Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 05/99) - The prime assets of Royal Oak Mines Ltd. will be sold off by the end of August, according to a marketing report released Monday, by interim receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The report detailed the particulars of the sale of the Kemess South mine in B.C. and two Timmins properties, but some assets, including Yellowknife's Giant Mine, were excluded from the receiver's marketing scheme.

"Due to the diverse nature of the assets included in this group and the unique circumstances relating to each of them, the interim receiver is currently developing separate plans for each of these assets," the receiver said in the report.

"In the case of the Giant Mine, the concerns of the federal government and the government of the Northwest Territories relating to environmental and other issues will play an important part in the process and timeline of marketing this asset," the report explained.

Following future meetings with government, PricewaterhouseCoopers has alluded a quick sale of Giant may be forthcoming.

"The interim receiver is of the view that it may be possible to market this mine in a shorter timeframe than that proposed for Kemess and Timmins," the report offered.

The Kemess\Timmins marketing report will be issued to national and international companies who have an interest in metals.

The receiver said in the report that Credit Suisse First Boston will handle the sale of the assets which include Kemess South in B.C. and the Pamour and Nighthawk mines in Timmins.

Once companies are short-listed, an asset data room will be made available for prospective buyers to analyze corporate data and trips to the property sites will also be arranged by the marketing agent.

Royal Oak also held a 38 per cent share in Calgary's Highwood Resources Ltd. and a 44 per cent share in the Vancouver-based Asia Minerals Corp.