Noront Resources Ltd. - Ashton "buy-back" on Noront No.1 Property Airborne Survey to Begin immediately.

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 1995--Richard Nemis, President of Noront Resources Ltd.(VSE: NOT)("Noront"), is pleased to announce that the Company has been informed by Pure Gold Resource Inc. ("Pure Gold") of Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. ("Ashton") intention to exercise the "buy-back" clause of the Joint Venture Agreement with Pure Gold on the Noront No.1 property. The 105,000 acre property is located approximately 40 km southwest of a diamondiferous kimberlite discovery recently announced by Mountain Province Mining Inc., and 23 km from the Camsell Lake diamondiferous kimberlite discovery announced by Winspear/Amarado/Aber/Consolidated Newgate.

Pure Gold is earning a 40 percent interest in the Noront #1 claims from Noront's (75 percent) and Rusty Lake Resources (25 percent). Ashton may earn a 50 percent interest from each of the parties proportionately by funding all future exploration on the claims up to and including the collection of 20 tonnes of kimberlite from each prospective kimberlite discovery.

Ashton intends to commence immediately a 2,300 line km detailed airborne geophysical survey over the 44 claim block. This program is expected to cost $125,000 and will be completed by the end of May. A surface heavy mineral sampling program will follow up on 1994 sampling which identified one broad, discrete, kimberlitic indicator mineral fan in the northern portion of the property. Additional positive samples in the southern portion of the property suggest the possibility of the presence of further fans indicative of kimberlite pipes. Dependent on favourable results, a diamond drilling program would be expected this summer. -0- The Vancouver Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein.

CONTACT: Noront Resources Ltd.

Richard Nemis, 416/864-1456