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MOUNT BURGESS GOLD MINING NL (13 OCTOBER 2000)

DRILLING - TSUMKWE DIAMOND PROJECT, NAMIBIA
(The Company earning 75%)

Further to our announcement of 14 September 2000, this is to confirm that drilling has now commenced on the Company’s diamond exploration project in Namibia, on the north eastern border with Botswana.

For complete details, click here

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ARC ENERGY NL (13 OCTOBER 2000)

ARC DRILLING PROGRAM KICK START - DONGARA FARMOUT AGREEMENT
Arc has entered into an agreement with Origin Energy ("Origin"), for Origin to farm in to the exploration area of the L1/L2 (Dongara) Licences.

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ASHTON MINING LIMITED (13 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary
• Number of securities issued:
  95,750
• Issue price:
  15,250 shares at $1.64 * 15,250 shares at $1.93
  * 15,250 shares at $1.23
  * 50,000 shares at $0.73
• Purpose of the issue
  Shares issued in accordance with terms of Ashton Mining Limited Employee Option Plan.

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ASHTON MINING LIMITED (13 OCTOBER 2000)

Rio Tinto Limited ceased to be a substantial shareholder on 12/10/00 and Capricorn Diamonds Investments Pty Ltd ceased to be a substantial shareholder on 12/10/2000.

MACMIN LTD (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that in accordance with Listing Rule 3.10.5 the Directors advise that the pro-rata offer contained in the prospectus dated 14 August 2000 has closed.

For complete details, click here

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MACMIN LTD (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that check assaying of silver analyses from Texas Silver Project (QLD) suggest that some silver values to date (and thus total silver in resource) have been underestimated by up to 33%.

For complete details, click here

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ALCASTON MINING NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company Directors advised on company activities:

* options held over shares in Alcaston Mining NL expire on 31 October.
Should you wish to exercise your options payment at 20 cents per share will be required as per the separate notice you will have received from the company's share registry.

*Considerable development in the company's portfolio of mineral exploration interests has been achieved in the past twelve months.

*The objective of Alcaston Mining NL is to explore, locate and develop a substantial mining asset capable of significantly enhancing the underlying asset value and cash flow generation.

* Alcaston Mining NL is developing significant interests in diamond exploration in both Sweden and Australia.

*De Beers $A746 million takeover offer for Ashton Mining, and $A355 million bid for Winspear Diamonds of Canada have heightened investor interest in the diamond sector.

*The Swedish diamond exploration project represents the group's major asset and comprises licences of 1.53 million hectares (15,300 square kilometres) or 3% of the total Swedish land mass.

*Alcaston Mining has acquired the right to earn up to 90% in a promising diamond exploration prospect known as Hiles Lagoon, located in the Terowie Kimberlite Field in SA.

*The Company has recently moved to broaden its Australian mineral exploration interests with the application for two areas in WA.

*he Company has reduced its projects in Victoria in order to concentrate its Victorian exploration activities on its main Woods Point gold licence.

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AMITY OIL NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advised that Depth at Midnight, 11 October rig time: (0500 Hrs 12 Oct WEST): 1534m KB.

Operations Last 24 Hrs: Pressure test Blowout Preventers. Assemble downhole air drilling equipment and run in hole. Unload fluid from well bore and drill out plugs at 900 metres.

Proposed Operations next 24 hrs: drill out of casing shoe at 1534 metres into primary target using underbalanced air-mist drilling technique.

Last Casing: 245mm (9 5/8 inch) casing to 1534 metres.

Target: Oligocene age Osmancik Sandstone Formation in four way dip closure, with direct hydrocarbon indications on seismic.

Target Depth: Approximately 1550m to TD.

Proposed Total Depth: Between 1620 and 1900mKB.

Well Location: 150 kilometres west of Istanbul. Latitude 41(deg) 21'04"N, Longitude 27(deg) 46'E.

Basin: Onshore Thrace Basin.

Nearest Producing Field:Yulafli gasfield, 15 kilometres to southeast.

Operator: Amity Oil International Pty Ltd (Amity).

Petroleum Title: Petroleum Exploration Licence AR/AOI/3589.

Drilling Contractor: Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO).

Well Participants: Amity 50% TPAO 50%

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AMITY OIL NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advised that Demir Banking Group and Amity Oil NL are unable to complete the placement transaction of 4.9 Million ordinary shares at a price of 35 cents each as previously advised in its announcement 11 October, 2000.

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AMITY OIL NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The securities of Amity Oil NL will be placed in pre-open pending the release of an announcement by the Company.

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AUSTRALIAN GAS LIGHT COMPANY (THE) (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Managing Director, Mr Len Bleasel, is to retire at the end of February 2001.

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AUSDRILL LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Seventh Annual General Meeting of Ausdrill Limited will be held at The Hyatt Regency Perth Hotel, 99 Adelaide Terrace, Perth at 4.00 pm on Friday, 10 November 2000.

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BEACH PETROLEUM NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

Shareholders in Beach can expect to receive from tomorrow (Friday October 13, 2000) their free share certificates in unlisted Plantcorp Limited. The Plantcorp shares are being distributed on the basis of one Plantcorp share for every 86 Beach shares held.

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BEMAX RESOURCES NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

Imperial One Ltd became a substantial shareholder in Bemax Resources NL on 10/10/2000 with a relevant interest in the issued share capital of 20,588,666 ordinary shares (28.11%). For additional information, click here.

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BHP (12 OCTOBER 2000)

On 31 August 2000 BHP announced its intention to float its steel long products business via a Capital Reduction and Scheme of Arrangement. Under the terms of the Capital Reduction the share capital of each fully paid BHP share will be reduced by $0.66.

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BLACK RANGE MINERALS NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises outcomes of the Annual General Meeting:

Resolution 1 - Receipt of financial statements and report

Resolution 2(a) - Re-election of James Edward Askew

Resolution 2(b) - Re-election of Michael Gerard Blakiston

Resolution 2(c) - re-election of Hugh MeLernon

Resolution 3 - Approval of share issue to Helix Resources NL

Resolution 4 - Approval of share issue to CIBC Australia Limited

Resolution 5 - Approval of share issue to CIBC World Market Securities Limited

Resolution 6 - Approval of share issue to participants in a private placement

Resolution 7 - Approval of option issue to CIBC Australia Limited

All resolutions were passed on a show of hands.

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BLACK RANGE MINERALS NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Chairman's address to Shareholders discusses the year to June as one of major change and achievement for the company.

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CENTRAL KALGOORLIE GOLD MINES LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

A general meeting of company memebers will be held at Australian Stock Exchange Lecture Theatre, Level 5 Riverside Centre, 123 Eagle Street, Brisbane, Queensland on Thursday, 9 November 2000 at 10.00am (Brisbane time).

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CHARTERS TOWERS GOLD MINES NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The seventh Annual General Meeting of Charters Towers Gold Mines NL will be held at the AAP Theatrette, Ground Floor, AAP Centre, 259 George Street, Sydney on Monday 6th November, 2000 at 4.00pm.

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CONTACT ENERGY LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily share buy-back, 10,175,483 remaining shares to be bought back.

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DEEPGREEN MINERALS CORPORATION LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

Deepgreen has extended the closing date for the acceptance of preference shares offered under its prospectus dated 19th September 2000 from 19th October to Thursday 2nd November 2000.

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DEEPGREEN MINERALS CORPORATION LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

Deepgreen advised the following developments with respect to two of the Company's major investments, Cassiar Magnesium Inc and SA Minerals Resources Corporation.

*The Directors have resolved to participate in a restructuring of the company which, if approved by Cassiar shareholders, will mean that Deepgreen will emerge with approximately 25% of Cassiar Magnesium Inc's issued capital.

*The Company currently holds 2.9 million Cassiar shares and on completion of the current rights issue will have approximately $6 million of debt owed from Cassiar.

*The Company Directors advise that SA Minerals Resources Corporation (Samroc) has successfully commissioned its manganese sulphate project in South Africa.

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FEDERATION RESOURCES NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

Federation has increased its relevant interest in Pinnacle VRB Ltd on 12/10/2000, from Nil ordinary shares ( Nil%) to 714,148 ordinary shares (1.78%).

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FLETCHER CHALLENGE LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Chief Executive Officer advises the Company is unable to make any further comment with regards the New Zealand Commerce Commission's announcement today declining Shell's application to acquire the New Zealand business of Fletcher Challenge Energy, until the Commission's full decision is released next week and the Company understand details of its concerns and Shell's response.

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FLETCHER CHALLENGE LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company today released further details of the proposed Fletcher Challenge Forests rights issue.

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FLETCHER CHALLENGE LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company today released it's summary driling report for the week endeding 11/10.

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GOLDEN STATE RESOURCES LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announced a further placement of 1,384,000 ordinary fully paid shares in the Company at an issue price of 7.75 cents per share raising $107,260.

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GOLDSEARCH LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

All resolutions considered at the General Meeting of shareholders were passed unanimously on a show of hands.

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IMPERIAL ONE LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company Directors announce that on Tuesday, 10 October 2000, the Company completed the sale of its 25% direct interest in the Murray Basin "BIP Joint Venture" to BeMaX Resources NL ("BeMaX"). In consideration for the sale, the Company has been issued 18.95m fully paid ordinary shares in BeMaX and 1.75m options exercisable at 25 cents on or before 31 December 2001.

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ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-back; 16,666,963 remaining number of shares to be bought back.

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KINGSGATE CONSOLIDATED NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

US$35 MILLION FUNDING PACKAGE COMPLETED
The Company advises that the funding agreements for the company's 100% owned Chatree Gold Mine development in Thailand has now been signed with Macquarie Bank Limited of Australia. The funding package of US$35 million is being provided on a pure debt basis.

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KIMBERLEY OIL NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

First Quarter Activities Report

HIGHLIGHTS
OIL PRICE, OIL SALES
The price of oil for the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) marker crude remained above US$30/barrel for the entire quarter, up from a low of around US$25 in mid-April, 2000.

PRODUCTION
The company's total oil production for the quarter ending September, 2000 was 11,307 barrels.

FARMOUT EFFORTS

The Company has continued its efforts to farm out the drilling of key wells in its Canning Basin acreage.

CANNING BASIN ACREAGE POSITION
Negotiations are continuing with the native title applicants on the Pictor Block, 2/96-7.

COALBED METHANE

The Company is still evaluating several Coal Bed Methane exploration targets.

OIL SPILL REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY
On August 4, 2000, the Company signed an agreement with Skylab International Ltd. ("Skylab") of Malta whereby Skylab agreed to sell to the Company its rights in the KOS oilspill remediation technology.

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NORMANDY NFM LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

A total of 604,227 tonnes of ore was milled, 7.1 percent below last quarter, reflecting further under-performance by the contract crushing circuit and a six day mill maintenance shutdown.

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NORMANDY NFM LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

September Quarterly Report - OVERVIEW
* Profit after tax - $6.3 million (unaudited)
* Mine production - 94,286 ounces (98,897 ounces)
* Gold sales - 87,543 ounces (101,311 ounces)
* Cash margin - $217 per ounce ($267 per ounce)
* net average realised gold price $539 per ounce ($568 per ounce)
* total cash cost $322 per ounce ($301 per ounce)
* No debt, cash and bullion at 30 September 2000
* $10.3 million (unaudited)
* Hedge book
* mark-to-market value $9.9 million (unrealised)
* positions decline by 96,775 ounces
(no new or replacement contracts established)
* Groundrush resource increased to 700,000 ounces
* Callie exploration continues with positive results

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NOVUS PETROLEUM LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises it has flagged a significant profit upgrade for the second half of 2000 on the back of surging oil prices and strong operational performance.

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OIL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises on behalf of the PL 173 Joint Venture advises that:

Yandina No 04 a gas development/appraisal well situated approximately 550 metres south-east of Yaninda No 04, latitude 24 deg, 11 min 36.04 sec south, longitude 148 deg 30 min 38.35 sec east.

The well was spudded at 01:30 hours on September 30, 2000. 245 mm surface casing was set at 172.7 metres RT. 244 mm intermediate casing was set at 820.9 metres RT. At 06:00 hours today the rig was at a depth of 1135 metres RT and inspecting drilling hammer at surface. Progress for the week was 487 metres.

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PACMIN MINING CORPORATION LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Annual General Meeting of Members of the Company will be held at The Celtic Club, 48 Ord Street, West Perth, Western Australia, on Monday 13 November 2000, commencing at 10.00am.

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QCT RESOURCES LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

Metcoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in QCT Resources Limited on 11/10/2000, from 3,361,837 ordinary shares (0.49%) to 36,605,843 ordinary shares (0.52%).

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QUEENSLAND OPALS NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

Barbary Coast Investments Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in Queensland Opals NL on 29/09/2000, from 11,933,310 ordinary shares (19.68%) to 21,533,063 ordinary shares (20.61%).

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QUEENSLAND OPALS NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

Michael Andrew Cox increased his relevant interest in Queensland Opals NL on 29/09/2000, from 5,603,632 ordinary shares (9.2%) to 11,828,448 ordinary shares (11.3%).

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SANTOS LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company released it s Summary of Drilling for the week ending 12/10.

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SIROCCO RESOURCES NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

At todays auction of forfeited partly paid shares, from the call due on 31 August 2000 a total of 1,745,551 partly paid shares (SROCB) were purchased at an average price of 3 cents per share.

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ST BARBARA MINES LIMITED (12 OCTOBER 2000)

September Quarterly Report.

QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS:

* Record quarterly production of 41,780 oz of gold
* Cash operating cost of $293 per oz
* Net profit of $4.3m
* Goldfields investment - 11% of the ordinary fully paid shares:
market value of $36m
* Significant exploration results at Gibralter Edin Hope,
Caledonian and NOA 2
* Taipan investment - 7.9% of the ordinary fully paid shares

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STUART PETROLEUM NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Sixth Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Stuart Petroleum NL will be held in the AMP Boardroom, Level 16, 1 King William Street Adelaide, South Australia on Friday 17th November 2000 at 10:00 am.

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TAIPAN RESOURCES NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Panel has decided not to make an interim order that today's meeting of the shareholders of Taipan Resources NL be adjourned. The meeting of Taipan concerns a proposed merger between Taipan and St Barbara Mines Limited by way of scheme of arrangement.

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TAIPAN RESOURCES NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

Results of the General Meeting of Shareholders held today 12 October 2000;
* A motion to adjourn the meeting was moved. The motion was
defeated;
* Resolutions 1 and 3 as set out in the Notice of Meeting were passed
without amendment; and
* Resolutions 2 and 4 as set out in the Notice of Meeting were
defeated.

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TAIPAN RESOURCES NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary Fully Paid Shares
• Number of securities issued:
  11,538,462
• Issue price:
  6.5 cents per share pursuant to Convertible Note Agreement
  
• Purpose of the issue
  Conversion of Convertible Notes

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TAP OIL NL (12 OCTOBER 2000)

The Dylan-1 exploration well spudded at 1830 hours on 11 October 2000 and the Bandar-1 exploration well spudded at 0800 hours on 12 October 2000.

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ALCASTON MINING NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

Alcaston has applied for two Exploration Licences considered prospective for diamonds in the Giralia Range region of Western Australia, near Exmouth Gulf.

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AMITY OIL NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

Depth at Midnight,
10 October rig time:
(0500 Hrs 11 Oct WST): 1534m KB.

Operations Last 24 Hrs: Wait on 9(5/8) inch casing two stage cementjob to cure. Nipple up Blowout Preventers.

Weld up blooie line and flareline.

Proposed Operations Next 24 hrs: Test Blowout Preventers, assemble drilling tools for reentry into well. Drill out ofcased hole at 1534 metres. Drill ahead intoprimary target.

Last Casing: 245mm (9(5/8) inch) casing to 1534 metres.

Target: Oligocene age Osmancik Sandstone Formation infour way dip closure, with direct hydrocarbon
indications on seismic. Target size, 30billion cubic feet of gas recoverable, if gasis present.

Target Depth: 1525m to TD.

Proposed Total Depth: Between 1620 and 1900mKB.

Well Location: 150 kilometres west of Istanbul. Latitude41deg 21'04"N, Longitude 27deg 46'E.

Basin: Onshore Thrace Basin.

Nearest ProducingField: Yulafli gasfield, 15 kilometres to southeast.

Operator: Amity Oil International Pty Ltd (Amity).

Petroleum Title: Petroleum Exploration Licence AR/AOI/3589.

Drilling Contractor: Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO).

Well Participants: Amity 50%
TPAO 50%

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ASHTON MINING LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

Rio Tinto has considered its position in relation to Ashton Mining Limited and has decided that it will not seek to match De Beers' offer.

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ASTRO MINING NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Annual General Meeting of Astro Mining NL (the "Company") will be held at the Kimberley Gardens Hotel, 441 Inkerman Street, St Kilda East, Victoria, 3183 Australia on Thursday 9 November 2000, commencing at 9:30 am for the following purposes:

ORDINARY BUSINESS

1.TO CONSIDER THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND REPORTS

2. ELECTION OF DIRECTOR

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AURIDIAM CONSOLIDATED NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

RC drilling has commenced on the Woodlark Island Gold Project an asset of its 75% owned subsidiary Woodlark Mining Limited ("Woodlark").

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AUSDRILL LIMITED NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary Fully Paid Shares
• Number of securities issued:
  4,239,919
• Issue price:
  Nil - conversion of preference share to ordinary share
  
• Purpose of the issue
  Conversion of 7% Converting
  Preference Shares to Ordinary
  Shares at the election of the holders.

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AUSTRAL COAL LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company today announced an operating profit in excess of $2.5 million before tax and abnormal items for the September 2000 quarter - and remains on target for the $5 million forecast by directors for the December 2000 half year.

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AUSTRAL COAL LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company Directors report on the operating performance of Austral Coal Limited for the September 2000 quarter.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

* Productivity during the quarter exceeded 10,000 ROM tonnes per man per year (including Coal Preparation Plant employees). Total production exceeded an annual rate of 2 million ROM tonnes despite disruption caused by the extended holiday period and the Olympic games.

* Replacement of the mine's cable shuttle cars with battery powered coal haulage cars was completed during the quarter allowing a more efficient and cost effective mine development effort.

* Sales of 450,000 tonnes have already been confirmed for the December quarter with additional sales expected to increase the total for the quarter well in excess of 500,000 tonnes.

* Market indications suggest that there will be a significant rise in the price of coal next year with customers requesting additional tonnage and some customers seeking to settle next year's contracts within the next two months.

* International Mining Consultants (IMC) have been appointed by the Company to undertake a bankable feasibility study for development of the Tahmoor North and Bargo reserves.

* Operating profit before tax and abnormal items for the quarter exceeded $2.5 million in accordance with the $5 million forecast by directors for the December half year.

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AUSTRALIAN INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Comany announced today that they had reached an agreement on the sale of the 54.2% stake in Victorian hydro-electricity generator, Southern Hydro, that AIF together with its sister fund Utilities Trust of Australia (UTA) acquired as part of its purchase of Infratil Australia Limited (Infratil) earlier this year. AIF has a 31% interest in Infratil. The Company advises that the completion of the sale is subject to conditions precedent including the required regulatory approvals and consents usual for a transaction of this nature.

Alliant will purchase Infratil's Southern Hydro equity investment for $91.5 million. Alliant International New Zealand has also agreed to pay $16 million to acquire the Southern Hydro mezzanine notes held by Infratil.

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BASIN MINERALS (11 OCTOBER 2000)

WORLD CLASS MURRAY BASIN MINERAL SANDS PROJECT EYES 2004 PRODUCTION

The Compan advises the successful completion of a pre-feasibility study on the large and growing high-grade Douglas Mineral Sands Project in Victoria's Murray Basin, has cleared the way for production in 2004.

Basin Minerals Limited advises the study carried out has confirmed the project's strandlines resources have high grades of ilmenite, rutile and zircon minerals, with excellent physical and chemical characteristics at/or near surface.

The study describes the project, near Horsham in western Victoria, as a growing world-class resource of 20.8 million tonnes of mineral concentrate that can be mined and processed using conventional, proven technology, with the potential to initiate downstream titanium and zircon mineral processing industries.

A bankable final feasibility study has begun with the aim of starting site development and construction in 2003, and the commissioning of mining and treatment operations in early 2004 to take advantage of predicted titanium and zircon product shortfalls.

A two phase, 60,000 metre resource definition drilling programme is scheduled on two Douglas deposits.

The necessary environmental and social baseline studies for the project have also commenced.

The Douglas Project’s close proximity to good infrastructure, its location in a politically very stable environment compared with potentially competing African projects, should ensure its early development.

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CENTRAL KALGOORLIE GOLD MINES LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announces that it has advised shareholders of the upcoming meeting to be held in Brisbane. The meeting is seeking amongst other things, shareholder approval for the acquisition of Spool Media Pty Ltd ("Spool Media").

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CONTACT ENERGY LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

Share buy-back, total number of shares to be bought back 10,325,483

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CONQUEST MINING NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Fully paid ordinary shares and attaching Options
• Number of securities issued:
  1,000,000 fully paid ordinary shares and 1,000,000 attaching options
• Issue price:
  Fully paid ordinary shares - 25 cents per share Options - free attaching
  
• Purpose of the issue
  As payment for corporate and strategic advice in respect of capital raising activities and; for the introduction of nstitutional and other professional investors

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FIRST AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

PPL 213 - PAPUAN BASIN - 8.67% INTEREST
(OPERATOR - SANTOS)
Following earlier regional interpretative studies designed to generate a ranking of prospects and leads, field mapping and spot sampling were conducted during the April/May period.

PPL 202 - PAPUAN BASIN - 12.5% INTEREST
(OPERATOR - SANTOS)

The Operator is continuing to assess both geological and geophysical data with an emphasis on identifying oil prone leads in close proximity to infrastructure.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FAR principally targets natural gas in its programs. Spot natural gas pricing in the USA is at seasonal highs (exceeding US$5.00 per thousand cubic feet).

CLEAR BRANCH FIELD, JACKSON PARISH, NORTH LOUISIANA

The second well in the year 2000 program, the Terry Ewing No.1, was drilled during the quarter and has logged an aggregate 115 feet of net gas pay.

MIKESKA-HAMILL FIELD PROSPECT, AUSTIN COUNTY, TEXAS

The third well in the year 2000 program, the Schulz-1 well, was plugged and abandoned during the quarter, after failing to locate commercial hydrocarbons.

LAKE LONG PROSPECT, LAFOURCHE PARISH, SOUTH LOUISIANA
STATE LEASE 328 NO 6 WELL

The 7,350 Sand series has been perforated in the SL 328 No. 6 well. The zone was turned to sales on 5 October 2000 and is currently producing at a stabilised rate of one million cubic feet of gas and 20 barrels of condensate, per day on a 7/64-inch choke at a flowing tubing pressure of 2800 psi. The 7,350 Sand has now been reclassified from the probable to proven category.

STATE LEASE 328 NO 7 WELL (NW SEGMENT PROSPECT)

FAR has agreed to increase its level of participation in the NW Segment Prospect at Lake Long from 15 to 20 percent.

PRODUCTION

Oil sales during the quarter totalled 7,958 barrels for an average of 87 barrels of oil per day at an average price of US$29.61 per barrel before production taxes. Gas sales during the quarter totalled 66 million cubic feet for an average of 0.72 million cubic feet per day at an average price of U$$4.25 per thousand cubic feet before production taxes. Gas sales during the December quarter are expected to increase with new production at Lake Long and Clear Branch.

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FIRST AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises the release of the quarterly report for the period ended 30 September 2000.

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FLETCHER CHALLENGE LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) accreditation has been granted for the company's New Zealand forest estate management.

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GINDALBIE GOLD NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announced today that it had received results from a further 12 reverse circulation percussion holes drilled at the Silverstone deposit. These holes where completed as part of the Minjar Feasibility Study.

The results include:

* 8m at 4.05 g/t from 18m

* 12m at 4.27 g/t from 33m

* 11m at 4.70 g/t from 54m

* 7m at 5.19 g/t from 51m

* 7m at 7.36 g/t from 73m

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GOLDFIELDS LIMITED. (11 OCTOBER 2000)

Perpetual Trustees Australia Limited increased its relevant interest in Goldfields Limited on 10/10/2000, from 20,854,100 ordinary shares (11.04%) to 23,774,303 ordinary shares (12.59%).

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GUTNICK RESOURCES NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Annual General Meeting will be held at the Kimberley Gardens Hotel, 441 Inkerman Street, St Kilda East, Victoria, 3183 Australia on Thursday 9 November 2000, commencing at 3:00 pm.

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HAMPTON HILL MINING NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that it has this week executed a joint venture agreement on the Glenview Project with Teck Australia Minerals Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the large diverse Canadian mining company Teck Corporation (Teck). The agreement is a significant success for Hampton as this joint venture represents Teck's first base metal exploration investment in Australia.

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JOHNSON'S WELL MINING NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Annual General Meeting will be held at the Kimberley Gardens Hotel, 441 Inkerman Street, St Kilda East, Victoria, 3183 Australia on Thursday 9 November 2000, commencing at 1:30 pm

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MICHELAGO LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that the annual general meetingwill be held at The Presidents Room, 2nd Floor, Norths Rugby Club, 80 Christie St ST LEONARDS NSW on 9 November 2000 commencing at 5.00 pm.

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NEW HAMPTON GOLDFIELDS LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises the release of the quarterly report for the period ending September 30 2000.

HIGHLIGHTS

* Record gold production of 72,732 ounces, at a cash operating costof A$372 per ounce.

* Encouraging exploration results include 34 metres at 8.2 grams pertonne ("g/t") gold from a depth of 66 metres at Rheingold and 10metres at 35.7g/t gold from a depth of 34 metres at Noble 6.

* Mineral Resources increased by 1.03 million ounces to 4.03 millionounces and Ore Reserves increased by 464,000 ounces to 1.27 millionounces.

* Mine life extended to four years, for both operations.

* Profit of A$5.87 million after tax (unaudited).

* Cash at bank and bullion A$11.3 million.

* Gold sales of A$40 million for the Quarter.

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NEW HAMPTON GOLDFIELDS LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that its Mineral Resources are 4.03 million ounces of gold, an increase of 1.03 million ounces of gold after production of 266,000 ounces for the same period. The exploration cost per ounce for the increase in resources is A$10 per ounce.

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NEW HAMPTON GOLDFIELDS LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that the profit after tax for the quarter of A$5.9 million exceeded the profit after tax for the previous financial year of A$5.4 million.

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NEW HAMPTON GOLDFIELDS LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

PRODUCTION FORECASTS

The Company advises that Gold production is forecast at 80,000 ounces at a cash operating cost of A$365 per ounce, comprising Big Bell 43,000 ounces at a cash operating cost of A$430 and Jubilee 37,000 ounces at a cash operating cost of A$285 per ounce.

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NORWEST ENERGY NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Coleraine 1 has encountered significant background gas. The recordings are significantly above the objective zone and at this time we are unable to comment on their significance. No fluorescence is associated with these readings. At 6am central standard (Darwin) time today, Coleraine 1 was at a depth of 1,788m. Planned 24 hour operation is to drill 12 (1/4) inch hole to the 9 (5/8) casing point.

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PACMIN MINING CORPORATION LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back, 8,884,270 remaining shares to be bought back.

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PIMA MINING NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

Agreement has been reached to acquire Resource Finance Corporation Limited's ("RFC") 20% interest in SAMAG Limited ("SAMAG") in return for the issue to RFC of 42.1 million fully paid ordinary shares and 6.93 million options exercisable at $0.20 on or before 31 March 2002.

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QCT RESOURCES LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

MetCoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in QCT Resources Limited on 10/10/2000, from 3,209,122 fully paid ordinary shares (0.47%) to 3,361,837 fully paid ordinary shares (0.49%).

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QUANTUM RESOURCES LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Annual General Meeting will be held at the Kimberley Gardens Hotel, 441 Inkerman Street, St Kilda East, Victoria, 3183 Australia on Thursday 9 November 2000, commencing at 11:30 am

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QUEENSLAND GAS COMPANY LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises, Mr Martin Albrecht, retiring Managing Director of Thiess Pty Ltd was appointed to the Board of Queensland Gas Company Limited (QGC).

For complete details, click here

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SONS OF GWALIA LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily share buy-back; 2,918,559 remaining shares to be bought back.

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SOUTHERN CROSS EXPLORATION NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

Following the General Meeting of the shareholders of Petroz held on 5 October, 2000 and the subsequent press release made by the directors of Petroz, this is to advise that this company is prepared to underwrite a share issue on the following terms and conditions.
1. Share Issue to be on the basis of one share for every one held (1:1).

2. Issue Price - Thirty (30) cents per share.

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SYDNEY GAS COMPANY NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The general meeting held on 10 October 2000 the shareholders have approved the two resolutions proposed in the Notice of General Meeting dated 5 September 2000.

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TAP OIL NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company provides an update of the Nettie-1 exploration well.

The well is located in TP/8, at latitude 20 deg 59'19.72"S and longitude 115 deg 44'26.83"E and has reached a total depth of 1,395 metres. No significant hydrocarbon shows have been intersected and the well was plugged and abandoned as a dry hole at 21.00 hrs on 10 October.

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VIVANET LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announced, in conjunction with Mid-East Minerals [ASX: MEM] (proposed to be renamed Tomorrow), that the companies have agreed that the consolidation of VivaNET securities proposed in the announcement of 27 September will not occur.

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WEST OIL NL (11 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announces that as at 6-00 am (CST) Wednesday, 11th October, Coleraine-1 was at 1,788 metres and circulating mud system. Current operations are preparing to drill ahead in 12-1/4" hole.

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WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED (11 OCTOBER 2000)

Production from LNG Train 1 on the Burrup Peninsula was shut down at 1330 hours (WST) on Monday, 9 October 2000 as a result of high vibration levels and a loss of seal oil in the propane compressor.

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GIANTS REEF MINING (10 OCTOBER 2000)

JB WERE RESEARCH NOTES - SPECULATIVE BUY

• Giants Reef continue to offer investors an excellent exposure to its large and, we believe, highly prospective Tennant Creek tenement position. Like many junior explorers life has been a struggle. Attempts to achieve early production and cash flow based on the Billy Boy copper/gold discovery have now stalled in favour of an extensive exploration program. This program aims to test 24 geological and geophysical targets with drilling. These targets represent the administration of many years of work in the Tennant Creek field. With a constant flow of news, a ground breaking land use agreement and drilling from the Billiton JV to come, Giants reef could become re-rated in a more favourable small company resources market.
• The company has recently raised $2.7m via an entitlement issue, providing secure funding for the current program.

For complete details, click here.

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AUSTRALIAN GAS LIGHT COMPANY (THE) (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Credit Suisse First Boston Australia (Holdings) Limited ceased to be a substantial shareholder in Australian Gas Light Company (The) on 06/10/2000.

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AMALG RESOURCES NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Seventh Annual General Meeting of the Shareholders of Amalg Resources NL will be held at the Hannan's Club, cnr Brookman and Maritana Streets, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, 6430 on 9 November 2000 at 4.00pm.

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AMITY OIL NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Progress Report - GOCERLER-1 WELL, REPUBLIC OF TURKEY PROGRESS REPORT - 10 OCTOBER, 2000 DEPTH AT MIDNIGHT, 9 OCTOBER RIG TIME: (0500 HRS 10 OCT WST): 1534m KB.

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ASHTON MINING LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

De Beers Australia Holdings Pty Limited has increased its offer price for all shares in Ashton to $2.28 per share and extended its offer until 27 October 2000.
This revised offer by De Beers is a significant increase on its initial offer of $1.57 cash per share and is also considerably higher than Rio Tinto's $1.85 per share cash bid.

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ASHTON MINING LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Shareholders are advised to read the Supplementary Bidder's Statement together with the Replacement Bidder's Statement of Capricorn Diamonds Investments Pty Limited (ACN 094 352 128) in relation to its takeover bid for Ashton Mining Limited (ACN 005 466 964). A copy of the Supplementary Bidder's Statement was lodged with the ASIC on October 9 2000.

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AUSTRALIAN MINING INVESTMENTS LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The following information has been received from Galilee Energy:
* Gas separators have been installed on each of the wells at the Rodney Creek Pilot.
* The project has employed state of the art progressive cavity pumping systems, which have performed well despite coal fines and some frac sand production. Current average fluid level is 700 meters below surface.
* The wells are responding better than expected with gas production
commencing from the beginning of pump tasting.

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AUSTRALIAN OVERSEAS RESOURCES LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Minister for Industry, Science and Resources, Senator Nick Minchin, has today granted Major Project Facilitation Status to the companies' Hunter Specialty Steels project in the Hunter Region, NSW.

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AUSTRALIAN SANDSTONE INDUSTRIES LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company has relocated to Level 27, Central Plaza One, 345 Queen Street, Brisbane, Queensland, 4000, Australia as from the 29th September 2000.

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AUIRON ENERGY LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announced the appointment of a consortium of major international banks as technical banks to the company's 90% owned South Australian Steel and Energy (SASE) pig iron project.

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BEMAX RESOURCES NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announces its interpretation of results recently released by Iluka Resources Limited ("Iluka") from exploration on its ground immediately adjacent to BeMaX's BIP Joint Venture property.

For complete details, click here.

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BEMAX RESOURCES NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announces the Share Sale Agreement for the purchase of Imperial Mining (Aust) NL (formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial One Limited) has been completed today.
Appendix 3B.

For complete details, click here.

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BLIGH OIL & MINERALS NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Production testing of the Lower Tariki section in the Rimu B-1 well is still in progress, and is likely to take a further week-ten days.

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BOULDER STEEL LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Minister for Industry, Science and Resources, Senator Nick Minchin, has today granted Major Project Facilitation Status to the companies' Hunter Specialty Steels project in the Hunter Region, NSW.

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BOULDER STEEL LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company Directors announce the company's joint venture partner, Idaho Consolidated Metals Inc has released assay results from the initial three drill holes oil the Mountain View property in the Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA.

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BRANDRILL LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

An Annual General Meeting of the members of Brandrill Limited ("Company") will be held at the Swan Room, Perth Parmelia Hilton, Mill Street, Perth on 9 November 2000 at 11am for the purpose of transacting the business referred to in this notice of Annual General Meeting.

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BRANDRILL LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Deutsche Bank AG has today underwritten the placement of 11 million shares, on behalf of Brandrill Limited, to institutional investors at $2.00 per share, raising $22.0 million.

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CONTACT ENERGY LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Ordinary Share Buy-Back- maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 10,445,483

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CREST MAGNESIUM NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company Directors advise they have resolved to proceed with the pharmaceutical/industrial magnesia project.

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ENERGY EQUITY CORPORATION LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

As previously advised on the 10 August 2000, the Interim Power Purchase Agreement between PT Energi Sengkang (PTES) the operator of the Sengkang Power Project and PLN (the Indonesian National Electricity Company) was extended from 31 July 2000 to 30 September 2000.

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ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary Shares
• Number of securities issued:
  1,730,208 if fully subscribed by all holders.
• Issue price:
  $11.16
• Purpose of the issue
  Issue under Share Purchase Plan

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EQUIGOLD NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

A drilling programme was recently completed at the Company's 100% owned Mt Rawdon Gold Project in south east Queensland where gold production is due to commence in January 2001.

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FLETCHER CHALLENGE LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises the formation of a new company, Rubicon, was announced today by Dr Deane, the Chairman of the Board of Fletcher Challenge Limited.

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FLETCHER CHALLENGE LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

SHELL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION IN NEW ZEALAND

* Shell technology discovered, developed and delivers energy to meet 57% of New Zealand's total energy needs.

* Shell holds interests in the Maui (25%) oil and gas and Kapuni (50%) gas field operations. These gas fields operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and together supply around 90% of New Zealand's gas.

*Shell has a 49% interest in the recently discovered Maari oil field. This field has estimated reserves of 57 million barrels of oil.

* Shell has been involved in the exploration and production of oiland gas in New Zealand since 1930 when several wells were drilled on the West Coast of the South Island.

* In 1959, Shell was involved in the discovery of Kapuni, New Zealand's first commercial onshore gas field.

* A seven year programme of offshore exploration during the 1960s ended with the discovery of the Maui gas field in 1968. At the time Maui was one of the largest offshore gas fields in the world.

* Shell has been in New Zealand for more than 87 years.

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FLETCHER CHALLENGE LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

A full range of Forests ("FFS") alternatives was canvassed with leading international forestry players - both industry and financial.

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FLETCHER CHALLENGE LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises a programme to complete the Fletcher Challenge Group restructuring and separation of the remaining three targeted share Divisions was announced today by Dr Roderick Deane, Chairman of Fletcher Challenge Limited.

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GOLDFIELDS LIMITED. (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Perpetual Trustees Australia Ltd increased its relevant interest in Goldfields Limited on 09/10/2000, from 18,966,284 ordinary shares (10.04%) to 20,854,100 ordinary shares (11.04%).

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GOLDFIELDS LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

HIGH GRADES BOOST RALEIGH RESOURCE
TO OVER 750,000 OUNCES - STILL OPEN
The Company announces a new and updated resource estimate for its Raleigh gold deposit lying 2.5 kilometres south of the Kundana Gold Mine in Western Australia.

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HORIZON ENERGY INVESTMENT GROUP (10 OCTOBER 2000)

An Annual General Meeting of the Members of the Company will be held on Friday, 10th November 2000 at 3:00pm at Heritage Room, Hotel Inter-Continental Sydney, 117 Macquarie Street, Sydney.

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ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

On-market buy-back; total number of shares to be bought back 19,087,928

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INTEROIL CORPORATION (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Interoil has been awarded PPL 220, its third operating licence in Papua New Guinea ("PNG"). This 1,957 square kilometre licence is located onshore to the north of the Gulf of Papua.

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LONGREACH GOLD OIL LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The PNG Department of Mining has granted an extension for Exploration Licence No 1232, near Safia - Northern Province.

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LION SELECTION GROUP LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The company advises pursuant to Listing Rule 4.12 that the unaudited net tangible asset backing (excluding equity accounting adjustments) of Lion Selection Group Limited as at 30 September 2000 was $1.09 per share.

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MINOTAUR GOLD NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company's Annual General Meeting will be held in Meeting Room 2, Australian Mineral Foundation, 63 Conyngham Street, Glenside, Adelaide, South Australia on Wednesday, 29 November 2000 commencing at 11.00 am. For additional information, click here.

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MOUNT BURGESS GOLD MINING COMPANY NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

On-Market buy-back; 2,464,245 shares to be bought back.

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NORTH LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Rio Tinto Limited has today completed the compulsory acquisition procedures under its takeover offer for all shares in North Limited and North is now wholly owned by Rio Tinto Limited.

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NOVUS PETROLEUM LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

This major, world-class project is nearing completion, and is currently well ahead of schedule andsignificantly under budget.

As a result Novus is set to benefit from:

* Our share of gas sales (16.5 million cubic feet of gas per day(MMcfd)) of the gas sales contract to Singapore (commencing15 July 2001);

* Probable early gas sales as from 1Q 2001;

* Possible financial bonuses in the 2000 financial year if keyinfrastructure is operational this year;

* Probable toll revenue as third parties use the excess capacity inthe main pipeline to supply further gas to Malaysia and/or Singapore;

* A boost to liquids production from the Kakap block as shut-in wellsare opened up and condensate is recovered from the gas;

* The strong US$-denominated West Natuna gas price, which is tied tooil price.

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NORWEST ENERGY NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Coleraine 1 was at a depth of 1,400m. Planned 24 hour operation is to drill ahead in 12 (1/4) inch hole to the 9 (5/8) casing point.

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PACMIN MINING CORPORATION LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

On-Market Buy-back; 8,887,950 shares to be bought back.

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PIMA MINING NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Pima has raised $10.1 million through the successful conversion of 50,593,183 million options at 20 cents each.

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QCT RESOURCES LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

ANALYSIS OF BHP/MITSUBISHI STATEMENTS IN THEIR 5 OCTOBER LETTER TO QRL SHAREHOLDERS
BHP and Mitsubishi have argued that the Grant Samuel valuation represents a significant premium to the historic QRL share price.

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QCT RESOURCES LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises feedback on value from Shareholders has been very encouraging with regards the formal response of the Directors of QCT Resources Limited ("QRL") to the MetCoal Offer,

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QCT RESOURCES LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Metcoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in Qct Resources Limited on 09/10/2000, from 3,143,977 ordinary shares (0.45%) to 3,209,122 ordinary shares (0.47%).

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QCT RESOURCES LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The nine day extension by MetCoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd of its inadequate Offer for QCT Resources Limited changes nothing and should be ignored, according to QRL Directors. Despite being open for acceptances for more than four weeks, the highly conditional Offer is being rejected by QRL shareholders as the offer is seen as inadequate and opportunistic.

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QCT RESOURCES LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

BHP and Mitsubishi have extended the offer period of their cash bid for QCT Resources Limited ("QCT"). The offer is now scheduled to end on Friday 27 October 2000.

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QCT RESOURCES LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

BHP and Mitsubishi have argued that the Grant Samuel valuation represents a significant premium to the historic QRL share price. This is not relevant given latest forecasts, Grant Samuel's
independent valuation and the improved outlook for the coal industry.

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RAND MINING NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

TOTAL EAST KUNDANA RESOURCES PASS 1.5 MILLION OUNCES

Exciting high-grade drilling results from the recently discovered Raleigh Prospect have boosted the total resources within the EKJV to over 1.5 million ounces of gold.

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SMC RESOURCES LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

Participating Organisations are advised that shareholders of SMC Resources Limited (the "Company") have approved the restructure of the Company as follows.

1. The Company will transfer all of its assets to a wholly owned subsidiary to be re-named SMC Gold NL ("SMC Gold"). SMC Gold will apply for admission to the official list of ASX.
2. Shareholders will retain their existing shares in the Company and those registered on 4 October 2000 will also receive shares in SMC Gold on a 1:1 basis.
3. The Company will issue 378,000,000 ordinary shares to the vendors of Powerise Technology Limited ("PTL"), in consideration of the acquisition of PTL.
4. The Company will effect a consolidation of its issued capital on a 5:2 basis, rounded upwards to the nearest whole number.

For additional information, click here.

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SONS OF GWALIA LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

On-Market share buy-back; 2,919,023 shares to be bought back.

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TAIPAN RESOURCES NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

St Barbara Mines became a substantial shareholder in Taipan on 06/10/2000 with a relevant interest in the issued share capital of 15,888,462 ordinary shares (7.9%).

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TRIBUNE RESOURCES NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

TOTAL EAST KUNDANA RESOURCES PASS 1.5 MILLION OUNCES
Exciting high-grade drilling results from the recently discovered Raleigh Prospect have boosted the total resources within the EKJV to over 1.5 million ounces of gold

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WEST OIL NL (10 OCTOBER 2000)

As at 6.00 am (CST) Tuesday, 10th October, Coleraine-1 was at 1,490 metres and drilling ahead in 12-1/4" hole.

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WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The North West Shelf Venture has welcomed the release of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Action Agenda by Senator Minchin.

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WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED (10 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that the Enfield-3 appraisal well located in the Exmouth Sub-basin is continuing with the production test. Since the last report the well was shut in for 5 days for pressure monitoring.

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AMITY OIL NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

Progress Report - Wireline log interpretation of the secondary objective Danismen Formation indicated three (3) excellent porosity sandstones between 1,193 Metres to 1,314 metres, with log characteristics similar to other producing sandstone reservoirs in Danismen Formation Depth at Midnight, 8 October rig time: (0500 Hrs 9 Oct WST): 1534m KB. 72 Hr Drill Advance: 94m.

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ASHTON MINING LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

Capricorn Diamonds Investments Pty Limited (ACN 094 352 128) (Capricorn) gives notice under section 633(1) item 8 of the Corporations Law, that all of the offers to holders of ordinary shares in Ashton Mining Limited (Ashton) and holders of securities in Ashton convertible into ordinary shares in Ashton (Offerees) contained in its replacement bidder's statement lodged with the Australian and Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) on 29 September 2000 (the Bidder's Statement) have been sent to the Offerees in accordance with section 633(1) item 6 of the Corporations Law today. The offers are dated 4 October 2000. The offers are made on the terms set out in the Bidder's Statement.

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ASHTON MINING LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

Rio Tinto Limited, through its wholly owned subsidiary Capricorn Diamonds Investments Pty Limited (Capricorn), is offering to acquire all of shareholders Ashton Shares.
(a) $1.85 in cash for each Ashton Share you hold; or

(b) 1 Rio Tinto Limited Share for every 15 Ashton Shares you hold; or

(c) 1 Rio Tinto plc Share for every 15 Ashton Shares you hold; or

(d) any combination of the alternatives set out in (a), (b) or (c)
above.
If shareholders do not choose one of the alternatives above, they will be taken
to have elected to receive cash.

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ASHTON MINING LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

The Chairman advises that he is pleased to enclose Rio Tinto's Offer to acquire all shareholders shares in Ashton Mining Limited. Shareholders can choose either, * $1.85 in cash for each Ashton Share you hold; or * 1 Rio Tinto Limited Share for every 15 Ashton Shares you hold; or * 1 Rio Tinto plc Share for every 15 Ashton Shares you hold; or * any combination of these alternatives. The Offer enables shareholders to sell your shares at an attractive price or to become a Rio Tinto shareholder and join one of the world's largest diversified resource groups, which is well positioned for future growth.

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ASHTON MINING LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary Fully paid Shares
• Number of securities issued:
  432,500
• Issue price:
  8,250 shares at $1.64, 8,250 shares at $1.93, 85,000 shares at $1.60, 99,000 shares at $1.23, 232,000 shares at $0.73
• Purpose of the issue
  Shares issued in accordance with terms of Ashton Mining Limited Employee Option Plan

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BEMAX RESOURCES NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

BROKEN HILL PROPRIETARY COMPANY LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

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COOLGARDIE GOLD NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

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EASTERN ALUMINIUM LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

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ENVIROSTAR ENERGY LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

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FLETCHER CHALLENGE LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

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IMPERIAL ONE LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

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KAGARA ZINC LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

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KINGSGATE CONSOLIDATED NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary Fully paid Shares
• Number of securities issued:
  1,200,000
• Issue price:
  $1.10
• Purpose of the issue
  See ASX announcement dated 3 July 2000

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LACHLAN RESOURCES NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

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MAJESTIC RESOURCES NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  a) Options exercisable at $0.20 each on or before 30 June 2003 b) Shares
• Number of securities issued:
  1,000,000
• Issue price:
  In respect to 1,000,000 shares and 1,000,000 2003 listed options - nil.
• Purpose of the issue
  Being payment for services rendered

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MARLBOROUGH RESOURCES NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary
• Number of securities issued:
  20,571,447
• Issue price:
  2.7 cents - second installment, 5.0 cents full price
• Purpose of the issue
  Working Capital

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MINERAL DEPOSITS LTD (9 OCTOBER 2000)

For full report, click here

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MOUNT BURGESS GOLD MINING COMPANY NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

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NORWEST ENERGY NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

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PETROZ NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

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PIMA MINING NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary Shares
• Number of securities issued:
  53,496,961
• Issue price:
  $0.20
• Purpose of the issue
  Issued as a result of underwritten exercise of 53,387,461 listed 30/09/2000 options, and the exercise of 109,500 listed 31/03/2002 options.

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PRECIOUS METALS AUSTRALIA LTD (9 OCTOBER 2000)

Vanadium market set to enter Q4 on weak note

The erosion of ferro-vanadium prices since June has caused producers and traders to nervously cast their thoughts back to last year when a similar steady decline was witnessed.

For full details, click here

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QCT RESOURCES LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

MetCoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in QCT Resources Limited on 06/10/2000, from 2,846,456 fully paid ordinary shares (0.41%) to 3,143,977 fully paid ordinary shares (0.46%).

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RANGER MINERALS LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

Perpetual Trustees Australia Limited increased its relevant interest in Ranger Minerals Limited on 06/10/2000, from 6,480,216 ordinary shares (10.01%) to 8,296,202 ordinary shares (12.82%).

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RED BACK MINING NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

Freshwater Resources Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in Red Back Mining NL on 29/05/2000, from 8,150,000 ordinary shares (21.15%) to 8,600,000 ordinary shares (15.61%).

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SIROCCO RESOURCES NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

Sirocco has secured a priority allocation for its security holders in the initial public offer by Prospex Interactive Limited . A total of 5,000,000 ordinary shares and 2,500,000 attaching options in Prospex Interactive will be available to holders of the Company's securities.

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STRIKER RESOURCES NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

Strikerhas entered into a Letter of Intent agreement with BHP Minerals Pty Ltd (BHP) whereby BHP have undertaken to overfly a defined portion of the company's Forrest River tenements for the purpose of characterising known kimberlites and identifying new kimberlites and anomalies thereon.

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SUMMIT RESOURCES NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

The Annual Meeting of shareholders of Summit will be held in the Rosanna Room of the Park Royal Hotel, corner of Grey and Featherston Streets, Wellington, on Friday 10 November 2000, commencing at 4:30pm (1630).

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TRIAKO RESOURCES LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

The Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Triako will be held at the Harbourview Hotel, North Sydney, Ground Floor, 17 Blue Street, North Sydney at 10.30am on Thursday, 9 November 2000.

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VICTORIA PETROLEUM NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that high oil and gas prices continue to prevail in the industry and provide a very good back drop for the next phase of drilling activity that Victoria Petroleum NL will embark on in the next nine months.

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WEST OIL NL (9 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announces that as at 6:00am (CST) Monday, 9th October, Coleraine-1 was at 810 metres and drilling ahead in 12-1/4" hole. The 13-3/8" casing was set @ 655 metres. Current operations are drilling ahead @ 900 metres in 12-1/4" hole.

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WESTERN METALS LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

First Quarter Activities Report

Summary:

Inferred resource at Pillara West estimated at 0.8Mt
- Mammoth E Lens confirmed as a significant copper resource
- Significant mineralisation confirmed in the Pluto area to the north of the Esperanza open pit

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WESTERN METALS LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

Quarterly Report

Highlights

* Mt Gordon copper cathode production for the September quarter was
10,894 tonnes. The result is the best quarterly production total to date, exceeding the previous quarter, also a record, by 5.7%. The Mt Gordon Operation has now stabilised and is running at an annualised rate close to design capacity of 44,000 tonnes per annum.

* Exploration drilling at Mt Gordon has identified a new mineralised zone at Pluto, north of the Esperanza open pit. (See Attachment 6)

* The Lennard Shelf Operations set a new record for zinc concentrate production during the September quarter of 80,051 tonnes grading 60.16% Zn. Lead concentrate production of 23,987 tonnes grading 75.90% Pb was also a record.

* Footwall drilling at Pillara continues to extend the number of new footwall orebodies identified to date. These are collectively referred to as Pillara West. (see Attachment 7.)

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WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED (9 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announces a $4.7 billion dollar resource development proposed for the Timor Sea and Northern Australia

ELECTROMETALS TECHNOLOGIES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Electrometals advises that it has now completed a comprehensive pilot programme onsite at the Berkeley Pit, in Montana, USA. This programme was designed to demonstrate the capability of the Company's patented EMEW technology to commercially recover copper from the immense inventory of wastewater at this notorious site of contamination from historic mining activities.

This pilot has been extremely successful. It has shown that:

• An EMEW plant can remove copper down to very low levels at a power cost less than 25% of the current value of the metal, with other operating costs projected to be a few cents per pound of copper produced;
  
• At the same time, the plant produces a marketable copper product of better than 99.9% purity; and
  
• The engineering and operating characteristics of the EMEW technology make it very simple and practical to use in this application.
  

For further details, click here

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GIANTS REEF (6 OCTOBER 2000)

September Quarterly Report

HIGHLIGHTS

• An Entitlements Issue was successfully completed raising $2,700,000 to fund a substantial drilling programme and providing a strong future for the Company.
  
  
• An Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) between Giants Reef and the Central Land Council representing the Native Titleholders of the area was signed, providing for assured land access.
  
  
• A drilling programme to test 24 highly prospective geological and geophysical targets throughout the field, commenced. Early successes were achieved, with the discovery of previously unknown copper mineralisation at Macedon, and high grade gold with copper at Thrace.
  
  
• Encouraging results from exploration in preparation for identifying targets within the Billiton and BHP joint venture areas.
  

For full report, click here

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ACCLAIM EXPLORATION (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Acclaim advised that it has dispatched its year 2000 Annual Report to members, together with the Notice of AGM.

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AMITY OIL (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Progress Report: Gocerler-1 Well Republic of Turkey: Drilling ahead, current depth 1440m. Target depth: 1525m to TD.

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ARC ENERGY (6 OCTOBER 2000)

TOWER Trust Limited changed its relevant interest in ARC Energy NL on 29/09/2000, from 5,894,816 50c fully paid ordinary shares (8.65%) to 5,894,816 50c fully paid ordinary shares (6.78%).

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ASHTON MINING / RIO TINTO (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Contrary to press reports in the United Kingdom today, Rio Tinto has not abandoned its offer for Ashton Mining Limited.
Rio Tinto's offer remains current.

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AURIDIAM CONSOLIDATED / KIMBERLEY DIAMOND CO (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Kimberley has confirmed the potential for a significant, economic, alluvial diamond deposit at its Blina Project in Western Australia after the latest round of bulk sample results demonstrated the continuity of high-grade diamondiferous gravels, and returned the second largest stone recovered to date.

Kimberley said it had received extremely encouraging results from processing bulk samples from Pit 63 (about 4 kilometres downstream from Pit 61 and 4 kilometres upstream from Pit 57). Pit 63 is the first of a series of samples designed to demonstrate the continuity of the Terrace 5 gravels following recent stunning results from Pit 61.
8.77 carats of diamonds were recovered from a 180-tonne sample of gravels taken from Pit 63, including one diamond weighing 2.86 carats, the second largest stone ever recovered by Kimberley at the Blina Project, located near Broome in WA’s far north Kimberley region. Approximately 60 tonnes of material from Pit 63 are still being processed through the HMS Plant with further results expected in the next two weeks.

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AUSTPAC RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Austpac has tendered successfully for Block One near Horsham, in the southern part of the Murray Basin. This block includes the known mineral resource of WIM 150 Extended and may contain other significant heavy mineral sand resources.
As contemplated by the award of the tender, Austpac has applied for an exploration licence covering 933 square kilometres in central western Victoria. Once granted a drilling and sampling program will commence to obtain samples for upgrading testwork. Austpac will then undertake a bench and pilot test program and other studies at its facilities at Kooragang Island in Newcastle.

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BRANDRILL (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Commonwealth Bank of Australia decreased its relevant interest in Brandrill on 03/10/2000, from 8,897,448 ordinary shares (12.04%) to 8,885,667 ordinary shares (10.98%).

Brandrill announced another major breakthrough in the commercialisation of its PCF rock-breaking technology with an initial order for 18,500 PCF RockStik(R) cartridges from PT Freeport Indonesia Company, an affiliate of United States based mining company, Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc.

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CLIMAX MINING (6 OCTOBER 2000)

The Annual General Meeting of members of Climax Mining Ltd will be held in the KPMG Auditorium, Level 27, 45 Clarence Street Sydney on 7 November 2000 at 11.00am.

SPECIAL BUSINESS
RESOLUTION 1
To consider the following resolution and, if thought fit, pass as an ordinary resolution:
"That the issues on 28 February 2000 of 10,000,000 ordinary shares in the Company at 20 cents per share and 5,000,000 options exercisable at 25 cents per share over ordinary shares in the Company to ANZ Nominees Limited be ratified for the purposes of Listing Rule 7.1 of Australian Stock Exchange Limited".

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CONTACT ENERGY (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back Notice - continued. Maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 10,695,434.

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DRILLSEARCH ENERGY / OCA (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Drillsearch advised that it has entered a contract with OCA to purchase various interests in certain producing oil fields and associated oil gathering processing and storage infrastructure located in the Cooper/Eromanga Basin areas of western Queensland.

The potential benefits for Drillsearch Energy N.L. arising from this acquisition include:

• Purchase of approximately 540,000 barrels of 2P oil reserves located near to the head of the Jackson/Brisbane pipelines.
• Current production of approximately 200 BOPD.
• Estimated gross revenue: $3.6 million per annum.
• By purchasing an interest in the Naccowlah Block, Drillsearch Energy N.L. will obtain access to lower pipeline tariffs (through the Jackson/Moonie and Moonie/Brisbane pipelines) than otherwise would be available to explorers in south/west Queensland.
• Significant untested exploration potential from identified leads and prospects.

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GOLDFIELDS (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Harmony Gold (Australia) Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in Goldfields on 04/10/2000, from 32,770,992 ordinary shares (approx 19.96%) to 43,350,992 ordinary shares (approx 22.96%).

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ILUKA RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Following the cancellation of 785,195 ordinary shares with a total valued paid of $3,260,568.29 pursuant to the share buy-back scheme during the period 20/9/00 - 29/9/00, the new issued capital of Iluka is 222,999,165.

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MINERAL COMMODITIES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Isaac James Law has been appointed as the new Company Secretary.

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MT GRACE RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Mt Grace announced a binding licence agreement has been entered into with Mintek of South Africa. Mt Grace will buy into Mintek's DC, arc furnace continuous thermal magnesium production technology and has received a licence to use that technology for production of magnesium.
The agreement gives Mt Grace full access to Mintek's magnesium processing technology skills, personnel, database and patents for the purpose of building a magnesium plant of 50,000 tonnes capacity per annum. A 1.5MW demonstration plant is planned to be commissioned in November this year. Testing the processing efficiency of magnesite ore from Mt Grace's Batchelor Magnesium Project is planned to commence early in 2001. The Company intends to produce magnesium metal ingots, for demonstration purposes, to assist with marketing to end-users, including major international vehicle manufacturers.

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NORWEST ENERGY (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Coleraine-1 Drilling Update: during the last 24 hours Coleraine 1 drilled to a depth of 655m and is preparing to run 13 3/8 inch casing.

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PAN AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Pan Australian Resources N.L. is pleased to announce that all Resolutions put to an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, held today, were approved by the shareholders.

As Pan Australian shareholders have given their approval to the issue of shares and options to Resource Capital Fund II L.P., the Company will now move to finalise this transaction.
The issue of 21.2 million ordinary shares and 10.6 million unlisted options will inject $1,272,000 of funds into Pan Australian and will enable the Company to commence the first phase of drilling necessary to complete the feasibility study on the Puthep Copper Project in Thailand.
Post - issue Pan Australian will have approximately $1.8 million cash on hand. For additional information, click here.

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PERILYA (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Perilya advised that it has dispatched its year 2000 Annual Report to members, together with the Notice of AGM.

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PETROZ / FLETCHER CHALLENGE (6 OCTOBER 2000)

FC expressed its disappointment at the decision by shareholders of Petroz NL to reject the proposed alliance between the two companies. The proposal would have seen Fletcher Challenge take a cornerstone shareholding in Petroz, ensuring there were adequate funds available to meet the forthcoming capital calls for the development of the Bayu Undan project. Through an option exercised earlier this week, Fletcher Challenge holds 13.04 per cent of Petroz NL.

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QCT RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Metcoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in QCT on 05/10/2000, from 2,631,157 ordinary shares (0.38%) to 2,846,456 ordinary shares (0.41%).

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REEF MINING (6 OCTOBER 2000)

A general meeting of members of the Company is to be held at the Coles Myer Foyer, Melbourne Concert Hall, 100 St Kilda Road, Melbourne on Friday, 10 November 2000, at 11:00am.

BUSINESS
To consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolutions.

1. SALE OF MINING ASSETS
2. SALE TO IRONBARK MINING PTY LTD
3. CONSOLIDATION OF SHARES
4. ACQUISITION OF ICA
5. ISSUE OF SHARES AND OPTIONS
6. APPROVAL OF CHANGE OF CONTROL OF REEF
7. CHANGE OF STATUS AND NAME
8. ADOPTION OF A NEW CONSTITUTION
9. ELECTION OF MR I D ROBERTS AS A DIRECTOR
10. ELECTION OF MR M J STAPLETON AS A DIRECTOR
11. ELECTION OF MR A S KAY AS A DIRECTOR
12. ELECTION OF MR J W MCPHERSON AS A DIRECTOR

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ROC OIL COMPANY (6 OCTOBER 2000)

1. UK NORTH SEA: THE KYLE NORTHEAST APPRAISAL WELL (ROC: 12.5%)
The Kyle 29/2c-13 well, also known as the Kyle Northeast well, is being prepared for flow testing which is expected to occur next week subject to weather constraints.

2. EAST GOBI BASIN, MONGOLIA: TEMEE-1 (ROC: 100%)
The Temee-1 rank wildcat exploration well commenced drilling out of 13 3/8 inch surface casing set at 23 metres on 4 October 2000. As of 6.00 am on 6 October 2000 the well was at 363 metres drilling ahead towards the next casing point which is expected to be encountered within the next 50 metres. The currently prognosed Total Depth for Temee-1 is 700 metres with an ability to deepen the well to 1,000 metres, if warranted.

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ST BARBARA MINES / TROY RESOURCES / TAIPAN RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

The executive chairman of Troy Resources NL, Mr John Jones, today labelled the terms for the proposed merger between Taipan Resources NL and St Barbara Mines Limited as "unsatisfactory" and "unconvincing".
"The proposed terms are much different from the market today, where the ratio between St Barbara and Taipan share prices is less than 1.9 to 1. Why should any Taipan shareholder consider that for Taipan to pay 3 Taipan shares for 1 St Barbara share to merge with St Barbara is in their interests?" he said.

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SELWYN MINES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

William James Howe became a substantial shareholder in Selwyn Mines on 30/06/2000 with a relevant interest in the issued share capital of 1,230,000 ordinary shares (10.25%).

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STRIKER RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Progress Report - Ashmore Evaluation Update

Excavation of Ashmore 1 is complete and reached the target depth of 26 metres from surface.
Excavations at Ashmore 2 and 4 will be completed in approximately ten days. This will allow heavy mining equipment and associated personnel to leave site.

During the current quarter, approximately 164,000 tonnes has been excavated from the Ashmore 1, 2 and 4 pipes of which 58,000 tonnes of kimberlite is available for diamond recovery.
Successful commissioning of the new heavy media separation plant (HMS) has been completed, and processing of kimberlite has commenced.
Significant modifications to the existing pre-washing circuit were also completed to allow for greater throughput and an increase in screen size from 10mm to 25mm.
The priority list for processing of kimberlite "ore blocks" will be based on mapped geological interpretation. In addition, reject material from past sampling will be reprocessed through the new plant for audit purposes.
Previous sampling of near surface material from Ashmore 2 has recovered diamonds up to 10 carats in size with an overall 52% gem quality.
The Year 2000 Program is designed to sample kimberlite at depth for processing to recover diamonds for grade, value and stone-size distribution within three of the four pipes in the Ashmore cluster.

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SIROCCO RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Sirocco has obtained a priority allocation of shares for its security holders in the upcoming float of Prospex Interactive Limited.

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SYDNEY GAS COMPANY (6 OCTOBER 2000)

First Quarter Activities Report:

HIGHLIGHTS
The following significant events occurred during the quarter ended 30 September 2000:-

CORPORATE

• Rights issue 1:8 and private placement of shares to raise a total capital of approximately $7 million.

OPERATIONS

• Application lodged for an Assessment Lease within PEL 2.
• Contract awarded for engineering and construction of equipment for gas treatment facility.
• Lease secured for gas treatment facility site.
• Engineering design and approval phase commenced for the pipeline to deliver gas into the AGL gas distribution system at Camden.
• Pipeline gathering system linking Stanley #1, #2, #3, #4 wells completed.
• Stanley #1, #2, #3, #4 and Apap #1 wells being evaluated for methane production after workover completions.
• Approval obtained to drill 10 new wells at Logan Brae for the Johndilo Project.
• Wells site prepared at Logan Brae for drilling operations to start in early October.
• Community Advisory Panel ("CAP") continues to meet regularly for communication with the local community.
• Developing a comprehensive electronic database on geology of PEL2, PEL 4 and PEL 267.
• Assessment for a second coal bed methane pilot project in Hunter region, NSW.

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TAIPAN RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Taipan has resolved to allot and issue 11,538,462 ordinary fully paid shares in the Company, pursuant to a Notice of Conversion of Notes in relation to the Convertible Note Agreement between the Company and St Barbara Mines Limited, to St Barbara Mines Limited.

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TROY RESOURCES / TAIPAN RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Troy has today an application in the Supreme Court of Western Australia concerning Taipan Resources NL (Taipan's) conduct yesterday in writing to each of its shareholders in terms which Troy regards as materially misleading or deceptive.

The executive chairman of Troy Resources NL, Mr John Jones, today labelled the terms for the proposed merger between Taipan Resources NL and St Barbara Mines Limited as "unsatisfactory" and "unconvincing".

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TROY RESOURCES / TAIPAN RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Troy became a substantial shareholder in Taipan on 04/10/2000 with a relevant interest in the issued share capital of 11,512,099 ordinary shares (5.65%).

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WESTERN AREAS (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Western Areas advised that encouraging results had been received from initial exploration for nickel sulphide mineralisation at the GSP prospect within the company's 100% owned Mt Jewell Project. GSP is located 35km northwest along strike from Outokumpu's high grade Silver Swan nickel mine, near Kalgoorlie.
The first diamond hole (MJD08) drilled by Western Areas to test a major north-south fault at the eastern end of the company's GSP nickel sulphide deposit intersected a narrow but high grade nickel-copper sulphide zone. The best intersection is 0.65m @ 5.47% nickel and 1.47% copper from 207.55m downhole depth. The mineralisation occurs within the porphyry footwall to the GSP host ultramafic sequence and is interpreted to have been remobilised from an unknown source.
In addition, preliminary results from a ground electromagnetic (EM) survey completed at GSP have defined a conductive anomaly located 350m east of MJD08, on the eastern side of the fault. Previous drilling by other companies at GSP has mainly concentrated on the western side of this fault. The area of the Western Areas EM anomaly is untested at this stage. Further processing of the data is required to better define the anomaly and diamond drilling will commence as soon as this is completed.

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AUSTRALIAN OIL & GAS CORPORATION (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Pico Holdings Inc increased its relevant interest in Australian Oil & Gas Corporation Limited on 21/09/2000, from 7,927,232 ordinary shares (16.92%) to 8,422,038 ordinary shares (17.97%).

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ASHTON MINING (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Rio Tinto has commenced dispatch of its Offer Document to shareholders of Ashton Mining Limited. The offer is now open for acceptance and is scheduled to close at 7:30pm AEDT on Monday, 6 November 2000.

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ASHTON MINING / RIO TINTO (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Rio Tinto has noted De Beers counter-bid for Ashton Mining Limited and will respond in due course.

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AMITY OIL (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Progress Report: Gocerler-1 Well Republic of Turkey

Depth at Midnight, 4 October rig time: (0500 Hrs 5 Oct WST): 1329m KB.
24 Hr Drill Advance: 68m.
Geology: 1260-1280m Siltstone, grey, calcareous, 60%, Shale, dark grey, 40%.
1280-1290m Sandstone, white to pale green, quartz, fine to medium grained, angular, weak carbonate cement, some loose grains, good to fair porosity. 1290-1310m Sandstone, white, quartz, fine to medium grained, white clay matrix, poor porosity. 1310-1328m Siltstone, grey, calcareous. (Danismen Formation.)
Hydrocarbons: Background Total gas, 2%. Total gas peaks 1280-1290m 80% (72% C(1), 3% C(3) 1290-1306m, 24% (20% C(1))

Operations Last 24 Hrs: Drill 311mm (12 1/4 inch) hole to 1308m. Pull out of hole and change bit, continue to drill ahead.

Proposed Operations Next 24 hrs: Drill ahead in 311mm (12 1/4 inch) hole towards next casing point at 1525m.

Last Casing: 340mm (13 3/8 inch) casing to 309m.

Target: Oligocene age Osmancik Sandstone Formation in four way dip closure, with direct hydrocarbon indications on seismic. Target size, 30 billion cubic feet of gas recoverable, if gas is present.

Target Depth: 1525m to TD.

Proposed Total Depth: Between 1620 and 1900mKB.

Well Location: 150 kilometres west of Istanbul. Latitude 41(deg) 21'04"N, Longitude 27(deg) 46'E.

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BHP (6 OCTOBER 2000)

On 28 August 2000, BHP and Mitsubishi announced a joint cash offer by their jointly owned bidding vehicle, MetCoal.

BHP and Mitsubishi maintain the view that their $1.20 per share cash offer is highly attractive to QCT shareholders.

QCT's board released its Target's Statement on 2 October 2000 recommending QCT shareholders reject the MetCoal offer.

BHP and Mitsubishi do not believe there is anything in the Target's Statement to change their view that MetCoal's offer fully values QCT.

* BHP and Mitsubishi believe:

* Grant Samuel's valuation of QCT is highly optimistic; * QCT has limited strategic Value to third parties; and

* BHP and Mitsubishi are the only logical owners of QCT's assets.

In determining the merits of MetCoal's offer, QCT shareholders should be mindful of the consequences of rejection, including:

* The offer price represents a premium of 100% to the QCT closing price of $0.60 on 27 April 2000, approximately 4 months prior to the announcement of the MetCoal offer; and

* In spite of predictions by QCT and others to the contrary, no other offer has emerged from a third party.

As a consequence, QCT's share price would be expected to fall significantly in the absence of the Metcoal offer.

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BATTLE MOUNTAIN GOLD (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Battle Mountain Gold Company has said that development drilling during the summer at its Phoenix development project in Nevada continued to yield good results. The current reserve calculation stands at 6.1 million ounces. An updated reserve calculation will be reported at year end.

At the Pajingo Complex in Australia, where Battle Mountain has a 50% interest, recent drilling has focused on extending the limits of the Vera-Nancy ore horizon. Drilling along the northerly extension returned positive results from the Anne structure, 1,500 ft north of the Cindy pit, including 0.34 opt Au/12.5 ft and 0.43 opt Au/20 ft. Drilling along the southern extension has continued to expand Vera South and a significant new structure called Jandam has been identified 1,200 ft south of Vera South. Battle Mountain believes that the results are very favorable. Recent drill holes include 1.12 opt Au/27 ft, 0.68 opt Au/48 ft and 0.59 opt Au over 110 ft. Additionally, new drilling 2,200 ft further south has intersected a second new zone, the Zed structure, returning 0.53 opt Au/113 ft.

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CONTACT ENERGY (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 10,770,434

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CONQUEST MINING (6 OCTOBER 2000)

During September the first pass pitting and bulk sampling was completed for the Camel Yard area and two areas of gravels along Bow River. Sample hauling to the processing plant has been completed for the Camel Yard sample areas and is in progress for the Bow River gravel samples.

Heavy Media Separation sample processing commenced in September with 7 exploration bulk samples completed for a total of 688.50 tonnes during the month.

Concentrates for 5 exploration samples were shipped to Perth. Sorting of the first sample is currently in progress. Concentrate processing of the second sample has also commenced.

Pit excavation in the Camel Yard area discovered significant thicknesses of gravels south of the Argyle Diamond Mines lease boundary. 10 bulk sample pits were excavated and yielded a variety of gravel types, which were collected for bulk sampling processing. The geology of the rock clasts in the various gravels indicate derivation from the North and therefore from the area of the Argyle pipe.

In the Camel Yard area 48 exploration pits, totalling 147.75m, and 10 bulk sample pits were excavated, resulting in the collection of 12 bulk samples. All 12 samples were hauled to the processing plant during September, resulting in a total of 1,283 tonnes stockpiled on the sample pad.

A total of 74 pits totalling 137.6m, and 5 trenches totalling 109m, were dug on gravels adjacent to the Bow River. 7 bulk samples were excavated along the Bow River, with the first of these samples being hauled at month end.

Bulk sampling excavation is currently in progress in the Pandanus Yard area.

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EASTERN ALUMINIUM (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Eastern Aluminium Limited advises the ASX of the following changes that took effect on 1 October 2000:

(a) Mr Clive K Hall resigned as a director of the Company;

(b) Mr C Ross Bradfield resigned as a director of the Company;

(c) Mr Bruce Paterson resigned as company secretary of the Company;
and

(d) The Company's principal administrative office is now:

C/- Alcoa of Australia Limited
Corner of Davy and Marmion Streets
BOORAGOON WA 6154

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ENVIROSTAR ENERGY (6 OCTOBER 2000)

EnviroStar Energy Limited (EEL) announces that, following advanced negotiations last week with the Chinese Government's Ministry of Science and Technology and potential joint venture partners, EEL expects initial construction at its Dalian Coal Gasification Project to begin by the end of this year.

AUSTRALIA

STAPYLTON

EnviroStar has completed the bulk earth and site works at its renewable green waste to energy facility at Stapylton on the Gold Coast in Queensland and will celebrate the commencement of the foundation work with an initial concrete pour on Monday, 16th October, 2000.

EnviroStar is currently in advanced negotiations with a major international banker for the provision of project funding for the Stapylton facility. This facility is scheduled to come on line in late 2001 and will generate 20MW of electricity.

MORWELL

The company's second Australian-based renewable green waste to energy facility at Morwell in Victoria has already been issued with planning permits and construction of the Morwell facility will commence early in 2001.

The Morwell renewable green waste to energy facility will also produce 20MW electricity annually. Its estimated completion date is early 2002.

CAPITAL RAISING

EnviroStar is seeking a capital raising of $18,000,000 and has released an Information Memorandum for private capital placements.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

EnviroStar's Annual General Meeting for the year 2000 will be held in Sydney on Friday, 6th October, 2000. Copies of the company's Annual Report 2000 are now available.

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ESMERALDA EXPLORATION (6 OCTOBER 2000)

The Deed Administrators of Esmeralda advise that the directors of Esmeralda executed the Deed of Company Arrangement on 29 September 2000.

The Deed of Company Arrangement provides for the restructuring of Esmeralda's affairs in order that it continues in existence, whilst maximising the returns available to its creditors and shareholders.

It is proposed that control of Esmeralda will revert to its directors within the next fourteen (14) days, and that suspension of its shares on the Australian Stock Exchange will be lifted no later than December 2000.

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FIRST AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

CLEAR BRANCH FIELD, JACKSON PARISH, NORTH LOUISIANA

A 44-foot interval of the Cotton Valley formation in the Terry Ewing No 1 well has been perforated by Schlumberger. The well commenced flowing back load fluid and has been shut in overnight to evaluate pressure build up prior to testing over a two week period.

To prevent formation damage, it is planned to produce the well without stimulation at less than full capacity while the productive properties of the Cotton Valley are evaluated. Subject to testing the well may require fracture stimulation.

LAKE LONG FIELD, LAFOURCHE PARISH, SOUTH LOUISIANA

STATE LEASE 328 NO 6 WELL

The 7,350 Sand series has been perforated in the SL 328 No. 6 well. After unloading condensate and load fluid, the well commenced flowing gas and condensate at the rate of 700 thousand cubic feet per day on a 7/64-inch choke at a flowing tubing pressure of 3000 psi.

The choke size will be increased to 10/64 inch overnight and the well monitored. Sale of gas into the Columbia Gas Pipeline System commenced immediately. Henry hub gas is currently fetching US$5.32 per thousand cubic feet.

NW SEGMENT PROSPECT (STATE LEASE 328 NO 7 WELL)

The SL 328 No 7 well at Lake Long, a test of the NW Segment Prospect and is likely to spud during November. The planned deviated well will evaluate thirteen Miocene zones, eleven of which are productive in a major field fault block immediately south and adjacent to the NW Segment Fault Block. The southern block has produced 25 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Plans call for the test well to be drilled from a barge rig to a true vertical depth of 12,000 feet. The prospect is supported by a modern grid of 3D seismic tied to sub surface well control. Numerous bright spots are evident on seismic.

A well drilled in 1949 intersected 15 feet of gas bearing sands at the 5,500-foot Sand interval which were not produced at the time due to low gas prices. The field is supported by existing infrastructure connected to Columbia Gas Pipeline System.

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GOLDFIELDS (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Harmony Gold (Australia) Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited, announces that it has acquired 10,580,000 shares in Goldfields Limited at $1.425 per share from Sinclair General Corporation, a member of the Hanson Group.

The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory conditions precedent, takes Harmony's holding in Goldfields to 43,350,992 shares, or approximately 22.96% of all Goldfields shares. Harmony's holding was 19.96% before a recent placement by Goldfields.

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GOLD AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENTS (6 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary Fully paid Shares (GRD)
• Number of securities issued:
  3,377,601
• Issue price:
  One CRP converts to 1.25 Ordinary shares fully paid up
• Purpose of the issue
  Conversion of 7% Cumulative Redeemable converting Preference shares (ASX CODE: GRDPA) upon receipt of conversion election notices from holders wishing to convert.

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ICON OIL (6 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary
• Number of securities issued:
  1,500,000
• Issue price:
  10 cents
  
• Purpose of the issue
  Working capital

For company information, click here

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KIMBERLEY DIAMOND COMPANY (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Kimberley Diamond Company has confirmed the potential for a significant, economic, alluvial diamond deposit at its Blina Project in Western Australia after the latest round of bulk sample results demonstrated the continuity of high-grade diamondiferous gravels, and returned the second largest stone recovered to date.

The Company had received extremely encouraging results from processing bulk samples from Pit 63 (about 4 kilometres downstream from Pit 61 and 4 kilometres upstream from Pit 57). Pit 63 is the first of a series of samples designed to demonstrate the continuity of the Terrace 5 gravels following recent stunning results from Pit 61.

8.77 carats of diamonds were recovered from a 180-tonne sample of gravels taken from Pit 63, including one diamond weighing 2.86 carats, the second largest stone ever recovered by Kimberley at the Blina Project, located near Broome in WA's far north Kimberley region. Approximately 60 tonnes of material from Pit 63 are still being processed through the HMS Plant with further results expected in the next two weeks.

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KALREZ ENERGY (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Kalrez Energy announce that a significant event in the development of the Oseil oilfield took place on 3rd October 2000.

The Oseil Oil Field Development Phase 1 Engineering Procurement Installation and Commissioning Contract (EPIC) together with an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contract for the Phase 1 production period of approximately two years was signed with the successful tender.

The contract was awarded to a consortium of PT Istana Karang Laut (IKL) and Daewoo Corporation. IKL is a large privately owned Indonesian company established in 1981 to supply process equipment to the oil and gas industry. Daewoo is a major Korean diversified industrial group.

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MIM HOLDINGS (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Following major restructuring, including the sale of minority interests, MIM's assets in Europe have been reduced to three main operations. These zinc and lead processing operations - two in the United Kingdom and one in Germany - are closely associated with MIM's core mining activities.

It has been mutually agreed that Alan Pugh, Executive General Manager - Europe, will leave MIM at the end of December to pursue other interests.

The future organisation of the European assets will be the subject of a review that will take place over the next six months.

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MATRIX OIL (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Matrix Oil NL announces that it has entered into an agreement to obtain a 90% working interest in, and operatorship of, the Glagah Kambuna Technical Assistance Contract (TAC), located in the offshore part of the hydrocarbon prolific North Sumatra Basin. The contract covers an area of 350sqkm and is located in shallow waters just 40km northeast of the Indonesian National Oil Company's (Pertamina's) main producing areas in North Sumatra. The interest will be acquired from the current operator, PT Gunakarsa Glagah-Kambuna Energi, and is subject to due diligence and the required approvals from the Indonesia authorities.

The acquisition provides Matrix access to proven and probable reserves of 24 million barrels of oil and condensate and 60 billion cubic feet of gas in the Kambuna oil/gas/condensate discovery located within the Glagah Kambuna TAC (see map). Independent third party consultants acting for previous operators of the contract area calculated the reserve estimates.

The 90% interest in Glagah Kambuna TAC is being purchased for a total amount of US$1,961,786 with the majority of this amount not being due for payment until after the establishment of first commercial oil production from the TAC.

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NORWEST ENERGY (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Norwest Energy NL advises that during the last 24 hours Coleraine 1 drilled to a depth of 214m and has run 30 inch casing. The proposed Programme for the next 24 hours is to drill 16 inch hole and run 13 3/8 inch casing.

Coleraine 1 will be drilled updip and 12.5 kilometres west of the Minitaur 1 well which is interpreted to have intersected a 7m untested oil column in the Elang Formation and encountered significant Oil saturation's in the underlying Plover Formation. If filled to spill point the prospect has the potential to contain 150 million barrels of oil recoverable.

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OIL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Oil Company Of Australia Limited, on behalf of the PL 173 Joint Venture advises that:

Yandina no 04 a gas development/appraisal well, situated approximately 550 metres south-east of Yaninda No 02, latitude 24 deg 11 min 36.04 sec south, longitude 148 deg 30 min 38.35 sec east. The well was spudded at 01:30 hours on September 30,2000. At 06:00 hoursThursday the rig was at a depth of 648 metres RT and drilling ahead. 245 mm surface casing was set at 172.7 metres RT
progress for the week was 648 metres.

The primary targets of the well are the sands of the Freitag Formation and the upper and mid Aldebaran sandstone. Secondary targets are the Mantuan Formation, Catherine sandstone and the Staircase sandstone. Proposed total depth of the well is 1456 metres RT.

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PACIFIC ENERGY (6 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary shares
• Number of securities issued:
  Maximum number which may be issued is 10,000,000
• Issue price:
  $1.50 per share
• Purpose of the issue
  (a) subscribing for or acquiring Securities issued by EEC;
  
  (b) developing, constructing, owning or operating infrastructure facilities or infrastructure-related industrial facilities in any of the Qualifying Countries; or
  
  (c) for such other purpose as may be agreed to by the Subscriber and Company.

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PACMIN MINING (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 8,888,270

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PELSART RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary
• Number of securities issued:
  1,183,613,846
• Issue price:
  (1) 1,163,613,846 @ 1.5 cents per share
  (2) 20,000 @ 1 cent per share
• Purpose of the issue
  Conversion of debt of US$11,345,235 to equity for 1,163,613,846 shares.
  In conjunction with the above 20,000,000 shares for the cash.

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PETROZ (6 OCTOBER 2000)

The Annual General Meeting of Petroz NL is to be held on Thursday, 30 November 2000.

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QCT RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Metcoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in QCT Resources Limited on 04/10/2000, from 2,537,102 ordinary shares (0.37%) to 2,631,157 ordinary shares (0.38%).

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RANGER MINERALS (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Perpetual Trustees Australia Limited increased its relevant interest in Ranger Minerals Limited on 03/10/2000, from 5,543,119 ordinary shares (8.41%) to 6,480,216 ordinary shares (10.01%).

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RANGE RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Range Resources Ltd advises that as a consequence of the acquisition by Communication Intelligence Corporation Inc, "CIC" of certain PenOp assets including Intellectual Property, products and the installed customer base of PenOp as of September 29, 2000 PenOp Inc ('PenOp") has terminated the distribution agreement with Range's subsidiary, E-Com Asia Pacific Pty Ltd ('E-Com").

This agreement provided for the exclusive distribution of the PenOp electronic hand written signature software in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.

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SANTOS (6 OCTOBER 2000)

QUEENSLAND

WELL: Yandina 4
TYPE: Gas Appraisal/Development
LOCATION: PL 173, Denison Trough, Queensland. 0.55km SE of Yandina 2, 0.94km NE of Yandina 3 and some 80km SE of Emerald.
STATUS AT 05/10/2000
0600 HOURS: Drilling ahead. Current depth and progress for the
week is 648m. The well spudded on 30/9/00.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 1456m

OFFSHORE WESTERN AUSTRALIA

WELL: P83A
TYPE: Oil Development
LOCATION: L-IH, Barrow Island
STATUS AT 05/10/2000 0600 HOURS: The well has been cased and suspended. The well reached a total depth of 770m, with a 139m progress for the week. The rig was released on 1/10/00.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 782m

WELL: M63A
TYPE: Oil Development
LOCATION: L-IH, Barrow Island
STATUS AT 05/10/2000 0600 HOURS: Nippling up flow line having run and cemented 8 5/8" surface casing. Current depth and progress for the week is 226m. The well spudded on 2/10/00.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 741m

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

WELL: SE Gobe 8
TYPE: Oil Development
LOCATION: PDL 3, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. Tangential well being drilled from SE Gobe 1 location.
STATUS AT 04/10/2000 0500 HOURS: Running 9 5/8" casing following intermediate logging. (LOCAL TIME) Current depth is 2039m with 512m progress for the week.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 3626m MD
2362m TVD

USA

WELL: Runnels #3
TYPE: Gas Exploration
LOCATION: Ashland Deep Prospect, Matagorda County, Texas
STATUS AT 04/10/2000 0600 HOURS: Drilling ahead at 3984m with 745m progress for the week.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 4572m

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SANTOS (6 OCTOBER 2000)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

WELL: Moomba 120DW
TYPE: Gas Development
LOCATION: PPL 7, Moomba Block, 0.4km SW of Moomba 7, 1.8km S of Moomba 75, and some 10km E of the Moomba Gas Plant.
STATUS AT 05/10/2000 0600 HOURS: Pulling out of hole for bit change. Current measured depth is 3005m, with 479m progress for the week.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 3147m MD
2761m TVD

QUEENSLAND

WELL: Warnie 1
TYPE: SWQ Unit Gas Exploration
LOCATION: ATP 259, Aquitaine A Block, 8.4km W of Warnie East 1, 12.9km N of Lambda 1, and 72km SW of the Ballera Gas Centre.
STATUS AT 05/10/2000 0600 HOURS: Drilling ahead. Current depth is 2606m, with 440m progress for the week.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 2925m

WELL: Wackett 11

TYPE: SWQ Unit Gas Appraisal/Development
LOCATION: ATP 259, Aquitaine A Block, 2km NNW of Wackett 3, 3.9km NW of Wackett 9 and some 20km ESE of the Ballera Gas Centre.
STATUS AT 05/10/2000 0600 HOURS: Wackett 11 has been plugged and abandoned. The well reached a total depth of 1938m, with 14m progress for the week. The rig was released on 3/10/00 and is moving to Wackett South East 1, a PL 25 gas exploration well.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 1965m

WELL: Barrolka 4
TYPE: SWQ Unit Gas Development
LOCATION: PL 112, ATP 259P, Aquitaine B Block, 2.1km NE of Barrolka 1, 3.1km SSE of Barrolka 2, and 55km N of the Ballera Gas Centre.
STATUS AT 05/10/2000 0600 HOURS: Running in hole with new bit to drill ahead. Current depth is 2450m, with 1530m progress for the week.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 2652m

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SANTOS (6 OCTOBER 2000)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

WELL: Burke East 1
TYPE: Gas Exploration
LOCATION: PPL 12, Toolachee Block, 2.3km NE of Burke 6, 2.6km E of Burke 1, and some 70km E of the Moomba Gas Plant.
STATUS AT 05/10/2000 0600 HOURS: Pressure testing surface equipment having set 7 (5/8)" surface casing. Current depth and progress for the week is 824m. The well spudded on 01/10/00.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 2652m

WELL: Big Lake 65
TYPE: Gas Development
LOCATION: PPL II, Moomba Block, 0.4km N of Big Lake 9, 0.3km S of Big Lake 36, and some 13km SE of the Moomba Gas Plant.
STATUS AT 05/10/2000 0600 HOURS: Running in hole to drill extra production rathole following wireline logging. Current depth is 3010m, with 480m progress for the week.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 3031m

WELL: Merrimelia 40
TYPE: Gas Development
LOCATION: PPL 17, Merrimelia Innamincka Block, 0.26km N of Merrimelia 12, 0.51km W of Merrimelia 14 and some 40km NNW of the Moomba Gas Plant.
STATUS AT 05/10/2000 0600 HOURS: Conducting wireline logging operations at total depth. The well reached a total depth of 2423m, with 664m progress for the week.
PLANNED TOTAL DEPTH: 2463m

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STRATA MINING CORPORATION (6 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announce that it has received a copy of an application lodged with the Corporations & Securities Panel by Janice Irene Franke, Wordtown Pty Ltd and Gail Ann Oats holders of 80, Nil and 2,200, shares in St Barbara Mines Limited respectively.
The application seeks a declaration and orders concerning the proposed merger of St Barbara Mines Limited and Taipan Resources NL and makes allegations against Strata Mining Corporation NL.

The Company denies the allegations and considers that the relief sought in the application should not be granted. As a consequence, the Company will vigorously oppose the application, the allegations referred to and the relief sought.

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SONS OF GWALIA (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 2,919,423

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SONS OF GWALIA (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Members of Sons of Gwalia Ltd will be held as follows:

10:30 am
Friday 1O November 2000
Swan Room
Perth Parmelia Hilton Hotel
14 Mill Street
Perth

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ST BARBARA MINES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that the Meekatharra Gold Project has just completed a record quarterly production with 41,780 ounces produced in the three month period to 30 September, 2000. The previous record was 39,382 ounces produced in the 1994 June quarter.

Reconciled production for the quarter was 753,463 tonnes at a head grade of 1.89g/t and mill recovery of 91.2%.

Mining resumed at the project in March this year with a pit cut-back at Caledonian. Since then, developments at Magazine and Great Northern Highway open pits have also contributed to the mill feed.

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SMC RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

On Thursday, 5th October, SMC Resources Limited convened a general meeting of all its shareholders at which a number of resolutions were passed by shareholders as either special resolutions or ordinary resolutions according to the nature of each individual resolution, the effect of which was to facilitate the restructuring of the company in connection with the acquisition of a technology company, Powerise Technology Australia Pty Ltd.

At the meeting of shareholders, the resolutions were all passed on a show of hands.

For full details, click here

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STRAITS RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

The Directors of Straits Resources Limited announce that Mr Alvin David Toms has been appointed Executive Chairman of the Company. As foreshadowed at the Company's annual general meeting in May, the relocation of Straits' head office to Perth later this month has made it timely for Dr Garry Lowder to Step down as chairman. Dr Lowder has agreed to remain on the Board as a non-executive director.

Dr Lowder's guidance through difficult times, his wise counsel and his strong commitment to the long-term success of Straits Resources Limited are much appreciated by his fellow directors.

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TAIPAN RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company recently undertook to advise shareholders further on the proposed takeover bid by Troy Resources in advance of the meeting at which the shareholders will be asked to vote on the proposal for Taipan to merge with St Barbara Mines.

The meeting to consider the Taipan/SBM merger will be reconvened at 10:00am on Thursday 12 October 2000.

Troy has announced its intention to make a conditional cash offer of 7.6 cents per Taipan fully paid share and 0.65 cents per Taipan partly paid share. Under the Corporations Law, Troy has 2 months from announcing its intention to serve its bidder's statement on Taipan.

The directors responded to the Troy announcement with a request for additional information on the Troy proposal, including the likely timing of the service of Troy's bidder's statement. Troy's response was that the information sought would be provided in the bidder's statement, which at the date of this letter had not been received.

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TAIPAN RESOURCES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Or 29 September 2000, the Company announced that the directors were considering whether the claim of $7,581,767.70 made against St Barbara Mines Limited by Westgold Resources NL for non-reporting of certain alleged price sensitive information by SBM on 13 April 1997, had any effect on the directors' support for the proposed Taipan SBM merger. The directors have been advised by SMB's solicitors, Minter Ellison, that the allegations giving rise to the Claim appear to be misguided and that any proceedings which may be issued by Westgold would be vigorously defended by SBM.

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TAP OIL (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Tap advises that the Nettie-1 exploration well spudded at 0400 hours on 5 October 2000.

LOCATION

The well is located in TP/8, at latitude 20deg59'19.90"S and longitude 115deg44'27.50"E.

PROGRESS

As at 6.00am Thursday, the well has drilled ahead to 85 metres measured depth and will continue to drill ahead to the planned total depth of 1,400 metres measured depth.

TAP COMMENT

The Nettie structural feature is an elongate, north-south trending, downthrown fault closure. The primary reservoir target is the M. australis-P. burgerii Mardie Greensand which by analogy with Narvik, 15 km to the north northeast, is expected to have good reservoir properties. The secondary target is the Mungaroo Formation which is also expected to have good reservoir properties with porosities, by analogy to the Gipsy area (significantly deeper), expected to range from 13% to 23%.

The well is expected to take 5 days to reach its projected total depth of 1,400 metres measured depth. Should it be successful, mean reserves are estimated at 15 mmbbls for the Mardie Greensand and 22 mmbbls for the Mungaroo Formation.

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WEST OIL (6 OCTOBER 2000)

COLERAINE-1 DRILLING ON TRACK AFTER SPUDDING

West Oil NL has announced that drilling of the Coleraine-1 well, located in the Timor Sea, is at 124 metres after spudding early Wednesday morning.

As of this morning, the 30' conductor had been run, set and cemented. Current operations are preparing to drill ahead with in the 16 hole.

Coleraine-1 is located in 68 meters of water and will be drilled to a total depth of 3,322 metres. It is only 35 kms northeast of the production facilities of the Elang oilfield and is 40 kms north-northeast of the Bayu-Undan gas condensate field.

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WMC (6 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that Mr D J Brydon has retired as a Director of WMC Limited, effective Wednesday 4 October, 2000.

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WMC (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 5,131,450

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ZIMBABWE PLATINUM MINES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

RESPONSE TO ASX QUERY

1. Zimplats is not aware of any reason for this price increase other than on-going discussions, in the normal course of business, are taking place to secure debt and equity funding for the Ngezi/SMC project and in addition discussions continue with potential technical partners in the project.

2. Zimplats does not have any other explanation other than there could be possible speculation by some investors as to the final outcome of these ongoing negotiations in the normal course of business.

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ZIMBABWE PLATINUM MINES (6 OCTOBER 2000)

Zimbabwe Platinum Mines Limited (ZIMPLATS) North Sydney have relocated to new premises effective Thursday 5 October 2000:

Level 4
20 Loftus Street
Sydney NSW 2000

PO Box R177
Royal Exchange
Sydney NSW 2000

Telephone: 61 2 9252 7880/7881
Facsimile: 61 2 9252 7882

ASHANTI GOLDFIELDS COMPANY (5 OCTOBER 2000)

Situation Report

OPERATIONS

At Obuasi the high cost surface mining activity has ceased and consequently the Pompora Treatment Plant and the Oxide Treatment Plant have been closed down. The Tailing's Treatment Plant will be shut down by 2003, when the old tailings will be depleted. Ashanti will not, as previously planned, increase underground production to replace depleted surface ounces, so plant throughput will reduce from 3.5 million tonnes per annum to 2.5 million tonnes per annum.

EXPLORATION

Recent drilling below the 5,000-foot level ("50 Level") at Obuasi has produced some very high-grade inter-sections, and the prediction of down dip mineralisation based on the upper level history is not unrealistic. The Company is planning, over the course of 2000 and 2001, to complete exploration and conceptual engineering of the resource below "50 Level", and should then be in a position to decide upon the most suitable development option for the resource below "50 Level".

At Geita, in addition to the 5.5 million ounce reserve that is currently outlined, the Company believes there is the potential for more open pit resources spread out between Nyankanga, Nyamatigata and Nyamulilma Hill (once the latter is contributed by AngloGold to the JV). The Company also believes that there is potential for underground mines at Nyankanga as well as at the Geita, Lone Cone and Kukuluma deposits.

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ASHANTI GOLDFIELDS COMPANY (5 OCTOBER 2000)

Situation Report

OPERATIONS

At Obuasi the high cost surface mining activity has ceased and consequently the Pompora Treatment Plant and the Oxide Treatment Plant have been closed down. The Tailing's Treatment Plant will be shut down by 2003, when the old tailings will be depleted. Ashanti will not, as previously planned, increase underground production to replace depleted surface ounces, so plant throughput will reduce from 3.5 million tonnes per annum to 2.5 million tonnes per annum.

EXPLORATION

Recent drilling below the 5,000-foot level ("50 Level") at Obuasi has produced some very high-grade inter-sections, and the prediction of down dip mineralisation based on the upper level history is not unrealistic. The Company is planning, over the course of 2000 and 2001, to complete exploration and conceptual engineering of the resource below "50 Level", and should then be in a position to decide upon the most suitable development option for the resource below "50 Level".

At Geita, in addition to the 5.5 million ounce reserve that is currently outlined, the Company believes there is the potential for more open pit resources spread out between Nyankanga, Nyamatigata and Nyamulilma Hill (once the latter is contributed by AngloGold to the JV). The Company also believes that there is potential for underground mines at Nyankanga as well as at the Geita, Lone Cone and Kukuluma deposits.

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ASHTON MINING (5 OCTOBER 2000)

De Beers has announced that it intends to raise its Offer price for all shares in Ashton Mining Limited (Ashton) in a cash transaction valued at approximately A$745 million.

This revised Offer has been recommended by the Board of Ashton (in the absence of a higher offer). In addition, Ashton directors have advised that they intend to accept De Beers' revised Offer for their personal shareholdings (in the absence of a higher offer).

PRICE INCREASE

The revised Offer price of A$2.28 per Ashton share represents an increase of:

* 45% over De Beers' initial Offer price of A$1.57 per Ashton share (excluding the A$0.05 interim dividend paid by Ashton on September 14, 2000); and

* 23% over Rio Tinto Limited's cash offer price of A$1.85 per Ashton share.

Under De Beers' revised Offer, shareholders will be entitled to retain the A$0.05 interim dividend already paid by Ashton, without reduction of De Beers' revised Offer price.

De Beers' revised Offer lies within the valuation range of A$2.23 to A$2.70 assessed by the independent expert KPMG.

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ASHTON MINING (5 OCTOBER 2000)

Capricorn Diamonds Investments Pty Limited & Rio Tinto Limited changed its/his/her relevant interest in Ashton Mining Limited on N/A, from 64,277,891 ordinary shares (19.9%) to 64,277,891 ordinary shares (19.9%).

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ASHTON MINING (5 OCTOBER 2000)

Ashton Mining Limited welcomes the announcement by De Beers Australia Holdings Pty Limited that it intends to increase its offer price for all shares in Ashton to $2.28 per share and to extend its offer until 27 October 2000.

In the absence of a higher offer, Ashton's Directors recommend that shareholders accept the revised De Beers' offer. Ashton Directors intend to accept the revised offer for their personal shareholdings, in the absence of a higher offer.

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BULLION MINERALS (5 OCTOBER 2000)

Aidan John Cunningham became a substantial shareholder in Bullion Minerals Limited on 03/10/2000 with a relevant interest in the issued share capital of 1,800,174 ordinary shares (5.9%).

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COEUR D'ALENE MINES (5 OCTOBER 2000)

Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation reported increased production and sharply lower production costs at its Coeur Silver Valley operations near Wallace, Idaho. For the months of June, July and August, production averaged 371,000 ounces of silver per month, a 36% increase or 98,000 ounces per month above the average for the first five months of 2000. Cash costs during the same three-month period declined to an average of $4.08 per ounce from $5.47 per ounce during the first five months of the year and well below the 1999 average of $5.09 per ounce. A combination of factors has contributed to this significant improvement in operating performance. These include greater productivity, increased production from higher grade stopes and higher throughput as a result of accelerated underground development.

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KAGARA ZINC (5 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary
• Number of securities issued:
  5,000,000
• Issue price:
  30 cents per share
  
• Purpose of the issue
  To fund the acquisition of the Balcooma Project from Lachlan Resources NL

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MACMIN (5 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company's audited Financial Report, Audit Report, Directors' Report and Corporate Governance Statement for the year ended 30 June 2000 are now available.

The Annual General Meeting of Shareholders will be held at the "Skylight Room" of the Gold Coast Arts Centre, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise, Queensland on Friday,
24 November 2000 at 2.00pm.

For full report, click here

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PETROZ (5 OCTOBER 2000)

FLETCHER CHALLENGE ENERGY PROPOSAL REJECTED AT SHAREHOLDER MEETING

Petroz advises that, at a General Meeting held today, shareholders voted against the proposal to make a placement to Fletcher Challenge Energy Limited and have FCE fully underwrite a 3:5 Rights Issue.

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MACMIN (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Macmin Ltd is a diversified company to the extent that it has four distinct interests as follows:

1. At Texas, in SE Queensland, the company has an Inferred Resource of 35M ozs silver, within which, at the Twin Hills site, is an Indicated/Measured Resource of 15M ozs silver equivalent.

There is a Probable Reserve of just over 10M ozs Ag equivalent. Geological, geochemical and geophysical evidence suggests the district wide silver potential is of the order of 50 to 100M ozs silver.

2. Macmin have eight high potential gold and copper projects in Papua New Guinea. All projects are at an advanced exploration or pre-development stage with defined resources or have potentially economic drill intercepts. Two gold projects are at the feasibility stage for development of small, but high-grade gold mines.

3. Macmin has one gold project in N.E. Tasmania requiring a major drilling program to test previously defined geochemical and structural targets that may be indicative of substantial gold mineralisation.

4. The company has been offered to participate in metals remediation technology, otherwise known as the metals contamination cleanup industry, by acquiring a 10% interest in a USA Company, Metals Treatment Technologies LLC (MT2 ).

For further information, click here

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HERALD RESOURCES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Herald's subsidiary, International Annax Ventures Inc. (IAX), reports as follows:

Hole 34, collared at 9570N, 5156E, and inclined 87o to 253o mag., has encountered a well-mineralised zinc/lead massive sulphide intercept from 287.5-311.2m, a thickness of 23.7 metres. The estimated true width of the intercept is 20.5 metres.

This successful intersection demonstrates a further 130m SE extension of the Anjing Hitam mineralised zone, and perhaps even more importantly suggests that the trend is continuing past blank Hole 21, drilled in 1999 at 9536N, 5074E, and which was previously thought to represent a southern cut-off of the mineralisation.

For further information, click here

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PRECIOUS METALS (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Ryan's Notes - FeV producers look to others to cut back

Reuters News Service, Interview – Xstrata CEO rules out vanadium cutbacks

Metal Bulletin - Vanadium market hit by more low prices

Metal Bulletin - Vanadium prices pass below barriers in USA and Europe

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MINERAL DEPOSITS (4 OCTOBER 2000)

The directors announce that the operating performance of the 100%-owned Hawks Nest mineral sand facility, located some 80 kilometres north of Newcastle in New South Wales, will be considerably improved by the decision of the board to approve early recommencement of dredging at Viney Creek. The securing of additional product sales next year, coupled with the prevailing lower Australian dollar in US dollar terms, were material in arriving at this decision.

For further information, click here

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MACMIN (4 OCTOBER 2000)

The directors advise that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission have issued a Certificate of Registration on Change of Type as a result of the resolution passed by shareholders in General Meeting on 27 June 2000.

The company is now a company limited by shares rather than a no liability company and is now known as Macmin Ltd.

For further information, click here

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ASHANTI GOLDFIELDS (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Further to the announcement on 14 September 2000 that Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited has secured the consent of its banks for an extension of both the US$100 million Barclays Bridge Facility and the date for completion of the sale of a 50% interest in its Geita gold mine in Tanzania to AngloGold Limited until 31 October, 2000. The extension provides further time for the Company and its banks to seek to finalise revisions toAshanti's financing arrangements in connection with the Geitatransaction, which have already been agreed in principle.

The Company will issue a circular to shareholders seeking approval of the Geita transaction once the financing arrangements with the banks have been agreed and documented and the requisite formal consents to the transaction have been obtained from the banks. Should the Geita sale not be completed by 31 October 2000 (or any later extension thereof) then, unless a standstill or other accommodation was reached, the Company would be in default under the terms of the Bridge Facility. If this were to occur, it would cross default into the Company's other debt facilities, all of which would become due for repayment. The Company's ability to continue as a going concern should the Geita sale not be completed by 31 October 2000 (or any later extension thereof) would depend, therefore, entirely upon an extension of the Company's banking facilities while an alternative solution was sought.

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AMADEUS PETROLEUM (4 OCTOBER 2000)

The Directors of Amadeus Petroleum NL advise that the close off date for receipt of the entitlement and acceptance form of the current Option Issue has been extended from Wednesday, 4 October 2000 to 5:00 pm WST Friday, 13 October 2000.

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AMITY OIL (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Gocerler-1 Well Progress Report

Depth at Midnight, 3 October rig time; (0500 Hrs 4 Oct WST): 1261m KB.
24 Hr Drill Advance: 61m.

Geology: 1200-1230m Siltstone, grey, calcareous, 70%.
Shale, dark grey, 30%.
1230-1246m Sandstone, white, quartz, clay cement, fair porosity. 1246-1260m Siltstone, grey, calcareous, 80%.
Shale, dark grey, 20%. (Danismen Formation).

Hydrocarbons; Background Total Gas, 0 to 0.8%. Total Gas peaks, 1240-1242m, 60% (C(1) 50%, C(3) 3%) 1242-1246m, 20-35% (C(1) 18-30%, C(3) 1.2%).

Operations Last 24 Hrs: Drill 311mm (12 (1/4) inch) hole to 1257m. Pull out of hole and change bit, continue to drill ahead.

PROPOSED OPERATIONS
Next 24 hrs: Drill ahead in 311mm (12(1/4) inch) hole towards next casing point at 1525m.
Last Casing: 340mm. (13(3/8) inch) casing to 309m.
Target: Oligocene age Osmancik Sandstone Formation in four way dip closure, with direct hydrocarbon indications on seismic. Target size, 30 billion cubic feet of gas recoverable, if gas is present.
Target Depth: 1525m to TD.
Proposed Total Depth: Between 1620 and 1900mKB.

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BHP / WOODSIDE PETROLEUM (4 OCTOBER 2000)

The North West Shelf Venture is spending $2.7 million on modifying its gas plant at Karratha to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 300,000 tonnes a year.

The Venture is changing the liquefaction process where natural gas is cooled to minus 160 degrees Celsius for export, mainly to Japan. The greenhouse gas savings, measured as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), represent 6% of the plant's current omissions.

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BHP / QCT RESOURCES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Metcoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in QCT Resources Limited on 03/10/2000, from 2,310,804 ordinary shares (0.34%) to 2,537,102 ordinary shares (0.37%).

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BULLION MINERALS (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Nickel explorer, Bullion Minerals' debut on the stockmarket was 17.5 per cent below their issue price of 20c. The shares hit a high of 16.5c and closed at 14c with turnover of 382,250.

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CONTACT ENERGY (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 10,880,434

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DEEPGREEN MINERALS CORPORATION (4 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  (i) Ordinary fully paid shares
  (ii)8% Cum Red Conv Pref shares
• Number of securities issued:
  (i) 1,120
  (ii) 61,670
• Issue price:
  N/A
• Purpose of the issue
  (i) Conversion of 56 Preference shares to ordinary shares at twenty to one
  (ii) 61,670 options exercised only

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EMPEROR MINES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Emperor Mines Limited announces that following a year in which Emperor achieved record unit costs and production levels, Managing Director Colin Patterson who has been with the company for nearly 9 years, will be handing over his executive role on 31 October 2000 to Greg Starr, the company's current finance-director.

Mr Patterson will remain as a non-executive director.

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GOLD AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENTS (4 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary Fully paid Shares (GRD)
• Number of securities issued:
  3,377,601
• Issue price:
  One CRP converts to 1.25 Ordinary shares fully paid up.
  
• Purpose of the issue
  Conversion of 7% Cumulative Redeemable converting Preference shares (ASX CODE: GRDPA) upon receipt of conversion election notices from holders wishing to convert.
  

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GOLDEN WEST REFINING CORPORATION (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Golden West Refining Corporation Limited report two major achievements by its Australian refining operation, GWRC & partner, Gold Corporation, congratulate the management and staff of the AGR Joint Venture in winning a major refining contract and, in reaching agreement on increasing its interest in Metals Refining Operations, after many years of negotiation.

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ILUKA RESOURCES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 19,173,502.

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INDIAN MINING CORPORATION (4 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary fully paid shares
• Number of securities issued:
  3,187,670
• Issue price:
  N/A
• Purpose of the issue
  Conversion of 318,767 Preference shares to ordinary shares at ten to one. (50,000 option exercised included in the above)

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IVANHOE MINES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

STOCK OPTION PLAN

During late September 2000, 229,000 incentive stock options that had been granted to Mr Douglas Kirwin, an Eligible Director of the Company and Mr Jaime Troncoso and Paul Rickard, Eligible Employees of the Company, under the Plan during October 1997 with an exercise price of $6.74 per share, were cancelled by mutual agreement.

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KINGS MINERALS (4 OCTOBER 2000)

The directors of Kings Minerals NL announce that as of close of business Friday 29 September 2000 Company Secretary PLV Walsh resigns as Secretary of the Kings Group of companies.

Mr AJ McDonald our joint secretary remains in position and will continue as the Company Secretary.

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KAGARA ZINC (4 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary
• Number of securities issued:
  5,000,000
• Issue price:
  30 cents per share
• Purpose of the issue
  To fund the acquisition of the Balcooma Project from Lachlan Resources NL

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MARLBOROUGH RESOURCES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

MARLBOROUGH RESOURCES NL (MBG) announces that there has been a high level of acceptances of the recent call on partly paid shares.

So far, approximately $555,429 has been received, representing about 94% of the total amount called.

The final call was 2.7 cents per partly paid share to convert 21,820,482 partly paid shares to fully paid shares.

Owing to the recent Olympic Games and school holidays, some late acceptances have been received over the past week. It is expected that further acceptances will be received over the next two weeks.

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MONTO MINERALS (4 OCTOBER 2000)

GOONDICUM CRATER ILMENITE & TITANO-MAGNETITE PROJECT TRIALS ON CRATER
LEASE (ML 80044) NEARING COMPLETION

Thickener, tailings deposition and rehabilitation trials on the Goondicum Crater Lease to ensure the mined areas are returned to existing or better pasture are in progress. Onsite activities will be completed next week. Results to date have been very encouraging.

This program involves the processing of representative, naturally occurring sand silt and clay sized material to produce mineral concentrates and tailings. The ilmenite occurring in the concentrate will be extracted for synthetic rutile production testwork. The sand size tailings are re-mixed with thickened clay and silt tailings which then form a stable profile for restoration of the mined areas. The restored and rehabilitated areas will be monitored to establish the best conditions for full scale operations.

The pilot plant program is being conducted by a group of specialists with extensive experience including the mineral sands industry in Western Australia.

The efficient and environmentally appropriate treatment of tailings is one of the critical factors for a mining operation. The Company expects that this is the final "on lease" testwork necessary prior to the completion of feasibility studies.

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MOLOPO AUSTRALIA (4 OCTOBER 2000)

The Directors of Molopo announce that encouraging gas flows have been recorded from the two recently completed wells at its Liulin CBM project in China.

The LW-L1 well is producing steadily increasing amounts of gas. On October 2nd, this rate reached 28,000 SCFD and production is expected to increase continuously as reservoir pressure is reduced.

The LW-L3 well is producing gas at approximately 7,000 SCFD and this level is expected to increase significantly with the onset of gas desorption. LW-L3 is currently producing 817 bwpd, giving a strong indication of the excellent fluid conductivity of the reservoir on which basis high gas production rates are expected.

Two wells remain to be completed in the 4 well production test. LW-L2 requires re-drilling at the contractor's expense, which is expected to commence shortly. The HW-L1B well has encountered delays in its cavitation completion but is expected to be on stream over the next 4 weeks.

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NEWCREST MINING (4 OCTOBER 2000)

New South Wales Premier, Bob Carr has announced the granting of Development Consent for the Ridgeway Gold Mine being built by Newcrest Mining Limited near Orange in New South Wales. The Newcrest Board has already approved $286 million for the project's full development.

The project, which is adjacent to Newcrest's Cadia Hill Gold Mine, is based upon an estimated ore reserve of 32 million tonnes grading 2.7g/t gold and 0.76% copper. Contained gold is estimated at 2.8 million ounces. Trial mining is currently underway and a ramp-up to fullscale underground mining is expected to be achieved by the end of 2002 using Sublevel Caving. The mine has a planned life of 12 years with an expected production rate of 4 million tonnes per annum for the initial 7 years. An operational work force of 200 will be employed peaking at 450 during construction. Substantial spin off employment will be generated throughout New South Wales.

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NORMANDY MINING (4 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary fully paid shares
• Number of securities issued:
  13,681,001 ordinary shares
• Issue price:
  $1.06 per ordinary fully paid share
• Purpose of the issue
  Issue of shares pursuant to the Company's Dividend Reinvestment Plan and Share Investment Plan

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NUGOLD HILL MINES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary fully paid shares
• Number of securities issued:
  250,000
• Issue price:
  20 cents
• Purpose of the issue
  Exercise of Options

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NORWEST ENERGY / WEST OIL (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Norwest Energy NL advises that the Coleraine 1 well commenced drilling at 01.30 hours Central Standard (Darwin) Time, 4th October 2000, current operation, drilling ahead.

Coleraine 1 will be drilled updip and 12.5 kilometres west of the Minitaur 1 well which is interpreted to have intersected a 7m untested oil column in the Elang Formation and encountered significant Oil saturation's in the underlying Plover Formation. If filled to spill point the prospect has the potential to contain 150 million barrels of oil recoverable.

During 1999 Phillips Oil Company farmed into ZOCA96-16 for the drilling of Coleraine 1. Under terms of that agreement Norwest will fund 5.714% of the drilling and if warranted, costs of the Coleraine 1 well to retain 14% interest in the PSC.

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NORWEST ENERGY / WEST OIL (4 OCTOBER 2000)

West Oil NL announces that as at 6:00am (WST) Wednesday, 4th October, Coleraine-1 was drilling ahead at 117 metres in 36" hole. Coleraine-1 spudded at midnight on 3rd October and today's operations are to drill to casing point and run, set and cement the 30" conductor.

Coleraine-1 will test the large Coleraine fault block which straddles the border with ZOCA 91-12 and has P50 potential recoverable reserves of 150 million barrels. The well is 12.5 kilometres west and updip of Minotaur-1 which is interpreted to have intersected a 7 metre oil column in the Late Jurassic Elang Formation sandstone.

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QCT RESOURCES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Metcoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in QCT Resources Limited on 03/10/2000, from 2,310,804 ordinary shares (0.34%) to 2,537,102 ordinary shares (0.37%).

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SONS OF GWALIA (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 2,921,423

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SELWYN MINES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

AREA 276 MINERAL RESOURCE

The has recently completed a Mineral Resource Estimate for the Area 276 deposit, incorporating results form surface diamond drilling conducted since April 2000 and previously reported.

The deposit, hosted by multiple lenses and units of massive and near-massive magnetite-haematite ironstones, is located approximately 3 kilometres north-northwest of the Selwyn Plant. The Area 276 resource study applies to a zone approximately 400 metres long within a north-south trending belt of known shear-controlled gold-copper mineralisation stretching in total over 8 kilometres, from south of the Area 222 mine to the Area 306 prospect north of Area 276. Area 276 was mined by underground methods from late calendar 1997 until March 1999 when production was suspended. A total of approximately 0.33 million tonnes of mainly oxide ore at 2.1% copper and 3.8g/t gold has been mined to date from Area 276.

The Area 276 mine has been on care and maintenance since March 1999. The Company has embarked on a study to determine the feasibility of recommencing mining operations.

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SELWYN MINES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

MT ELLIOTT/CORBOULD MINERAL RESOURCE

The Company has recently completed a Mineral Resource Estimate for the Mt Elliott/Corbould deposit, incorporating the results from underground stope-definition and intra-resource diamond drilling conducted since April 2000.

The deposit, hosted within a northwesterly striking fault-bounded sequence of calc-silicate altered and bleached phyllites and carbonaceous siltstones, is located approximately 16 kilometres east-northeast of the Selwyn Plant. A total of approximately 2.91 million tonnes at 3.4% copper and 1.7g/t gold has been mined to June 2000 from the Mt Elliott Upper and Lower Zones and the Corbould Zone.

Current production from underground is at the rate of approximately 610,000 tonnes of ore per annum.

The company is currently undertaking detailed cutoff grade analyses for the Mt Elliot mine due to the recent increase in the Australian dollar copper price prior to completing a new reserve estimate.

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SELWYN MINES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Copper and gold producer, Selwyn Mines Limited has announced an increase in the Mineral Resource Estimates of three deposits as its Selwyn Project, situated approximately 150 kilometres southwest of Mt Isa, north-west Queensland.

For Mt Elliott/Corbould and Area 276, the Company developed a number of mineral resource estimates at various cutoff grades and found that the mineralisation tonnage and contained copper equivalent metal increases rapidly as the cutoff grade is reduced.

PROFIT RESULT 15% ABOVE PROSPECTUS FORECAST

In September, Selwyn announced an annual profit after tax of A$1.118 million for the year ended 30 June 2000, a 15% increase on the profit forecast outlined in the Company's May 2000 Prospectus.

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TAIPAN RESOURCES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

N M Rothschild Australia Holdings Pty Limited increased its relevant interest in Taipan Resources NL on 28/09/2000, from 18,950,000 ordinary shares (10.01%) to 20,360,000 ordinary shares (10.75%).

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VICTORIA PETROLEUM (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Fiscal results for the year ended June 30, 2000.

Highlights of this report are the 68% increase in oil and gas sales revenues resulting from higher oil and gas prices and the 390% increase in total proved gas reserves to 24.5 billion cubic feet and 35% increase in oil reserves to 387,000 barrels.

Victoria Petroleum NL through its 18.4% shareholding in Kestrel Energy Inc, a US NASDAQ listed company (NASDAQ Small Cap-Kest), has an 18.4% indirect interest as at June 30, 2000 in Kestrel Energy Inc's proven and probable gas and oil recoverable reserves of 33.6 billion cubic feet of gas and 661,000 barrels of oil.

The proved and probable gas and oil reserves reported by Kestrel Energy, Inc have as at June 30, 2000 a Net Present Value of US$49.8 million (A$89 million) at a discount rate of 10%.

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AURIDIAM CONSOLIDATED (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Notice is hereby given that the fourteenth Annual General Meeting of the members of Auridiam Consolidated NL will be held in the Conference Room, 28th level, AMP Building, 140 St George's Terrace, Perth, Western Australia at 10.00am on Tuesday, 31 October 2000.

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AUSTRALIAN GAS LIGHT COMPANY (4 OCTOBER 2000)

AGL and ACTEW have completed and undertaken financial close of the joint venture between AGL and ACTEW, the ACT Government owned utility. This establishes Australia's first multi utility, with interests in electricity and gas networks and energy retailing businesses, water and sewerage services and data transmission.

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ANACONDA NICKEL (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Anaconda Nickel Limited reports that their operation at Murrin Murrin produced 1,709 tonnes of nickel and 132 tonnes of cobalt for the month of September.

This is an increase of 49 percent for nickel and a 67 percent increase for cobalt compared to production achieved in August, and continues the normal ramp up and commissioning operations of Murrin Murrin in its first year since mechanical completion was achieved.

Quarterly production totalled 4,118 tonnes of nickel and 304 tonnes of cobalt, a quarterly increase of 47 percent and 40 percent respectively.

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AMITY OIL (4 OCTOBER 2000)

GOCERLER-1 WELL, REPUBLIC OF TURKEY
PROGRESS REPORT 03/10/2000

DEPTH AT MIDNIGHT, 2 OCTOBER RIG TIME:
(0500 Hrs 3 Oct WST): 1200m KB

24HR DRILL ADVANCE: 61m

GEOLOGY: 1139-1142m Danismen Formation. Coal, dark brownish black, coloured. 1142-1196m Danismen Formation. Millstone (40-80%), dirty white grayish light green, soft carbonated, pyritic and micaceous, rarely milky. Shale (20-60%), dark grayish green coloured, brittle, pyritic and micaceous, only a little carbonated, laminated. 1196-1200m Danismen Formation. Sandstone, white coloured, scattered, it consists of thin granular sharp cornered quartz, well sorted weak cementation, inter-grain, high to middle porosity.

HYDROCARBONS: Peak gas of 25% C(1) and 2.5% C(3) at 1196-1200m.

OPERATIONS LAST 24 HRS: Drill 311mm (12(1/4) inch) hole to 1200m, conduct hole surveys, wiper trips, ream hole, change bottom hole assembly.

PROPOSED OPERATIONS NEXT 24 HRS: Drill ahead in 311mm (12(1/4) inch hole towards next casing point at 1525m.

LAST CASING: 340mm (13(3/8) inch) casing to 309m.

TARGET: Oligocene age Osmancik Sandstone Formation in four way dip closure, with direct hydrocarbon indications on seismic. Target size, 30 billion cubic feet of gas recoverable, if gas is present.

TARGET DEPTH: 1525m to TD.

PROPOSED TOTAL DEPTH: Between 1620 and 1900m KB.

WELL LOCATION: 150 kilometres west of Istanbul. Latitude 41degrees 21'04"N, Longitude 27degrees 46'E.

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BHP / QUANTUM RESOURCES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company announces that it has entered into a Farm-in and Joint Venture agreement with BHP Minerals Pty Ltd over BHPM's King George Prospect, located approximately 20 kilometres west of Moonta, in the Spencer Gulf of South Australia and covered by ELA 2000/25.

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BHP / WOODSIDE PETROLEUM (4 OCTOBER 2000)

WA-271-P
ENFIELD-3

Woodside Petroleum Ltd reports that the Enfield-3 appraisal well located in the Exmouth Sub-basin flowed at a maximum of 7026 barrels of oil and 1.58 MMscf of gas per day through a 72/64 inch choke from 51 metres of perforations.

WA-9-L
CAVALIER-1

Woodside Petroleum Ltd, Operator of the WA-9-L Joint Venture, reports that the Cavalier-1 exploration well located in the Carnarvon Basin was drilling at 2104 metres at 0600 hrs WST on 3 October 2000.

All reported depths are referenced to the rig rotary table.

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CONTACT ENERGY (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 10,945,434

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COOLGARDIE GOLD (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Coolgardie Gold NL has increased its equity in eFixit Limited to 30% with a further investment of $100,000. Over a short period of time eFixit has obtained a 1900 telephone number, a quickly growing database, and has signed up over 20 clients. There is significant interest in the concept from both tradespeople and potential franchisees throughout Australia.

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CENTRAL PACIFIC MINERALS (4 OCTOBER 2000)

The Chairman and Directors Of Southern Pacific Petroleum NL and Central Pacific Minerals NL (SPP/CPM) has announced the appointment of Mr Brian Davidson, as a non Executive Director to the Boards of both companies.

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DELTA GOLD / PERSEVERANCE CORPORATION (4 OCTOBER 2000)

The Directors announce that they have entered into an agreement with Delta Gold Limited for the purchase of the Timbarra Gold Project and the surrounding fifteen exploration tenements and applications.

The purchase consideration is 5.5 million shares and 2.5 million options in Perseverance to be issued upon completion, the options to be on the same terms and conditions as the existing options in the Company.

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METEX RESOURCES (4 OCTOBER 2000)

Metex Resources NL is set to reap the rewards of its long-term commitment to Western Australia's prospective Laverton region after positioning itself to monetise the Chatterbox oxide gold resources through a key mining and processing agreement with the managers of the nearby Granny Smith Gold Mine, Placer (Granny Smith) Pty Limited.

The agreement, between the Laverton Exploration Joint Venture (LEJV) and the Granny Smith Joint Venture (GSJV), could lead to commercial development of the Chatterbox resources with the ore being processed at the Granny Smith mill, approximately 20 kilometres away, in exchange for an escalating two-stage royalty.

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AUIRON ENERGY (3 OCTOBER 2000)

AuIron Energy has announced the appointment of Mr Greg Hawkins as Senior Project Manager for the SASE project and will take up his duties with SASE as from 2 October 2000.

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BHP / QCT RESOURCES (3 OCTOBER 2000)

Metcoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in QCT Resources Limited on 02/10/2000, from 2,217,123 ordinary shares (0.32%) to 2,310,804 ordinary shares (0.34%).

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BLIGH OIL & MINERALS (3 OCTOBER 2000)

Bligh Oil & Minerals NL advises that production testing of the Rimu B-1 well has been commenced. Results of the testing will be released upon completion of the testing program, following which, the rig will be skidded and the Rimu B-2 well spudded. The Rimu B-2 well is intended to evaluate the Upper and Lower Tariki thrust plates, at a location approximately 1 kilometre north-northwest of the B-1 well, back towards the A-1 discovery well.

The Rimu B-1 is located on PEP 38719 in the southern part of the onshore Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. The well is situated approximately 2.4 kilometres south of the Rimu A-1 discovery well, which tested 1600 barrels per day of oil and 5 million cubic feet per day of gas from the Upper Tariki sandstones.

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JUBILEE MINES (3 OCTOBER 2000)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an Annual General Meeting of shareholders of Jubilee Mines NL will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Perth, Western Australia on 27 October, 2000 at 11am.

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OROGEN MINERALS (3 OCTOBER 2000)

Orogen announces a number of changes to the Board of Directors and senior management of the company that will complete the recent process of renewal at senior levels within the organisation. These appointments are as follows:

Messrs Ian Johnson and Sir Michael Bromley KBE have accepted appointments to the Board as non-executive directors.

Mr Francis Kaupa, who has been performing the role of interim Managing Director since the resignation of Mr Lepani, has been confirmed in this position and will be Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Mr Jeff Quartermaine has been promoted from his previous role of Chief Financial Officer to the position of Chief Operating Officer of the company. In this position, Mr Quartermaine will work closely with the new CEO and will retain his existing responsibilities as Chief Financial Officer for the company.

In order to accomodate the appointment of Mr Johnson and Sir Michael Bromley as non-executive directors of the company, Mr Quartermaine who was an executive director as well as Chief Financial Officer has resigned as a director but as noted above, will assume the executive position of Chief Operating Officer. He will also serve, as an Alternate Director for Mr Wagner who is based in the United States of America.

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WMC (3 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 5,831,450

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BEMAX (3 OCTOBER 2000)

Bemax Resource's 2000 Financial Statements are now available.

For full report, click here

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MACMIN (3 OCTOBER 2000)

Macmin has maintained focus on advancing the Texas Silver Project to production.

Indicated Resources at the Twin Hills development site were increased by 50% during the year 2000, from 10 million ozs to 15 million ozs of silver equivalent (details released 14 September 2000). The Environmental Management Overview Study (EMOS) was completed and accepted by the Queensland Department of Mines and Energy. Community consultation was undertaken, process water dams constructed, the Silver Spur Mining Lease was purchased, the main freehold farming properties that cover the mining lease application were purchased, and additional process water bores were completed. There is now an abundance of process water available.

The district wide Inferred Resource at Texas remains at 35 million ozs of silver, however, airborne geophysics combined with surface geochemical and drill results suggest that the district wide potential in Macmin licenses is of the order of 50 to 100 million ozs silver. There is excellent scope to increase the life of the planned mine at Twin Hills and to locate and mine other silver deposits within the district in the future.

For further information, click here

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FEDERATION / PINNACLE VRB (3 OCTOBER 2000)

Federation Resources NL became a substantial shareholder in Pinnacle VRB Limited on 02/10/2000.

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HERITAGE GOLD NZ (3 OCTOBER 2000)

STOCK EXCHANGE LISTING

Heritage Gold NZ Limited advises that its 41% owned subsidiary, Cadmus Technology Limited (Cadmus) is seeking a listing on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZSE). A final draft of its Listing Profile is now being reviewed by the NZSE.

INSIGHT DATA LIMITED ACQUISITION

Following approval for listing Cadmus will acquire Insight Data Limited (Insight) by the issue of 68 million ordinary shares and payment of $2,000,000.

Insight Data Limited has this week announced two major joint ventures.

INSIGHT / TRUSTPOWER LIMITED JOINT VENTURE

TrustPower Limited (TrustPower) reported to the NZSE on 25 September 2000 and confirmed that, with Insight, it has formed POS Power Limited (a 50/50 owned company) to launch a full function EFTPOS and credit card home payment system.

INSIGHT / E-PHONE LTD JOINT VENTURE

E-Phone Limited (E-Phone) has announced a joint venture with Insight for the development and installation of Air Cash in their KeyCorp Point of Sale terminals and the card capable telephone developed in association with TrustPower.

CADMUS' STOCK EXCHANGE LISTING

Meanwhile Cadmus Technology Limited is finalising a professional investor placement of 30 million ordinary shares at NZ20 cents each as part of the application for listing on the NZSE. Reuhman & Co of Wellington is the Organising Broker.

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ASHTON MINING (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Robert T Boyd, President and CEO of Ashton Mining of Canada Inc reports that the autumn drill program has now been completed on the Ric property in Nunavut. As reported on September 26, 2000, a new kimberlite, named Perseus, was discovered during this program.

Perseus is situated at the head of a highly anomalous indicator mineral train coincident with the presence of kimberlite float. As reported on September 26, microdiamonds are present both in the till samples and in the kimberlite float. The float is widely distributed along a strike length of 1.4 km.

Four angle holes were initially drilled at the Perseus discovery site with a subsequent hole drilled 50 m to the east to determine the orientation and dip of the kimberlite intrusion. All five holes encountered similar intersections of kimberlite, suggesting that Perseus may be a sill approximately 10 m wide dipping north at less than 15 degrees. The intrusion appears to be striking east-northeast approximately parallel to the float distribution pattern.

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AMITY OIL (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Progress Report - Gocerler-1 Well - Republic of Turkey

Depth at Midnight, 1 October rig time: (0500 Hrs 2 Oct WST): 1139m KB.

72 Hr Drill Advance: 528m.

Geology: 611-704m Ergene Formation. Interbedded approximately 20 percent conglomorate, white to pale green quartz and rock fragments, weakly cemented, 20% claystone, grey to pale green, soft, 50% siltstone, green, 10% sandstone, grey.

704-1139m Danismen Formation. Interbedded claystone, 40%, dark grey green, siltstone 45%, green calcareous and sandstone 10%, white well sorted, fair to good porosity, coal 5%, brown to black pyritic.

Hydrocarbons: Gas background increased from trace C(1) in Ergene Formation to 0.4%-1.0% C(1) in Danismen Formation. Peak gas 2.5-4.0% C(1) at 1000m and 2.5% C(1) at 1054m.

Operations Last 24 Hrs: Drill 311mm (12(1/4) inch) hole to 1139m, conduct hole surveys, wiper trips.

Proposed operations Next 24 hrs: Drill ahead in 311mm (12(1/4) inch) hole towards next casing point at 1525m.

Last Casing: 340mm (13(3/8) inch) casing to 309m.

Target: Oligocene age Osmancik Sandstone Formation in four way dip closure, with direct hydrocarbon indications on seismic. Target size, 30 billion cubic feet of gas recoverable, if gas is present.

Target Depth: 1525m to TD.

Proposed Total Depth: Between 1620 and 1900mKB.

Well Location: 150 kilometres west of Istanbul.
Latitude 41deg 21'04"N,
Longitude 27deg 46'E.

Basin: Onshore Thrace Basin.

Nearest Producing Field: Yulafli gasfield, 15 kilometres to southeast.

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AMITY OIL (2 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Options for ordinary fully paid shares
• Number of securities issued:
  1,000,000
• Issue price:
  Granted free of charge
• Purpose of the issue
  Incentive options for Amity's Turkish representative

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BHP / QCT RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Metcoal Holdings Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in Qct Resources Limited on 29/09/2000, from 2,069,924 ordinary shares (0.30%) to 2,217,123 ordinary shares(0.32%).

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CONTACT ENERGY (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 11,145,434

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ENERGY DEVELOPMENTS (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Energy Developments Limited will be held at the Toorak Room of the Hotel Como, 630 Chapel Street, South Yarra on Thursday 2 November 2000 at 2.00pm

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GOLD PARTNERS (2 OCTOBER 2000)

SUMMARY

* Gold Partners Ltd announces that it has entered into an agreement with MTIC Corporate Pty Ltd (MTIC), subsidiary of IPT Systems Ltd (IPT), under which MTIC will assist Gold Partners with the development of the Hypertrade global e-commerce venture.

* Under the agreement, MTIC will provide various services including its transactional technologies, web hosting and e-commerce solutions to Hypertrade.com Pty Ltd (Hypertrade), a wholly owned subsidiary of Gold Partners.

* In return for the provision of these services, Gold Partners has granted MTIC a non-exclusive right for 3 years for MTIC to market its products and services to Accountants Global Network International Ltd (AGN), AGN member firms and their clients through the Hypertrade-com website.

* A revenue sharing arrangement between Gold Partners and MTIC has also been agreed to for the products, services and solutions provided solely by MTIC through the Hypertrade.com website.

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HARDMAN RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Participating Organisations are advised that the capital reduction for Hardman Resources NL will become effective on Tuesday 3 October 2000 following shareholder approval on Friday 29 September 2000.

On 28 June 2000 Hardman announced the proposal to list its wholly owned subsidiary Planet Oil International plc on the Alternative Investment Market and for a capital reduction by way of a pro rata distribution in specie of the proceeds on sale of the 35 million Planet shares held by Hardman on the basis of one Planet share for every 10 Hardman shares held.

Shareholders will be given the opportunity to positively elect to receive Planet shares in lieu of the proceeds of sale. Hardman will endeavour to dispose of the Planet shares at the same price of the Initial Public Offering. Shareholders are advised that if they positively elect to receive Planet shares that they may be subject to escrow restrictions if required under the listing rules of AIM.

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PETROZ (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Petroz advises that Fletcher Challenge Energy Limited has exercised its option to subscribe for 29,514,890 Ordinary Petroz shares at $0.435 per share.

FCE exercised the option under the Option, Placement and Underwriting Deed dated 18 July 2000. The rights and obligations of FCE under the Deed have been assigned to E&P Carnarvon Pty Ltd and Australian incorporated Associate of FCE which has been established to hold the Petroz investment.

FCE has transferred A$12.839 million to Petroz in consideration of the placement.

The Petroz Board has resolved to allot the shares to E&P.

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QCT RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Metcoal Holdings Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in Qct Resources Limited on 29/09/2000, from 2,069,924 ordinary shares (0.30%) to 2,217,123 ordinary shares(0.32%).

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QCT RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS

On 28 August 2000, BHP and Mitsubishi through a jointly owned bidding vehicle, MetCoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd announced a takeover Offer for your Company of $1.20 cash per share.

Your Directors believe that MetCoal's Offer of $1.20 per share is inadequate and undervalues your Company.

Your Directors unanimously recommend that you reject the Offer. It is simply not good enough.

The independent expert has valued your shares in the range of $1.57-$1.89 each and has concluded that the Offer is neither fair nor reasonable.

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WMC (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 8,481,450

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ACCLAIM EXPLORATION (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Notice is given that the Annual General Meeting of members of Acclaim Exploration NL will be held at the Celtic Club, Presidents Room, Level 1, 48 Ord Street, West Perth, Western Australia on Friday 3 November 2000 at 3.00pm.

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ACCLAIM EXPLORATION (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Mousaler Investments Limited became a substantial shareholder in Acclaim Exploration NL on 25/09/2000 with a relevant interest in the issued share capital of 9,000,000 ordinary shares (5.1%).

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AUSTINDO RESOURCES CORPORATION (2 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that with effect from Monday 2 October 2000 the address of the Company's Share Registry will change to:

Computershare Registry Services Pty Limited
Level 5
115 Grenfell Street
ADELAIDE SA 5000

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ASHTON MINING (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Rio Tinto has received approval for its proposed acquisition of Ashton Mining Limited from the Foreign Investment Review Board. This approval means that condition 2.6(c) of the offer to be made for Ashton shares has been satisfied.

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AMITY OIL (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Progress Report-Gocerler-1 Well Republic of Turkey Depth at Midnight,
28 Sept rig time: (0500 Hrs 29 Sept WST): 611m KB.
24 Hr Drill Advance: 215m.
Geology: 396-611m Interbedded, approximately 35% conglomerate, white to pale green, quartz and rock fragments, weakly cemented and 60% claystone, grey to pale green, soft, 5% sandstone grey, minor coal and tuff. Ergene Formation.
Hydrocarbons: Trace C(1).
Operations Last 24 Hrs: Drill 311mm (12(1/4) inch) hole to 611m, conduct hole survey at 499m.
PROPOSED OPERATIONS Next 24 hrs: Drill ahead in 311mm (12(1/4) inch) hole towards next casing point.
Last Casing: 340mm (13(3/8) inch) casing to 309m.
Target: Oligocene age Osmancik Sandstone Formation in four way dip closure, with direct hydrocarbon indications on seismic. Target size, 30 billion cubic feet of gas recoverable, if gas is present.
Target Depth: 1525m to TD.
Proposed Total Depth: Between 1620 and 1900mKB.
Well Location: 150 kilometres west of Istanbul. Latitude 41deg 21'04"N, Longitude 27deg 46'E.
Basin: Onshore Thrace Basin.
Nearest Producing Field: Yulafli gasfield, 15 kilometres to southeast.

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BULLION MINERALS (2 OCTOBER 2000)

BULLION MINERALS LTD has 6,565,000 escrowed Ordinary Shares to be released on the 31 December 2000 and 1,575,000 escrowed Ordinary Shares to be released on the 1 October 2002.

In addition there are 6,565,000 Options escrowed to be released on the 31 December 2000 and 1,575,000 Options to be released on 1 October 2002.

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CONTACT ENERGY (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 11,195,434

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COPPER MINES AND METALS (2 OCTOBER 2000)

RESPONSE TO ASX QUERY

1. There are no matters of importance concerning the Company about to be announced to security holders and/or the market.

2. Other than as stated above, the Company is not aware of any information concerning it, which might reasonably be regarded as an explanation for recent trading in the securities of the company.

3. We confirm the Company is in compliance with the listing rules and in particular Listing Rule 3.1.

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DIORO EXPLORATION (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Fourth Quarter Activities

GOLD

FROG'S LEG PROJECT

A large number of significant intersections were announced during the quarter, with highlighting including:

10m @ 22.44g/t including 1m @ 168.59g/t, 2m @ 33.68g/t, 12m @ 6.73g/t, 4m @ 16.18g/t 5m @ 34.02g/t including 1m @ 152.02g/t, 29m @ 4.65g/t including 2m @ 14.27g/t and 1m @ 50.56g/t, 10m @ 7.19g/t including 4m @ 13.45g/t, 16m @ 4.59g/t including 7m @ 8.80g/t, 7m @ 7.19g/t, 20m @ 8.22g/t, 12m @ 5.24g/t, 16m @ 7.56g/t, 7m @ 11.85g/t

* A total of 8,031 metres of combined RC and diamond drilling was carried out at Frog's Leg during the quarter.

This drilling has confirmed two styles of gold mineralisation (viz "quartz lode" and "contact zone" mineralisation are recognised in different parts of the prospect. (Note: the contact zone mineralisation is similar in style to the Hornet - Rubicon - Pegasis mineralisation along the ABC mineralised zone outside the Mungari Joint Venture tenements immediately to the north of Frog's Leg).

* The total strike length of the Frog's Leg mineralisation has been extended by almost 50% to 1,100 metres, increasing the potential for the discovery of additional resources.

* The mineralisation trend remains "open" along strike to the north and south of existing drilling, and at depth below the current drilling levels (most drilling has been limited to a depth of 175m).

* A geological and structural review is underway ahead of a re-estimation of resources that will include the latest drilling at Frog's Leg.

* A further immediate 2,750 metres of combined RC and diamond core drilling will be carried out to test a number of new targets.

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ENVESTRA (2 OCTOBER 2000)

The third Annual General Meeting of Envestra Limited will be held at Adelaide Hilton Hotel, Victoria Square, Adelaide, on 31 October 2000 at 10.00 am.

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GUTNICK RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Gutnick Resources NL will be held at the Kimberley Gardens Hotel, 441 Inkerman Street, St Kilda East, Victoria, 3183 Australia on Thursday 9 November 2000, commencing at 3:00 pm.

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GYMPIE GOLD (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Australian mining and exploration company, Gympie Gold, has announced that its coal subsidiary, Southland Coal in the Hunter Valley, NSW, is nearing commencement of production from its large, high quality Bellbird South coal reserves.

The 220 metre-wide longwall unit has been removed from the recently completed SL1 longwall panel and is undergoing extensive overhaul and upgrade including new shearer, new armoured face conveyor and new pan lines, while most of the support equipment is being refurbished.

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HARDMAN RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities for which quotation is sought:
  Fully paid ordinary shares
• Number of securities for which quotation is sought:
  606,645
• Reason for Request:
  Partly paid shares now fully paid up

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HARDMAN RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company advises that the resolutions contained in the Notice of General Meeting were passed on a show of hands.

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HERALD RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Ordinary fully paid shares
• Number of securities issued:
  925,000
• Issue price:
  $0.27 (765,000)
  $0.30 (160,000)
• Purpose of the issue
  Pursuant to the exercise of options issued under the 1996 Herald Employee Option Incentive Scheme

For company information, click here

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ILUKA RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 21,375,695

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INTERMIN RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Notice is given that the annual general meeting of members of Intermin Resources 186) will be held at:

Level 2
45 Stirling Highway
Nedlands, Western Australia
on: Thursday, 26 October 2000 at 11:30 am

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JOHNSON'S WELL MINING (2 OCTOBER 2000)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting of Johnson's Well Mining NL will be held at the Kimberley Gardens Hotel, 441 Inkerman Street, St Kilda East, Victoria, 3183 Australia on Thursday 9 November 2000, commencing at 1:30 pm.

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MT GRACE RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Mt Grace Resources NL advises that Mr Ron Stanley has stood down as Chairman of the Company and has been replaced as Chairman by Mr Craig Readhead. Mr Stanley has, at the invitation of the Board, agreed to take responsibility for exploration for non-magnesite minerals in the Batchelor region.

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MINOTAUR GOLD (2 OCTOBER 2000)

The Board of Minotaur Gold NL advises that the following time table will apply.

31 October 2000 Extraordinary Meeting of Shareholders.

3 November 2000 Minotaur Gold NL shares will trade "ex return of Capital" on the ASX.

9 November 2000 Record date to determine Minotaur Gold Shareholders' entitlements to participate in the In Specie Distribution of shares in Minotaur Resources Ltd.

Option holders who wish to convert in order to participate must do so and have their shares issued to them by 3 November 2000. Option holders should note that the exercise price is 20 cents for each option exercised. Should they not exercise by the above date the exercise price will reduce by 6.3 cents but shares issued at this price will be ex entitlement to return of capital.

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MINERAL COMMODITIES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

The Company refers to the Extraordinary General Meeting of Mineral Commodities Ltd requisitioned by Zurich Bay Holdings Pty Ltd and advise that all of the resolutions proposed by Zurich Bay were validly passed on a poll.

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MATRIX METALS (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Matrix Metals Limited will be held at the Celtic Club - "Function Room", 48 0rd Street West Perth WA 6005, on Wednesday 15 November 2000 commencing at 10.00 am.

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OXIANA RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Directors have issued 3,500,000 options to staff pursuant to the Company's approved Executive Share Option Plan.

The exercise prices for these options are as follows:

1,833,333 options with an exercise price of 25 cents.
833,333 options with an exercise price of 30 cents.
833,334 options with an exercise price of 35 cents.

The options cannot be exercised before 28 September 2001 and have an expiry date of 28 September 2005.

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PACMIN MINING CORPORATION (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Daily Share Buy-Back - continued; maximum remaining number of shares to be bought back: 8,892,870

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PALADIN RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

In the wake of acquiring the $5.7 million telecommunication business, Netcare Corporation, Paladin Resources plan to sell uranium assets and change its name to Netcare Corporation.

A shares issue will soon take place to raise $15 million to fund the rollout of its telecommunications network, and a separate entity, Paladin Energy Minerals NL will be listed on the ASX within 12 months to house mineral assets, including the Kayelekera project in Malawi.

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QUADTEL (2 OCTOBER 2000)

In a deal worth $3 million, past gold explorer, Quadtel, formerly known as Caledonian Pacific Minerals has offloaded its mineral interests after moving into telecommunications earlier this year.

The Gold Coast company has entered an agreement with Base Metals Exploration NL who will purchase the mineral assets, with the deal being subject to shareholder approval at the annual meeting.

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QCT RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Metcoal Holdings (Qld) Pty Ltd increased its relevant interest in QCT Resources Limited on 28/09/2000, from 1,957,426 ordinary shares (0.28%) to 2,069,924 ordinary shares(0.30%).

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ST BARBARA MINES / TAIPAN RESOURCES (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Westgold Resources has made a demand against St Barbara Mines through its solicitors alleging loss and damage in the sum of $7,581,767.70 because St Barbara allegedly did not report certain price sensitive information alleged to be contained in a management report to the then St Barbara's board on 23 April 1997. This alleged claim has not previously been raised or brought to the attention of the current board of St Barbara.

The loss and damage alleged by Westgold appears to be that sustained from a series of share transactions in St Barbara, effected by third parties but not involving St Barbara, between May and August 1997. Accordingly the allegations are denied and any claim for the above sum or any part of it will be robustly defended.

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SANTOS (2 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Fully paid ordinary shares
• Number of securities issued:
  29,100
• Issue price:
  $5.76
• Purpose of the issue
  Issues pursuant to the terms of the Santos Employee Share Purchase Plan.

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SANTOS (2 OCTOBER 2000)

Pursuant to Listing Rule 3.16.1, and confirmatory of advice provided to the Australian Stock Exchange on 13 March 2000, Mr Norman Ross Adler A0 will retire as Managing Director and as a Director of Santos Ltd, effective 30 September 2000.

Pending the appointment of Mr Adler's successor, which appointment is expected to be announced shortly, Mr John Walter McArdle, Executive General Manager - Commercial and Executive Director of Santos Ltd, is to be appointed Acting Managing Director, with effect from Mr Adler's retirement.

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SYDNEY GAS COMPANY (2 OCTOBER 2000)

NEW ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

• Class of securities issued or to be issued
  Fully paid ordinary shares
• Number of securities issued:
  319,145
• Issue price:
  $63,942.60
• Purpose of the issue
  Exercise of options over unissued shares