Aranlee Begins Intensive Exploration Program in Kazakstan.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 18, 1997--Aranlee Resources Lt (VSE ARB.) Aranlee Resources Ltd. ("Aranlee") is pleased to announce that following the signing of a Letter of Intent with Kazakstan Minerals Corporation ("KazMinCo") on January 31, 1997 (see news release dated February 5, 1997) a detailed review of the existing exploration database is underway on the large land position in the highly prospective Agadyr Mining District in central Kazakstan.

The huge volume of high quality exploration data generated by the State exploration expeditions over the past 50 years is being compiled and evaluated and an aggressive exploration program will commence in early spring, with the intention of identifying targets for trenching and follow-up drilling in the summer of 1997.

The 10 mineral properties totaling 9,700 sq km within the Agadyr Exploration License and a pending application for the approximately 2,000 sq km Balkhash Exploration License are located 600 km northwest of Almaty, the capital city, in an area with excellent infrastructure. These two licenses cover an area containing numerous precious and base metal occurrences which have been prospected extensively by previous geological expeditions but without the more sophisticated exploration concepts and techniques that are widely used outside of the former CIS countries.

Aranlee has established an exploration office in Almaty with an experienced North American Exploration Manager and has acquired an existing field office from KazMinCo in Agadyr.

A brief description of the individual properties follows, with locations shown on the attached map:

AGADYR LICENSE -- KEY TARGET AREAS

TOLAGAI

Covering approximately 700 sq km, the Tolagai property is located in the central part of the License area and is dominated by the Tolagai summit, a large, altered porphyry stock intruding Paleozoic sediments.

-- Approximately 8 km long, the Ken Adyr-Tolagai mineralized trend consists of a series of gold/copper prospects and occurrences in altered sediments.

-- Surface sampling along the trend indicates at least 170 locations with values reported to be in excess of 0.5 g/t gold and ranging up to 10.0 g/t gold.

-- An estimated 2,000 tonnes of ore from a small pit at the Ken Adyr deposit at the northeast end of the trend is reported to average 5 g/t gold.

-- Good gold grades are also reported from past work at the Tolagai-3 prospect, located roughly in the middle of the trend, where about 100 tonnes of stockpiled material from a small underground tunnel average about 5 g/t gold.

ZHANGELDY

This property, about 1,300 sq km in size, is adjacent to the southern boundary of the Tolagai property and is mostly underlain by Paleozoic sediments and volcanics.

-- The Zhangeldy copper porphyry prospect, located in the northern part of the property, is hosted by a Paleozoic intrusive and consists of 3 geochemically anomalous zones along an approximately 10 km long trend.

-- Geochemical data from the north and central zones of this trend show values up to 0.10 percent copper, 10 ppm molybdenum and 1.0 g/t gold.

-- Mineralization within the southern zone of the trend is reported to be associated with massive quartz veins of significant strike lengths with grades averaging about 1.0 percent copper and 1.0 - 3.0 g/t gold.

ZHEKEDUAN

Located adjacent to the Zhangeldy property to the west and covering approximately 640 sq km, the Zhekeduan copper-gold porphyry prospect is located in the northwest corner of the property and is hosted by a Paleozoic intrusive complex intruding metasedimentary rocks.

-- According to the available data, shallow scout drilling within a small portion of the mineralized system in the 1950's identified a near surface, 32 m thick silicified, sub-horizontal zone with values ranging from 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent copper and several 1m - 2m drill intercepts ranging from 1.0 g/t to 13.4 g/t gold coincident with brecciation and quartz-pyrite stockworks.

-- Located approximately 1 km southeast of the drilled area, an extensive zone of quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration correlates well with a strong gold/silver/molybdenum soil anomaly over an area 500- 600 m in diameter.

-- This major metal anomaly represents an early drilling target for Aranlee and there are indications that this target may be part of a much larger altered zone that is partially obscured by thin surface cover.

KIIKBAI AND SAIDAL

These properties cover the western part of the Agadyr License, with Kiikbai occupying approximately 1,800 sq km and Saidal, immediately to the south, covering about 1,100 sq km.

-- The Kiikbai -- Saidal mineralized trend, which is roughly 9 km long by 3 km wide, straddles the boundary between the 2 properties and so far 33 gold bearing zones hosted by Paleozoic sediments have been identified within this system.

-- A possible buried intrusive is indicated by numerous dikes and sills within an altered area about 5 km in diameter.

-- Surface samples from intensely altered, silicified and stockworked zones within the mineralized trend are reported to range up to 10 g/t gold and 200 g/t silver.

AGADYR LICENSE - ADDITIONAL TARGET AREAS

ADYLBAY

The property is located in the eastern part of the Agadyr License and is the largest of the ten properties in the Agadyr License area, covering an area of approximately 2,000 sq km. It is underlain by Paleozoic volcano-sedimentary rocks and intruded by Paleozoic/Mesozoic granites. Several gold showings are reported in the area but no systematic gold exploration has been carried out. The property is highly prospective with numerous areas of strong alteration and stockworks reported.

ORTOSHOKY, NURA, SHERUBAY NURA AND URALBAY

Located in the northern part of the License area, each of these 4 properties is approximately 550 sq km (totaling 2,200 sq km) in size and is underlain by Paleozoic volcanics and sediments. At least 30 occurrences with gold values in excess of 0.5 g/t and ranging up to 7.0 g/t are located on these 4 properties. Based on the available data, no systematic follow-up work on these occurrences has previously been carried out.

BALKHASH LICENSE

Covering about 2000 sq km, the Balkhash License area is located approximately 30 km south of the Agadyr License area. Geologically, the area is part of a Paleozoic volcanogenic and intrusive belt known mainly for its porphyry copper deposits, the largest of which is the Miedniy Kounrad (450 million tonnes at 0.60 percent recovered copper), located adjacent to the south-east boundary of the property (see attached map).

As in the Agadyr License area, gold was not considered a high priority for the State exploration expeditions and most of the known gold showings have been found during routine exploration for copper and a helicopter-supported gold reconnaissance program undertaken in 1969 - 1972; very few of the showings have ever been followed up on a detailed basis. The data from these programs will not be available until the Exploration License is issued, which is expected to occur shortly. Several specific copper and gold prospects, however, are known in the area with the gold targets reporting values in excess of 0.5 g/t and ranging up to 5.0 g/t gold.

LETTER OF INTENT

Under the terms of the January Letter of Intent with KazMinCo, Aranlee will acquire 100 percent of KazMinCo's 67 percent interest in JSC Agadir, a Kazak company holding a 100 percent interest in 10 properties within the Agadyr Exploration License and the pending application for the Balkhash Exploration License.

The remaining 33 percent interest in JSC Agadir is held by the Kazak partner, Temenai. Aranlee has been granted a first right of refusal by Temenai to acquire this remaining 33 percent interest. The Company will make cash payments to KazMinCo totaling $700,000, issue an aggregate of 2.2 million shares (on a phased basis subject to VSE requirements) and pay US$5.00 per recoverable mineable ounce of gold based upon the first bankable feasibility study on the first deposit on each of the individual properties.

The Letter of Intent remains subject to regulatory approval. Aranlee's due diligence process is underway and is expected to be completed shortly.

In addition to the properties in Kazakstan, the Company holds an option to acquire a 100 percent interest in 7 properties and has claimed 2 other properties in an exciting new mineralized belt in northwest Argentina. Aranlee also has a 50 percent interest in 1,565 claims in 17 properties in the Voisey's Bay region of Labrador, Canada. The Company's share capital comprises 16.4 million common shares issued and 18.3 million common shares on a fully diluted basis. -0- ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Stephen J. Kay, Vice President and CFO -0-

Note To Editors: The Vancouver Stock Exchange neither approves nor disapproves the information contained in this News Release.

CONTACT: Aranlee Resources Ltd.

Jim Kasten, 602/951-4870

Internet site: http://www.aranlee.com/arl/