An important drilling programme, as outlined in PlatSearch’s Summary of Exploration Highlights, 25 November 2005, has now commenced. The current drilling by Western Plains Gold (WPG) at Euriowie and Lake Cargelligo projects will be followed in early 2006 through to mid 2006 by drilling by joint venturers on the following projects:

• Woodlawn South Project, NSW (Tri Origin);

• Son of Man and B40 prospects, Euriowie Project, NSW (WPG);

• Mordialloc prospect, Trundle Project, NSW (WPG);

• K1 prospect, Mulyungarie Project, SA (WPG);

• Kalabity Project, SA (WPG);

• Benagerie Joint Venture, SA (Newcrest);

• Coondambo Project, SA (Marathon); and

• Stephens-Centennial Project, NSW.

Joint venturer Western Plains Gold (ASX code: WPG) has advised that a drilling programme has commenced at the Fairy Hill and Yalcowinna Creek prospects in the Euriowie tenement EL 5771 joint ventured with PlatSearch. The programme consists of six inclined holes at Fairy Hill prospect and nine inclined holes at Yalcowinna Creek and is expected to be completed by late December 2005. WPG has the right to earn a 60% interest in EL 5771 by spending $750,000.

At each prospect the drilling will provide an initial test of strong coherent bedrock copper anomalies where outcropping massive sulphide gossans carry strong copper and gold values. Both anomalies have substantial strike length and extend beyond the limits of the current sampling such that further RAB drilling will be required to close the anomalies at either end.

Elsewhere in the Euriowie tenement, a programme of detailed magnetic and electromagnetic surveys commenced in late November at the B40 and Son of Man prospects. In conjunction with rock-chip sampling and geological mapping completed recently, the results of this geophysical work will be used to develop drilling targets on these prospects.

WPG has advised of the completion of the first diamond drillhole at the Achilles 1 prospect within its 100% owned Lake Cargelligo project situated in the western part of the Lachlan Fold Belt in New South Wales. PlatSearch has an interest in this project through its 25% shareholding in WPG.

DDH-A1-2 was drilled to a depth of 300 metres and intersected a major zone of intense hydrothermal alteration comprising pervasive sericite-hematite in the oxide zone and sericite-pyrite in the primary zone. Variable amounts of copper sulphides, mostly as blebs of disseminated chalcopyrite with minor chalcocite, occur in the strongly altered rocks. Gold and copper-lead-zinc assays will be available early in January 2006. The nature and intensity of the alteration, and the geology intersected in this first hole supports the prospectivity of the Achilles 1 prospect for Cobar style copper-gold mineralisation.

The second hole, DDH-A1-1, is designed to test coincident copper and gold geochemical anomalies situated a kilometre to the south of DDH-A1-2. This hole has a planned depth of 250 metres and commenced this week.

PlatSearch has commenced a geochemical sampling programme in the Copper King tenement at Broken Hill. This work is in accordance with a joint venture agreement with CBH Resources Ltd, details of which were announced in late September 2005.

The ZincSearch joint venture will undertake an extensive soil geochemical sampling programme over a large tenement holding at Broken Hill, NSW. The work will utilise a new technology that provides in-situ analysis of surface soil, for a wide range of elements, with results available immediately. Coupled with GPS positioning, the NITON XRF analyser enables areas to be geochemically mapped rapidly and with an unprecedented level of detail. The technology is effective where there are large areas of shallow residual soils, such as much of the Broken Hill Block.

Initial field trials of the method have been very successful and the joint venture is confident that the programme will quickly generate a large number of new drilling targets.