CanTung ships first concentrate (February 19, 2002)

Vancouver — North American Tungsten (NTC-V) has completed its first shipment of high-grade clean tungsten concentrate. The concentrate is destined for the company’s strategic allies, Sandvik AB of Stockholm, Sweden and Osram Sylvania Products of Pennsylvania, a subsidiary of Siemens AG of Germany.

The first shipment weighed 24.5 tonnes and contained 1,745 metric tonne units (1 MTU = 10 kg) of tungsten trioxide. North American Tungsten reports that its concentrate exceeded product specification for grade and quality. Annual production of tungsten concentrates is expected to be about 3,000 tonnes or 300,000 MTUs.

The agreements with the company’s strategic allies provide a guaranteed floor price and a scaled discount from quoted tungsten commodity prices, and Sandvik and Osram are also entitled to participate in the development of any of North American Tungsten’s other tungsten interests, such as the MacTung mine, 160 km to the north.

“As the world economy recovers from the current recession, and commodity prices rise, our shareholders and allies will be rewarded for their role in our company as the Western World’s leading producer of tungsten concentrates,” said Udo E. von Doehren, President and CEO of North American Tungsten.

CanTung’s reserves are pegged at 630,000 tonnes grading 1.82% tungsten trioxide. MacTung contains a measured, indicated and inferred resource of roughly 30 million tonnes grading 0.93% tungsten trioxide. North American Tungsten owns 100% of the CanTung mine and the MacTung deposits.