BRAMA, February 18, 2002, 12 pm ET

The Ivaniv Garnet Project
Ivaniv, western Ukraine, approx 220 kms southwest of Kyiv
e-mail: aurora@telus.net
www.blackseaminerals.com

Big future projected for Ivaniv Garnet Project.

Construction of the Crushing Plant is underway at the Ivaniv Garnet Project in western Ukraine. This is welcome news. The plant is projected to be in production in June. The garnet quarry at Ivaniv has been in production for 33 years. Ivaniv Special Quarry (ISQ) is the privatized Ukrainian industrial minerals company that now operates it.

Valeriy Martinenko, ISQ General Director, has been in charge of operations for the last eight years. A Mining Engineer (Kryvorizky Mining & Minerals Institute), Mr. Martinenko has wide experience in the operations of the over-all plant and the marketing of garnet products. He has been to North America on two occasions to learn about western business procedures, and he is also active on local government in the Ivaniv area.

The Crushing Plant being constructed at Ivaniv will be supply abrasive garnet to a number of European clients. ISQ employs over 150 qualified and experienced mining personnel, and a number of these will be seconded to work at the Crushing Plant, which is being developed in a Joint Venture with Black Sea Minerals Inc., a company based in Canada.

Canadian partner Walter Stunder speaks Ukrainian and Russian fluently and has visited Ukraine 62 times.

Walter Stunder, of Vancouver, British Columbia, is the head of this company based in Canada. Mr. Stunder is a leading authority on Joint Ventures in Ukraine. Mr. Stunder, who has acted as a consultant to many multinational companies doing business in Ukraine, recently participated in Canada's official Trade Mission to Ukraine at the invitation of Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada. Mr. Stunder, who began operating in the former Soviet Union in 1976 and in Ukraine since its independence in 1991-1992, is fluent in both Ukrainian and Russian, and has been to Ukraine 62 times.

Garnet is a hard, dense, inert and environmentally friendly industrial mineral which is used primarily in such industrial applications as coated abrasives (sandpaper), water-jet cutting, blast cleaning, polishing powders, water filters and oil-well packing. An independent geological report estimates 15.4 million tonnes of garnet at the Ivaniv quarry, making it a world-class deposit.

World demand for industrial garnet is estimated at 235,000 tonnes per year. Demand has doubled, growing at 15% per year, between 1990 and 1995, and is forecast to double again over a similar period ahead. Regionally, the U.S is the largest consumer at 40% of the world market annually, followed by Europe (25%), the Middle East (20%) and Asia (15%).

Recently, Mr. Stunder said while the year 2001 will no doubt be remembered as not a particularly good one for many companies, "It was one of good growth of Black Sea Minerals." In particular, he said, the company was able to raise the funds to construct and commission the abrasive garnet plant. "This was a big step forward for Black Sea Minerals."

For further information, phone 1-877-454-7872, fax (604) 685 1596, e-mail: aurora@telus.net Further information also at www.blackseaminerals.com

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