PGM Ventures Thierry Mine Joint Venture.

Business Editors

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2004

PGM Ventures Corporation ("PGM") ((TSX VENTURE:PPG) announces that it has entered into a letter agreement to joint venture its wholly owned Thierry Mine with Peabody Capital Partners Corp.

The Thierry Mine

Thierry was a major copper producer operated by UMEX (a wholly owned subsidiary of Belgian miner Union Miniere) from August 1976 through to April 1982 when the mine was closed due to the then low prevailing price of copper, which continued through most of the 1980s. Towards the end of the mine's life, the metallurgical problems associated with nickel were solved and a nickel recovery circuit was installed. The mine also earned additional credits from gold, silver and platinum group metals (PGMs).

Thierry's average mill throughput was 3,500t/day, however the mine experienced a high level of waste dilution (circa 55-60%), which will be avoided by the use of standard selective mining techniques. Additional problems were caused by the high labour turnover rate of around 25% per month.

At today's metal prices, copper represents around 40-45% of the ore's value as is indicated in the table below:

Metal   Average Grade(a)   Current Price   Value (US$/t)    % Value

Copper      2.75%           US$ 1.10/lb       $66.69/t        43.8%
Nickel:     0.35%           US$ 6.70/lb       $51.70/t        34.0%
Cobalt      0.02%           US$11.00/lb       $ 5.94/t         3.9%

Platinum    0.40g/t         US$850/oz         $10.93/t         7.2%
Palladium   1.40g/t         US$250/oz         $11.25/t         7.4%
Gold        0.20g/t         US$410/oz         $ 2.64/t         1.7%
Silver     15.00g/t        US$6.30/oz         $ 3.04/t         2.0%

(a) Average grade is represented by 17 out of 22 drill holes on the
unmined 1200 level examined for their PGM potential during the
1988/89 evaluation program. The average ore thickness encountered in
these drill holes was 7.4 metres.

Thierry's main orebody is approximately 1,100 metres in length and is largely mined out to a depth of 245 metres on its western side and 75 metres in the east. Below these depths the Thierry orebody is virtally unexploited, although it is well accessed by underground development. The orebody, once the mine is dewatered, will be accessible either by the existing shaft (to 545 metres) or production ramp (to 490 metres).

During 2002, the company undertook a surface drilling program to confirm the Thierry ore's PGM potential; the results of this program confirmed management's expectations.

Although there were over 1,000 drill holes at Thierry, only around 5% were ever assayed for precious metals, including PGMs.

The Thierry property has $25 million in CDE tax pools and $30 million in CDE tax pools.

Summary of the Terms of the Joint Venture

1. Peabody, or its assignee, has the right to earn a 70%

participating interest in Thierry by producing a bankable

feasibility study, or expending $7 million on the property.

2. Peabody, or its assignee, can earn a 49% interest in Thierry by

providing $2 million in funding.

3. In the event that Peabody, or its assignee, have not produced a

bankable feasibility study, or expended $7 million, within a

seven year period, then the company will have certain clawback

rights which will reduce Peabody's beneficial ownership to 35%

if less than $4 million has been expended and to 49% if less

than $7 million has been expended, thereafter normal joint

venture dilution terms will apply.

4. Once Peabody, or its assignee, has earned a 70% interest in

Thierry, it has a right for 30 days to have the company's

residual 30% interest converted into their stock at fair

market value.

Summary of the Proposed Program to Bankable Feasibility

The company has satisfied itself that Peabody has sufficient funds to proceed with a program to re-open the Thierry mine. The program leading up to the bankable feasibility study will consist principally of the following:

1. Base line environmental monitoring and acquisition of permits

to dewater the mine.

2. Dewatering the mine.

3. Preliminary rehabilitation of certain underground workings,

such as the main development haulages.

4. An underground drill program to confirm existing reserves,

prove up additional ore reserves as well as confirm structural

controls over the distribution of enhanced ore values.

5. A 5,000 tonne bulk sample to confirm the validity of the drill

results.

6. All other works and studies required to produce a bankable

feasibility study.

Summary

PGM is pleased to have acquired a JV partner prepared to provide the funding to complete a bankable feasibility study, thereby releasing both funds and resources for the company's activities in gold mining and exploration in both Papua New Guinea and Venezuela.

In recent months the price of both copper and nickel have recovered significantly. The company believes the demand for base metals from the fast growing economies of China, India and elsewhere in Asia is likely to stay buoyant for the foreseeable future, however it is concerned about the huge budget and current account deficits of the United States, the world's largest economy, and has therefore decided to concentrate on gold as the focus of its future activities.

Issued & Outstanding: 21,565,424 Shares

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed, neither approved, nor disapproved of the information contained herein.