporation ("EuroZinc" or "the Company") today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ending December 31, 2005. Colin K. Benner, Vice Chairman and CEO of EuroZinc commented that, "The investment in Neves-Corvo has been significant for EuroZinc. In the 18 months the Company has owned the Neves-Corvo mine we have repaid almost the entire amount of the acquisition debt, all monies borrowed to acquire the price participation rights and are now accumulating cash. The mine operated in 2005 at production levels beyond what was believed achievable in our due diligence. The operating costs in the mine have remained constant despite inflationary pressures, and the robust copper price has made an extraordinary contribution to our balance sheet, as it has to others in the copper business. The timeliness of the acquisition of Neves-Corvo and the quality of the asset has exceeded the expectations of many. We believe the continued strong copper market, and the addition of zinc production in the near term in a strong zinc market bodes well for the future of the Company and for its shareholders."

Highlights for 2005 and Fourth Quarter

- Achieved record revenue of $314.9 million on sales of 203.7 million pounds of copper for the year and $97.5 million on sales of 48.1 million pounds for the fourth quarter;

- Achieved record net earnings of $88.3 million or US$0.17 (Cdn$0.20) per share for the year and $27.8 million or US$0.05 (Cdn$0.06) for the fourth quarter;

- Generated cash flow from operations, before working capital changes, of $131.4 million or US$0.25 (Cdn$0.30) per share for the year and US$0.09 (Cdn$0.10) for the fourth quarter;

- Initiated an aggressive $10 million exploration program in Portugal;

- Repaid $86.3 million of debt in 2005;

- Strengthened the balance sheet by reducing the net debt to equity ratio to 7% at the 2005 year end from 73% at the beginning of the year;

- Purchased the balance of the vendors' price participation rights in 2005 and repaid the related loan in eight months;

- Listed on the American Stock Exchange.

"We are both pleased and proud of our first full year of work as a new team in Portugal and in EuroZinc," said Joao Carrelo, Managing Director of Somincor, EuroZinc's wholly owned subsidiary that owns the Neves-Corvo mine. Mr. Carrelo added, "This was our first full year as a mine operating entity in Portugal, managing Europe's second largest copper mine. The management and employees of Neves-Corvo achieved a 14 percent improvement, year over year, in tonnes mined and an 8 percent improvement in tonnes milled, and did so with no additional manpower, equipment or change in the working schedules."

Continued at:

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060302/20060302005439.html?.v=1