Progress Report

Brancote Holdings PLC
25 April 2001



Date            25 April 2001

Contacts        Richard Prickett, Chairman

                Bill Humphries, Managing Director

                Brancote Holdings PLC                 020 7493 1002


                David Bick

                Holborn Public Relations              020 7929 5599
                                         [e-mail]


                               BRANCOTE HOLDINGS PLC

                             Esquel Gold Project (60%)

              Progress Report on the Phase IV Exploration Programme

                            And Pre-feasibility Study


Phase IV Drilling


The current drilling programme, now 60% complete, has confirmed the presence
of at least three high-grade veins through the area known as the football
field, linking the established resources of Galadriel, Galadriel Sur and Julia
into one massive vein system with a known strike length of approximately 2.4
kilometres.


A shallow angle vein under the central part has been close spaced drilled for
320 metres along strike and up to 150 metres down dip, with vein widths
reaching 28 metres and bonanza gold grades developing near the upper contact
(0.87 metres @ 449 grams / tonne).  This vein remains open at depth and to the
south and appears to be contiguous with Julia.


In the northern part of the football field, drilling has extended the steeply
dipping sigmoidal vein, immediately south of Galadriel Sur, a further 120
metres southwards, giving this system a known strike length of 340 metres.
The vein is becoming wider at depth and to the south, with large volumes,
coupled with high grades, developing within the sigmoid.  Another feature of
this vein is the substantial increase in size of the mineralised envelope as
the size of the vein increases.


ie:     at 2.0 g/t cutoff       GD 241 width   26.2 metres @ 12.2 g/t gold

        at 0.5 g/t cutoff       GD 241 width 142.5 metres @   3.4 g/t gold


The third vein, identified with the current drilling, is a high angle vein
believed to be a continuation north of the Elena vein into the southern part
of the football field which, if found to be continuous, will substantially
increase the Elena resource.


                                   Table I

                     Summary of Significant Intersections

         Football Field Diamond Core and Reverse Circulation Drilling


  Hole    Easting Northing   Depth      From        Intersection         Grade
Ndegrees    156      525    metres    metres              metres       g/t gold

GD 236     4603.7   1732.9   138.2     103.9                12.0           12.4
GD 237     4579.3   1735.4   146.1     117.0                12.6            8.5
GD 240     4637.3   1929.3   238.2     159.0                33.8            8.7
GD 241     4614.1   1933.2   305.2     209.7                26.2           12.2
GD 242     4590.9   1776.3   183.5     125.6                14.0           12.2
GD 243     4566.6   1779.7   200.3     152.0                20.0           12.8
GD 244     4443.9   1638.5   233.7     163.5                13.8           15.9
GD 246     4469.4   1635.1   171.5     128.7                29.9           20.2
GD 249     4505.6   1708.7   210.6     139.1                15.1           13.4
GR 254     4516.9   1584.1   154.0     120.0                19.0            9.4
GD 281     4596.9   1815.5   182.9     141.4                15.2            8.7


Azimuth 90degrees Mag. Dip - 60degrees


To date, 12,700 of the planned 20,000 metres of phase IV drilling programme
has been carried out with the remainder scheduled for completion by the end of
May.

A new resource estimate will then be prepared.


Exploration


Field exploration in the Cordon Leleque area, located 50 to 70 kilometres
north of the Esquel Gold Project, has resulted in encouraging findings.  A
broad zone, anomalous in gold and base metals, extends over ten square
kilometres.  Within Cordon Leleque a number of outcropping epithermal veins
have been identified, including one of greater than 15 metres width and 300
metres long. These veins show a similar style to those in the Cordon Esquel,
with 'first pass' grab samples reporting up to 2 g/t gold.  Exploration is
ongoing in this highly prospective northern area.


Pre-feasibility Studies


Mine Engineering consultants Pincock Allen & Holt of Denver, Colorado, have
been awarded the contract to complete a pre-feasibility study on the Esquel
Gold Project and prepare a report scheduled for release by the beginning of
October 2001.


PAH have been involved with the project since early 2000 in the preparation of
resource estimates and supervision of metallurgical and environmental base
line studies.


Geological information in this report has been compiled by Brancote's Project
Manager, Marc J. Sale, who:


*   is a consultant to Brancote Holdings plc;

*   has relevant experience in relation to the mineralisation being reported on 
    to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the Australian Code for      
    Reporting of Identified Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves;

*   is a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has    
    more than five years experience in this field of activity reported herein;

*   has consented to the inclusion of this data.


                                   - ENDS -