VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 26, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Crew Development Corporation Ltd (Crew) (Toronto:CRU) (Other OTC:CRWVF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Wolf K. Seidler, P. Eng. as Chief Operating Officer of Crew.
Mr. Seidler is a mining engineer with over 30 years of Canadian and international mining experience, including the development and operation of several narrow-vein gold mines. His employment history includes managerial and executive positions with established mining companies such as Normandy LaSource, Inmet Mining Corp., J.S. Redpath Ltd., Teck Corp. (Lamaque Gold mine) and Gold Fields Mining Corp (Darius Mine). Wolf Seidler has worked in more than 20 countries with responsibility for gold operations in Brazil, Canada, Sweden and Finland.
As previously announced, Crew is actively seeking a transformation from being predominantly a diversified holding company to becoming a gold producer and a focused mining company. The appointment of Mr. Seidler will strengthen the management team and ensure a timely and efficient implementation of the Nalunaq gold mine and other resource projects within Crew's portfolio of assets. A brief update on the status of the key projects is given below.
Development projects:
Nalunaq
The company is in the final stages of planning the commencement of production at Nalunaq gold mine; the authorities are currently reviewing the feasibility and the environmental impact studies while the company is seeking an interim permit for immediate shipping and test processing of the existing stockpile (28,000 oz of contained gold) at an offshore processing plant in Newfoundland. Mine construction is expected to start in the first half of 2003. The average annual production is projected to be 90,000 oz at a cash operating cost of U.S. $168 per oz.
Hwini-Butre
In Ghana, independent consultant Watts, Griffis and McQuat have confirmed a measured and indicated resource of 4.2 million tonnes containing 562,000 oz gold. The inferred resources exceed 7.3 million tonnes containing 374,000 oz. The partners have initiated investigations of the economic recovery of this resource while continuing with exploration.
Mindoro and Negros projects
In the Philippines the company has filed an appeal with the President's office regarding MPSA title of the Mindoro Nickel Project. While awaiting a decision, the company has initiated negotiations with two large Philippine industrial partners regarding cooperation on the Negros Sulfur Project and the Mindoro Nickel Project. These negotiations will continue while the parties conduct technical reviews of the projects.
Exploration projects:
South Greenland
During the summer of 2002 the company has conducted a regional exploration program for gold in the remaining part of the 1080 sq. km Nanortalik concession in south Greenland, with the aim of further defining other known gold discoveries. This program will be continued in 2003 and includes drilling at the Lake 410 target area, located some 20 km south of Nalunaq.
Northern Norway
In northern Norway, Crew's Canadian partner has conducted a detailed helicopter-borne geophysical survey of the Ringvassoy Gold Prospect. The results were encouraging and the company has completed a follow-up geochemical sampling and geological mapping. The results of this campaign are still pending final assaying.
Finance
Crew's revised strategy is to focus on high quality projects with prospects for near-term cash flow. The company has no long-term debt, and a sound financial standing. Financing of the Nalunaq gold mine is secured through a credit facility with Standard Bank London Ltd.
This News Release was prepared by the Board of Directors on behalf of Crew Development Corp., which is solely responsible for its contents. For more information or to be put on our email list, please contact the Oslo Office at +47 67 59 2424, email crew@crew.no. Visit our website at http://www.crewdev.com.