Oriel Resources plc ("Oriel") is pleased to announce it has signed an exclusive option agreement pursuant to which it will receive from Meta Madencilik ("Meta") and Meta’s management a four month exclusive due diligence period to study the Gordes Project in Western Turkey and, if such study is positive, through its 100% owned subsidiary to acquire 90 % of the Project. The project, consisting of one operating license and 8 exploration licenses and covering a combined area of 67 square kilometres, is located approximately 160 km to the northeast of Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey. The terms of the option are such that Oriel would be able to meet the staged costs pursuant to exercising the option from working capital.

During the four month option period, which will close on or before August 2nd 2004, Oriel will review significant aspects of the project to include a reverse-circulation drill program and bench-scale metallurgical test-work with Mintek. If Oriel were to exercise its option over the Project it would plan to complete resource definition work and pilot-scale pyrometallurgical test-work by mid to late 2005.

The laterite at Gordes is developed on Palaeozoic serpentinites and peridotites, which have been injected into an Upper Cretaceous sedimentary package. The flat-lying laterite profile, which varies in thickness between 2 and 80 metres, averages more than 15 metres in thickness. The laterite profile consists from top to bottom of a siliceous laterite crust, a hematite zone and a limonite zone passing down into partly weathered serpentinite. The bulk of the potentially economic grade nickel mineralization is located in the limonite and weathered serpentinite zones.

Whilst there is no formal resource for the project, previous exploration work consisting of mapping, trenching and pitting, carried out by the General Directorate of Maden Tetkik ve Arama (the central state geological and exploration company) in 1987 estimated an unclassified resource potential in excess of 50 million tons of limonite ore at a grade of greater than 1.3% nickel from a 5.3 square kilometre area on the existing operating licence. Trial mining ended in October of 2003 when 3,500 tons of ore averaging 1.37% nickel and 0.08% cobalt was successfully commercially treated at GMM Larco SA’s ferro-nickel plant in Greece. In March of 2004, a further 3,500 tons of ore was shipped to FENI’s ferro-nickel plant in Macedonia.

The logistics and infrastructure appear relatively straightforward with a nearby power-line which could potentially supply power to the project, and an asphalt-paved road to Manisa, the capital of the province.

Sergey Kurzin, Oriel’s CEO, said "the potential acquisition of the Gordes Project is a significant step forward in Oriel’s strategy to acquire, develop and place into production significant nickel resources. The orebody appears to be of a similar scale to the Company’s Shevchenko Deposit in Kazakhstan and could represent a valuable acquisition which management and Oriel’s Board consider would be an important step forward for the Company. Should Oriel decide to exercise its option it would be in a position to provide effective management of this project going forward as it has been building its management capability for the Shevchenko Project."