Robert T. Boyd, President and CEO of Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. ("Ashton"), is pleased to report that processing of bulk samples collected from the Renard 4 and Renard 65 kimberlitic bodies during the winter 2004 program has commenced. As announced on April 12, 2004, approximately 218 tonnes of kimberlitic material was collected from the Renard 4 and Renard 65 during the initial phase of the bulk sampling program using a combination of core and reverse circulation drilling.

Renard 4 and 65 are part of the Renard cluster of nine diamondiferous kimberlitic bodies situated on the 200,000 hectare Foxtrot property in north-central Quebec. Six of these bodies occur in a 50 hectare area (the "Core Area") and four of them, Renard 2, 3, 4 and 65, are the subject of the bulk sampling program currently being conducted by Ashton and its joint venture partner, SOQUEM INC. ("SOQUEM"). This program is designed to collect a sample weighing approximately 600 tonnes and to recover an estimated 300 carats of diamonds. This will allow the joint venture to better define the size and diamond content of these four bodies and to obtain a preliminary determination of diamond value.

Dense media separation ("DMS") diamond results from samples collected and processed to date from the Core Area are summarized in the table below.

Note 1: Diamonds with a total weight of 7.81 carats were recovered from 5.11 tonnes of material using a 1.18 mm square aperture screen.

Note 2: Excluding the plus-four carat diamond, the weight of the diamonds recovered is 6.06 carats giving the material an estimated diamond content of 33 cpht.

Note 3: Excluding the plus-four carat diamond, the weight of the diamonds recovered is 37.17 carats giving the material an estimated diamond content of 65 cpht.

Mini-bulk samples collected to date from the Core Area have returned diamond contents between 53 and 144 cpht and confirm the presence of a significant population of commercial-size diamonds. As reported on January 19, 2004, these encouraging results prompted the joint venture to approve an aggressive 2004 program that includes a bulk sample and continued exploration. The joint venture will commence the summer portion of this program in early July. This work will include the collection of approximately 400 tonnes of material from the four bodies which are the subject of the bulk sample. In addition, exploration will continue with further indicator mineral sampling, prospecting and target drilling.

The kimberlitic material collected by core drilling will be processed using Ashton's five tonne per hour ("tph") DMS plant in North Vancouver. The RC material will be processed in Thunder Bay, Ontario, using a ten tph DMS plant owned by Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc., a member company of the Rio Tinto group. All concentrates from both core and RC samples will be observed for diamond recovery at Ashton's laboratory facilities.

During the winter program, the joint venture collected approximately 17 tonnes by core drilling and 110 tonnes by RC drilling from Renard 65. Processing of the material collected by core drilling started in June with results expected in July. Processing of the sample collected by RC drilling will commence in July with results expected in August.

As reported on August 28, 2003, 18.44 tonnes of material processed to date from Renard 65 has returned approximately 10 carats of diamonds including a diamond embedded in core that has an estimated weight greater than four carats. This material has an estimated diamond content of 54 carats per hundred tonnes ("cpht").

Approximately 21 and 70 tonnes of material were collected by core and RC drilling respectively from Renard 4 this past winter. Processing of the RC material will take place sequentially in July after the RC material from Renard 65. Results are expected in August or September. The material collected by core drilling will be processed starting in July with results expected in September.

As reported on February 11, 2004, 15.07 tonnes of material processed to date from Renard 4 has returned 8.04 carats of diamond giving this material an estimated diamond content of 53 cpht.

The five tonnes of material collected by core drilling from Renard 9 during the winter will be processed and observed after completion of processing and observing of the samples collected from Renard 4 and Renard 65.

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, as an industrial and financial holding company, is to carry out economic development projects, especially in the industrial sector, in cooperation with partners and in accordance with accepted requirements for profitability that comply with the economic development policy of the Government of Quebec. 

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

For further information, please contact:

Robert T. Boyd        -or-         Alessandro Bitelli                   -or-  visit our website:
President and CEO                   Vice President, Finance                     www.ashton.ca
(604) 983-7750                        (604) 983-7750                                 email: contact@ashton.ca