Company Information for Cambrian Mining Plc

AIM-CBM

http://www.cambrianmining.com

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AIM; CBM

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Company Statement

Cambrian is a diversified mining house that manages and supports operations in coal and gold/antimony mining. The Group has been instrumental in the past three years in supporting the development of a number of mines and moving them into production. These include: the Augusta gold and antimony mine in Victoria, Australia; the Wolverine hard coking coal mine in Western Canada; the Dillon and Brule PCI mines in Western Canada as well as metallurgical and thermal coal mines in West Virginia, USA.

Current Operations

COAL
Western Canadian Coal Corp
Development at WCCC’s operations continued with increasing production from its Wolverine hard coking coal mine and Brule Ultra Low Volatile PCI mines. Total output is now running at approximately 3.4 million tonnes per annum of coal production.

Three long-term sale volume contracts of three to five years in length for 550,000 tonnes per year of hard coking coal and 700,000 tonnes per year of PCI coal were signed.

An adverse change in the US dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate impacted WCCC’s margins. Financial performance was also impacted by poor performance at the Wolverine operations which experienced difficulty in reaching planned productivity levels. These factors contributed to a net loss in the quarter ended 30 September 2007 of over C$40 million (including C$22 million of one-off items) and a further net loss of over C$21 million in the quarter ended 31 December 2007.

As a result of the financial pressures, WCCC issued US$40.4 million of convertible debentures through a private placement in November.

Improvements in the cash costs for the operations were experienced with a 5% improvement between the September and December quarterly performance. The financial prospects for the company have also improved as a result of the current strong price environment for metallurgical coal.

Coal International
The Gauley Eagle property, which produces both thermal and metallurgical coal, is now operating at a sustainable rate of 750,000 short tons of marketable coal per annum, with current equipment and labour configurations. The markets for Gauley Eagle coals are very strong and opportunities for production expansion are being evaluated.

At Gauley Eagle, advanced permitting activities have been undertaken and the issuance of the Lower Muddlety surface mine permit is expected in the second quarter of calendar year 2008, increasing the proportion of surface mine production and enabling the company to meet its targets for the year.

At the Maple Coal property, the Eagle No. 1 mine has completed development and construction to access the downhill conveyor that feeds the Katie preparation plant. Production has steadily improved as the mine has expanded. A third continuous miner unit is being evaluated for start up in July that would increase the annualized production rate for Eagle No. 1 mine to 900,000 short tons, subject to confirmation of financing and availability of equipment. Surface thermal coal mining opportunities are also being evaluated.

Energybuild Group Plc
On admission to Aim, Energybuild raised £9.7 million, net of loan repayments and expenses.

Significant progress has been made at Aberpergwm Colliery and Nant y Mynydd open cast site. At Aberpergwm the 18ft seam, was accessed in September 2007. During the period, Energybuild acquired the entire plant pool from the recently closed, neighbouring Tower Colliery for £1.4 million. Additional machinery has been ordered for the in-seam development of reserves and vehicles to assist in the delivery of supplies underground. Mine management has been strengthened with additional labour drawn from the Tower Colliery. Target production from the Aberpergwm Colliery for the financial year 2008 is 22,000 tonnes, increasing to 265,000 tonnes in 2009 and 440,000 tonnes in 2010.

Production at Nant y Mynydd is now 2,000 tonnes per week and an extension to the opencast site was obtained in November 2007. The mine management team was restructured and operations rationalised.

In early 2008, a deal was signed with Coal Recovery Investments Limited to develop tip based coal recovery schemes in South Wales.

METALS
AGD Mining - Costerfield Mine
Increased ore production from the Augusta mine in central Victoria continued, as mine development proceeded and more development drives were opened for mining in the six months to 31 December 2007. Total ore production treated was 16,329 tonnes.

Recognising the delays in reaching targeted production levels, a number of initiatives were taken during this time aimed at improving performance. These included the recruitment and training of additional personnel, changes in supervision, the acquisition of additional equipment, and the start of negotiations to alter the mining contract. While these changes showed some impact during the first half of 2008 financial year, it will be during the second half of the year and beyond that the initiatives should yield positive improvements.

On the geology front, results continued to be positive. An interpretation of the recently acquired drilling data indicated potential for expansion of the ore resource and indicated that the ore bodies are still open at depth. Exploration drilling was limited to four holes in the zone between the Augusta mine and the old workings at Costerfield. While the results were mixed, the holes appeared to demonstrate a continuation of the ore in some areas. Plans were drawn up for drilling for depth extensions of the Augusta and Brunswick deposits that is currently ongoing.

ENERGY AND RESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
Xtract Energy
Xtract’s wholly owned subsidiary Xtract International Ltd (“Xtract International”) increased its holding in Elko Energy Inc (“Elko”) and Xtract invested further in Wasabi Energy Limited (“Wasabi”) of which it currently holds approximately 35%. Following a sale of 16.5 million MEO shares, the proceeds of which provided Xtract with working capital and the opportunity to offer development support to other investee companies within its portfolio, Xtract now holds 15.7% of the total issued share capital of MEO.

Elko Energy Inc (“Elko”) is a privately held Canadian oil and gas exploration company. Its principal interests are in the Danish North Sea, the Dutch North Sea, Canada and China. During 2007 Elko applied for two off-shore blocks containing a number of drilled and tested gas bearing structures in the Dutch North Sea. Block P1 was awarded to a consortium in which Elko will be the operator and will retain 33% interest. The award of adjacent Block P2 was announced in February 2008 on similar terms.

MEO is focused on developing gas-to-liquids projects in the Tassie Shoal area of the Timor Sea. It has secured Australian Government environmental approvals to install two large scale methanol plants and one 3 million tonne per annum Liquefied Natural Gas plant in Tassie Shoal. During the fourth quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008, MEO conducted a two-well exploration and appraisal drilling programme in its NT/P68 permit in Australian waters of the Timor Sea.

Wasabi is a diversified investor in renewable energy and low greenhouse emission technologies, with interests in geothermal waste / heat, uranium exploration in Australia's Northern Territory and biodiesel investments in Victoria, Australia.

Xtract Energy’s wholly owned subsidiary, Xtract Oil Ltd, is focused upon the development of oil shale resources in Australia and the technology for oil extraction from oil shale minerals. Oil shale technology could lead to the production of liquid hydrocarbons to partially address the global decline of conventional oil reserves, with significant environmental benefits and higher yields over previously tried extraction methods.

Geographical Spread

Australia

AGD Mining Ltd: gold

Xtract Oil Ltd: oil shale

Canada

Western Canadian Coal Corp: coal

Falls Mountain Coal Corp.: coal

NEMI Northern Energy & Mining Inc: Coal

Kyrgyzstan

Xtract Energy plc: oil and gas

United States of America

King Coal Corporation Ltd: coal

Pageton (West Virginia): coal

Maple Coal Corp. Ltd.: coal

United Kingdom

Energybuild Group plc: coal

Board of Directors and Key Management

John J Byrne	Executive Chairman
John Conlon	Executive Director
Mark Burridge	Chief Executive Officer
Charles de Chezelles	Non-Executive Director
John O' Reilly	Non-Executive Director
Braam Jonker	Finance Director
Ted Button	Non-Executive Director

Company Address

27 Albemarle Street
London, London, United Kingdom W1S 4DW


Telephone:	+44 (0)20 7409 0890
Facsimile:	+44 (0)20 7491 2758
Email:	helenday[at]cambrianmining.com
Website:	http://www.cambrianmining.com

Additional Address/Key Contact

For all press or media related enquiries, please contact Simon Rothschild at Bankside Consultant Tel: +44 20 7367 8871

Capital

Number of shares in issue: 98,466,500

Annual General Meeting

December

Year End

June 30

Nominated Brokers

Nominated Advisor & Broker:
Landsbanki Securities (UK) Limited
Beaufort House
15 St Boltoph Street
London
EC3A 7QR

Nominated Advisors