Robert T. Boyd, President and CEO of Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. ("Ashton" or the "Corporation"), is pleased to report that the Corporation has completed the diamond analysis of a second 4.11 tonne sample collected from the Renard 4 kimberlitic intrusion during the winter 2003 program on the Foxtrot property. Inclusive of these results, the combined 8.22 tonnes of material collected to date has an estimated diamond content of 50 carats per hundred tonnes ("cpht"). Situated in the Otish Mountains region of north-central Quebec, the Foxtrot property is currently under exploration by Ashton and its joint venture partner, SOQUEM INC. ("SOQUEM").

During the winter program, ten angle holes were drilled from four setups located within the interpreted boundaries of the body. The drilling was designed to better define the size and diamond content of Renard 4. Together with the results from five holes drilled in 2002, the data from these holes confirm that the interpreted surface area of Renard 4 is not less than one hectare.

The 4.11 tonne sample was collected from the ten angle holes and was processed by dense media separation ("DMS") at Ashton's North Vancouver laboratory. The material returned a total of 1.34 carats of diamonds larger than 0.85 mm using a square aperture screen, giving the sample an estimated diamond content of 33 cpht. As reported on November 29, 2002, an initial sample of 4.11 tonnes was collected from four of the five holes drilled earlier that year and had an estimated diamond content of 66 cpht. As shown in the table below, when the results from the two samples are combined, the 8.22 tonnes of material analyzed from Renard 4 thus far has an estimated diamond content of 50 cpht. Further delineation drilling and the collection of larger samples will be required to determine the grade of Renard 4.

DMS Diamond Results for Renard 4 - 2002 and 2003

Note 1: The largest stone is a pale brown dodecahedral diamond and weighs 0.11 carats.
Note 2: The largest stone is a colourless octahedral diamond and weighs 0.26 carats.

The one hectare Renard 4 body is largely composed of kimberlitic breccia with varying quantities of country rock xenolith inclusions. The drill data from 2002 and 2003 suggest that country rock xenoliths are more abundant toward the margins of the body. Drilling in 2002 sampled both the centre and the margins of Renard 4. In 2003, the drill program was designed to more clearly delineate the surface dimensions of the body and therefore focused on its margins. The difference in the diamond content of the two samples may be attributable to the increased presence of xenoliths towards the margins of Renard 4.

The 2003 sample also included several intersections of hypabyssal material, the widest being 14.4 metres. Hypabyssal material weighing 0.60 tonnes in total was selected from seven of the 10 drill holes for separate DMS analysis. This material accounted for 0.55 of the total 1.34 carats recovered.

Hypabyssal kimberlitic dykes of varying widths are also intermittently present within zones of country rock or country rock breccia peripheral to the one hectare body. Two samples of material from these zones have been subjected to DMS analysis to date. Results from the first sample were reported on November 29, 2002. The second sample was collected from three of the 10 holes drilled in 2003. The table below shows the estimated amount of hypabyssal kimberlitic material present in these samples and their estimated diamond content.

Diamond Results for Country Rock
and Country Rock Breccia with Hypabyssal Dykes

Note 1: Includes a clear, colourless octahedral diamond weighing 0.11 carats.
Note 2: Includes a pale brown dodecahedral diamond weighing 0.28 carats.

Ashton and SOQUEM have been exploring for diamonds in Quebec since 1996. The 50:50 joint

venture currently holds more than 380,000 hectares of highly prospective mineral permits in north-central Quebec including the 153,00 hectare Foxtrot property which hosts the seven diamondiferous Renard kimberlitic bodies and the Renard 9 kimberlitic intrusion discovered in 2003.

SOQUEM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SGF Minéral inc., a subsidiary of Société générale de financement du Québec ("SGF"). The mission of the SGF is to carry out economic development projects in cooperation with partners and in accordance with accepted requirements of profitability.

Ashton is the operator of the exploration programs and Brooke Clements, Professional Geologist and Ashton's Vice President, Exploration, is responsible for their design and conduct and the verification and quality assurance of analytical results.

For further information, please contact:          

Robert T. Boyd        -or-         Ariel Bowers       -or-           visit our website:
President and CEO                   Investor Relations                             www.ashton.ca
(604) 983-7750                        (604) 983-7750                      investor@ashton.ca