Statement re Opencast Reserves

5 February 2009

BISICHI MINING PLC

Bisichi Mining's subsidiary obtains approval to mine all open cast reserves at
Black Wattle Colliery

Bisichi Mining PLC ('Bisichi'), the mining company with direct coal mining
operations in South Africa, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Black
Wattle Colliery ('Black Wattle') has obtained approval from the Department of
Mineral Resources to mine all open cast reserves at Black Wattle.

Bisichi has owned and operated Black Wattle in Middelburg, Mpumalanga since
1994 and first commenced open cast mining at Black Wattle in April 2008.

Andrew Heller, Managing Director of Bisichi, said: 'The start of open cast
operations at Black Wattle represented an important landmark in the mine's
development. Open cast mining has lowered the average cost of production,
increased our washing plant yields, and allowed Black Wattle to mine its
reserves more flexibly. The approval to mine all opencast reserves at Black
Wattle will allow us to continue to take advantage of these benefits.'

For further information, please call:

Andrew Heller, Bisichi Mining PLC 020 7415 5030