Ashton Mining of Canada Inc.: Buffalo Hills Exploration Program Approved.

Business Editors

VANCOUVER, B.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 2001

Robert T. Boyd, President and CEO of Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. ("Ashton") (TSE:ACA.) is pleased to announce that the Alberta joint venture has approved the first phase of a three-phase exploration program for the Buffalo Hills property in north-central Alberta.

The initial phase has commenced and has two objectives. The first is to identify additional drill targets on the Buffalo Hills property through the interpretation of existing data. The second objective is to better understand the geology of the K252 kimberlite and the surrounding area. This includes the K6 kimberlite, located 600 m to the south, which returned a clear yellow diamond weighing 0.76 carats from a 13.95 tonne mini-bulk sample processed in early 1998.

The second phase of the program would involve delineation drilling at K252, while the third phase envisages the collection of a 200-400 tonne bulk sample from that kimberlite. If approved, these stages of the program are expected take place in early 2002. This timing would enable the joint venture to take advantage of the logistical and cost-related benefits of accessing the K252 site under winter conditions.

As announced on May 24, 2001, a 22.8 tonne sample collected in March 2001 from K252 returned a total of 12.54 carats of diamonds, giving this sample an estimated diamond content of 55.0 carats per hundred tonnes. These results indicate the potential for K252 to host a population of commercial-sized diamonds and provide encouragement for continuing the search for additional diamondiferous kimberlites in north-central Alberta.

The joint venturers on the Buffalo Hills property and their approximate interests are Ashton (ACA.TSE) 45 percent, Alberta Energy Company Ltd. 45 percent and Pure Gold Minerals Inc. 10 percent.