EAS receives central government-approved IUP for Aceh prospects

Vancouver-based exploration firm East Asia Minerals Corporation (EAS) reported on Friday that in addition to the previously announced receipt of the Aceh Province Miwah Ijin Usaha Pertambangan (IUP "Mining Licence"), the Company has received formal documents from the Directorate General of Mineral, Coal and Geothermal confirming the finalized conversion of its Aceh Province Barisan I and Takengon tenements to IUP.

The Barisan I tenement contains the flat-lying near-surface Abong gold project where the Company has completed 130 drill holes and is working towards completion of an initial NI43-101 compliant resource estimate. This large epithermal gold deposit lies within a 3 by 1.5 kilometre corridor within which EAS has defined gold mineralization over a +2 kilometres by up to 800 metres area. It remains open along strike in both directions.

The Takengon property comprises the Collins epithermal gold project, the Semelit porphyry copper-gold project, and the West Semelit gold-copper skarn project. The Collins project is a large partially exposed multistage gold-bearing quartz vein swarm where East Asia channel samples gave 11.0 metres at 22.20 g/t gold, and 11.0 metres at 14.99 g/t gold. At the Semelit project, porphyry potential is indicated by supergene porphyry outcrops with +2% copper and +2 g/t gold.

"This is another significant step for East Asia Minerals", commented Michael Hawkins, President and CEO of East Asia Minerals Corporation. "The Barisan I and Takengon IUP's give us 5 years within which to complete exploration and deliver a feasibility study. Thereafter under Indonesian Law, there is automatic conversion of the licences to development licences for an initial 20 year term, renewable for a further 20 years.

An important feature of these and the Miwah IUP is that once approved, the automatic conversion to a development licence applies to the deposit for which the feasibility is completed, whilst the remaining areas of the tenement continue under exploration status. We see the ongoing delivery of IUP's for our tenements, and the excellent long term security of tenure and fiscal stability they provide, as further validation that the New Mining Law of Indonesia is globally attractive."

EAS is an Asian-based, Canadian mineral exploration company with gold and copper exploration properties in Indonesia, and uranium exploration properties in Mongolia. In Indonesia the Company has a 70 to 85% interest in six advanced gold and gold-copper properties located in Aceh Province, Sumatra, and Sangihe Island, North Sulawesi. Three of these, the Miwah, Sangihe (Binebase-Bawone) and Barisan 1 (Abong) gold projects, are being advanced to define NI43-101 compliant resources. (alex)