Cumberland, Redfern, Int'l Vestor And Auspex Minerals - Portugal Exploration Agreement Signed.

VANCOUVER, BC--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 1996--CUMBERLAND (TSE:CBD; TSE:RFR; VSE:IVS; VSE:APJ) Cumberland Resources Ltd., Redfern Resources Ltd., International Vestor Resources Ltd., and Auspex Minerals Ltd. announce that they have entered into a joint venture agreement to conduct mineral exploration in the area of Portugal underlain by the famous Iberian Pyrite Belt. The joint venture will initially focus on the Grandola area, 80 km southeast of Lisbon.

Under terms of the agreement, Cumberland, Redfern and International Vestor will share equally the cost of the initial program ($180,000) on the Grandola concession. This amount will be matched by Auspex in the subsequent program. Thereafter, interests and expenditures will be as follows: Auspex 50 percent, Cumberland 16.66 percent, Redfern 16.68 percent and International Vestor 16.66 percent.

The Iberian Pyrite Belt hosts numerous volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits including the famous Rio Tinto deposit. The world class Neves Corvo mine and the potentially major Lagoa Salgada deposit, currently under exploration by RTZ, are two VMS deposits in Portugal within the Portuguese sector of the Iberian Pyrite belt. Neves Corvo was discovered in 1977 and is now Europe's largest copper producer. Initial high grade reserves were 30 million tonnes grading 8 percent copper within a large 150 million tonne VMS deposit. Neves Corvo is also a major producer of lead, zinc, tin and precious metals. The recently discovered Lagoa Salgada is also a large VMS deposit. Detailed drill results from Lagoa Salgada have not been released, however, there are indications of significant intersections of high grade base and precious metals.

The joint venture has been notified by the Portugal Mines Dept. (IGM) that, subject to ministerial approval, its application has been accepted for the Grandola concession. The Grandola concession covers 213 square kilometres contiguous to Lagoa Salgada. Within this area two significant gravity anomalies have been defined. These anomalies are similar to the gravity anomalies which are coincidental with and which led to the discovery of the Neves Corvo and Lagoa Salgada deposits. Exploration at Grandola will begin as soon as possible with geochemical and geophysical surveys, followed by diamond drilling. -0-

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CONTACT: CUMBERLAND RESOURCES

Glen Dickson

President

[phone]

or

REDFERN RESOURCES LTD.

John Greig

Director

[phone]

or

INTERNATIONAL VESTOR RESOURCES LTD.

John Greig

Director

[phone]

or

AUSPEX MINERALS LTD.

Alvin Jackson

President

[phone]