Open Pit Project To Go Ahead

Hambledon Mining PLC
09 March 2005


                              HAMBLEDON MINING PLC
                          Open pit project to go ahead

Hambledon Mining Plc, an AIM-listed mining and exploration company developing
precious metal deposits in Kazakhstan, announces that, on the basis of the
excellent results of the fast-tracked feasibility study of the open pit area, it
has been decided to progress this part of the project. The open pit area
accounts for approximately 7% of the estimated 2.8 million ounces of resources
of the Sekisovskoye/Tserkovka complex. The feasibility study into the
development of the much larger underground mine and exploration of the adjacent
Tserkovka licence area is continuing and a further announcement regarding
developments is expected to be made in June 2005.

Highlights

  * Total open pit resources 183,000 ounces, 83% up on flotation figure, June
    2004
  * Grade 1.6 grammes per tonne, 13% higher than June 2004
  * 3.6 million tonnes, 63% higher than June 2004
  * Waste to ore ratio very low at 1.2:1
  * Indications that grade may be up to 20% higher
  * Mining rate of 600,000 tonnes per year (20% increase on initial plans)
  * 95% metallurgical recovery
  * Annual output 30-35,000 ounces from open pit, rising to up to 110,000
    ounces when underground ore is substituted
  * Open pit mine life - six years
  * Commencing spring 2006

Nicholas Bridgen, Chief Executive of Hambledon Mining plc commented:

'We are delighted with the progress the Company has made since flotation last
June. The initial open pit phase of the project has proved much more encouraging
than we originally anticipated. With a breakeven of $245 per an ounce, it is an
extremely attractive project in its own right, but literally only scratches the
surface of the potential reserves within the whole complex.'

'Fast-tracking this profitable, low-risk project will provide near-term
cash-flow to assist in the development of the more significant underground
project at Sekisovskoye, itself a precursor to the development of a much larger
area.'

                                                                 9th March 2005

ENQUIRIES:

Hambledon Mining Plc                                      Tel: [phone]
Nicholas Bridgen, Chief Executive                           or: [phone]

Bankside Consultants                                         Tel: [phone]
Michael Spriggs/Michael Padley

The full geological report will be available on the Company web site on Thursday
10th March 2005.

Project Development

Open pit project
Two significant factors we have identified have resulted in a change in the
approach to the development of the deposit. Previously, it was believed that the
open pit and underground ores from Sekisovskoye would be developed
simultaneously, with the open pit material being only a short-term stopgap
whilst the underground ore was developed. Since then, the Company has announced,
in November 2004, the acquisition of the 39 square kilometre area surrounding
Sekisovskoye known as Tserkovka which contained several significant extensions
of the Sekisovskoye mineralisation. In January, the Company announced its 2004
drilling results which were excellent and led to a plan to fast-track the
development of the open pit project on a stand-alone basis.

This is not only a profitable, low risk, way of starting the project, but also
allows the Company to take the time to develop a coordinated plan for the whole
Sekisovskoye/Tserkovka complex whilst benefiting from the cash flow and
experience that open pit production will bring.

Whilst the feasibility study is not yet fully complete, sufficient information
is now to hand for the Company to reach the conclusion that the open pit project
should go ahead. The remaining work will further refine the design parameters of
the project but is unlikely to result in any significant change in the design
concept, nor diminish its extremely robust economic viability. In order to
maintain the 'fast tracked' approach to this part of the Project, the Company
will now start the process of obtaining government approvals, land purchase and,
in the summer we will commence the initial building construction so that work
can then progress during winter.

A new geological model is being created which incorporates the 2004 drill
results and which also has greater sensitivity to low grade ore that was ignored
in previous Soviet models. This low grade ore lowers the average ore grade, but
is a good contributor to profits and minimises the waste to ore ratio.

The western boundary of the site is marked by the river Sekisovka. Though it may
prove possible to re-route this river, the conservative view has been taken that
this will be a permanent restraint, limiting the westward extensions of the
deposit to underground mining only. Nevertheless, the 2004 drilling programme,
together with the results of the remodelling of the open pit area discussed
above, have resulted in the identification of three main open pits, the
western-most of which was not included in previous plans.

Various scenarios have been examined with a view to both optimising net present
value and producing a mine plan that is robust against fluctuating gold prices.
Though net present value is optimised at a much larger size, the chosen scenario
sacrifices only nominal value for a greater profit per tonne, so that in the
event of falling gold prices, profits are still maintained at a reasonable
level. The chosen scenario has a break-even gold price of only $245 per ounce.

The selected scenario envisages the mining of 3.6 million tonnes of ore over six
years. As modelled, this will result in production of over 30,000 ounces (gold
equivalent) per year. Considerable evidence exists to suggest that the sample
grades resulting from Soviet era surface drilling were underestimated by around
20%. The current model is only partially derived from such underestimated
samples but, nevertheless, the Directors believe that production is likely to be
significantly higher.

The average ore grade within the pit is 1.6 grammes per tonne. Because of the
way in which the new geological model is compiled, this grade is already diluted
with internal waste, so no further dilution factor is needed to derive the
anticipated mined grade. Similarly, no additional mining losses are anticipated.
The waste to ore ratio will be very low at 1.2:1. Overall contract mining costs
for ore and waste have been quoted by an independent contractor at less than
$2.00 per tonne, giving a mined cost per tonne of ore of approximately $4 per
tonne. Further negotiation, or competitive quotes, may reduce this figure
further.

Geotechnical
As previously announced, geotechnical drilling has indicated very good rock
stability. This has lead to the use of steep open pit walls and will minimise
underground stability problems.

Hydrogeology
An assessment of available hydrogeological data has indicated that sufficient
data is already available for design and permitting purposes for underground
mining. Additional investigations required for environmental permitting of the
proposed plant site and tailings dam are scheduled for early spring 2005.

Mining Engineering
Initial open pit designs have been carried out by in-house mining engineers and
geologists. GeoMine Solutions of Johannesburg will complete the full feasibility
study.

SRK Consulting of Johannesburg has been appointed for the underground mine study
as well as the transition between open pit and underground.

Treatment plant
A considerable amount of metallurgical test-work was carried out in Soviet
times, and further bulk samples have now been tested at the Vniitsvietmiet
institute in Ust Kamenogorsk. Results from low, medium and high grade samples
have confirmed that the proposed treatment methods are appropriate and the
recovery from all grades is consistent with previous predictions of 95%
recovery. A complete physical and metallurgical testing programme has recently
begun at Ammtec in Australia on core samples from the recent drilling programme.
This programme will define all the design parameters for the milling, gravity,
leaching and neutralisation circuits.

The results to hand show that the initial gravity stage separation will extract
up to 40% of the gold, with the remainder coming from a conventional leach
plant. This plant uses established technology and is considered low in
technological risk. The treatment plant will be capable of treating not only ore
from the open pit, but also underground ore as it becomes available. Whilst the
open pit life is currently estimated at six years, it is possible that
underground ore or other ore from the newly acquired territories will be
substituted sooner, leading to an increase in production to up to 110,000 ounces
per year from the same plant.

Environmental
The ecological baseline study has been accepted by the authorities and the
environmental firm AsiaEcoLink has begun the next phase of the environmental
assessment.

About Hambledon Mining Plc
Hambledon Mining plc is an AIM listed mining and exploration company developing
precious metal deposits in Kazakhstan. It holds the rights to the Sekisovskoye
gold and silver deposit, on which the feasibility study is at an advanced stage,
and to the adjacent Tserkovka deposit and exploration areas.

ENDS



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