News Release

Vancouver – The B.C. Securities Commission has settled with a director of a B.C.-based natural resource company who engaged in insider trading of his company’s shares.

Lloyd C. Brewer, a B.C. resident, is banned from trading for at least two years as part of the settlement. He is also barred from acting as director or officer of any reporting issuer for at least two years and he must pay the commission $6,940 – an amount that includes the losses Brewer avoided because of his trading.

Brewer was a director and vice-president of explorations of St. Elias Mines Ltd., a natural resource acquisition, exploration and development company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. By Nov. 8, 2001, St. Elias had received raw assay results on a mineral prospect in northern Peru that were far below the trench excavation results announced in a Sept. 18, 2001 news release. The company issued a news release disclosing these results on Nov. 20, 2001 and the company’s share price dropped to $0.08 a share.

In the meantime, Brewer, with knowledge of these results, sold 10,000 shares at $0.23 a share on Nov. 13, 2001, and 5,500 shares at $0.16 a share on Nov. 14, 2001.

Brewer avoided $1,940 in losses by trading prior to the disclosure of the assay results.

The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities and exchange contracts within the province. Copies of the settlement can be viewed in the documents database of the commission’s website www.bcsc.bc.ca or by contacting Andrew Poon, Media Relations, 604-899-6880.