Coleraine Mining Resources Inc. - Private Placements and Normetal Mining Camp Agreements.

ROUYN-NORANDA, Quebec--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 1997-- COLERAINE(ME CRI. ) Coleraine Mining Resources Inc. is pleased to make the following announcements regarding its financing and exploration activities in the Normetal, Abitibi region of Quebec;

- Coleraine has engaged Bunting Warburg Inc. as its agent to raise, on a best-efforts basis, up to $4.59 million in a private placement to European investors;

- An amended agreement with Falconbridge Limited ("Falconbridge") has expanded Coleraine's Perron property from 440 hectares to 840 hectares, and;

- A new agreement with Falconbridge grants Coleraine the right to acquire up to a 50 percent interest in the Normetal property over a 3 year period. The Normetal property covers more than 200 km2 surrounding the Perron property.

Financing

Coleraine has engaged Bunting Warburg Inc. as its exclusive agent to raise, on a best-efforts basis, a minimum of $3,060,000 and a maximum of $4,590,000 in a private placement of Units to European investors. Each unit will be priced at $0.51, and will consist of one common share and one-half of a common share purchase warrant. Each whole purchase warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one common share at a price of $0.65 per share until September 30, 1997, and at a price of $0.75 per share until September 30, 1998. This financing will enable Coleraine to accelerate its exploration programs on the Perron and Normetal properties. Closing of the financing is scheduled for March 25, 1997, and is subject to final documentation and regulatory approval.

Coleraine also signed a financing agreement with Falconbridge for an amount of $335,000 with the same conditions as the European financing but which is subject to the Canadian rules and regulations. This financing will be used to cover one third of the $1 million 1997 exploration budget on the Normetal property.

Perron property

In order to verify the eastern extension of the gold-bearing structure recently identified by Coleraine's drilling program, Coleraine and Falconbridge have agreed to nearly double (from 440 to 840 hectares) the surface area of Coleraine's Perron property by amending their original agreement signed in August 1996. To acquire a 50 percent interest in the whole property, Coleraine must complete a $750,000 work commitment over the next 4 years. Coleraine can acquire an additional 10 percent interest by completing an additional $500,000 work commitment before the end of the fifth year.

Coleraine has planned a three phase exploration program for the Perron property. The first phase, to begin next week, consists of a drilling program totaling at least 3,000 meters in order to verify the lateral extensions and the depth of the mineralized zones. This would be followed by a second phase drilling program of a least 7,000 meters to determine the potential reserves of each of the 3 gold-bearing zones currently identified. In addition, an exploration program consisting of geological, geophysical and geochemical surveys would be completed on each of the properties during the summer of 1997.

Normetal property

Coleraine has signed an agreement with Falconbridge to acquire up to a 50 percent interest in the Normetal property. This property, which covers more than 200 square kilometers, surrounds the Perron property and extends over a length of 35 km along the strike of the Normetal fault. To acquire this interest, Coleraine must invest $3 million in exploration work over a period of 3 years as follows: $1 million during 1997 to acquire the initial 25 percent interest, $1 million in 1998 to acquire an additional 15 percent interest, and the remaining $1 million during 1999 to acquire another 10 percent interest.

Conclusion

On completion of the private placement, Coleraine will have the financial resources necessary to demonstrate the gold-bearing potential of the Perron property. In addition, it has the right to acquire a 50 percent interest in the large Normetal property, which has shown potential for gold and base metal deposits. These new agreements crystallize Coleraine's position on the new Archean gold belt in Abitibi, which is situated near a well-developed infrastructure.

CONTACT: Coleraine Mining Resources inc.

M. Gratien Gelinas, 819/ 797-6512

819/ 797-1550 (FAX)

or

Coleraine Mining Resources inc.

M. Jacques Trottier, 514/ 861-1953

514/ 861-1044 (FAX)