Balsa Steering Committee Appointed.

Business Editors

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 2000

Fischer-Watt Gold Company, Inc. (OTCBB:FWGO) announced today that it has formed a steering committee to oversee the preparation of a bankable feasibility study on the Balsa copper project.

It was announced last week that three mineral industry consulting firms had been chosen to assist Fischer-Watt in the preparation and certification of the study.

There will be three members on the steering committee, Joseph Keane, President of K.D. Engineering, the lead consulting firm assisting in the study preparation, James Seed, Chairman of the Board of Fischer-Watt, and James W. Holme, President of H & H Metals Corp.

It was previously announced that Mr. Seed had pledged up to $400,000 for the preparation of the study in return for a 10% equity position in the Balsa project.

The H & H Metals Corp. has been retained to obtain up to $7,000,000 of capital financing for the project subject to the bankable feasibility study and off take supply agreements.

George Beattie, President and CEO of Fischer-Watt said that the steering committee will provide overall direction during preparation of the Balsa feasibility study and assure the company that the financial contributors to the project are comfortable at all times with the quality of work that is going into the study.

Statements in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual developments or results may vary materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.