NEWS

Update On The Joint Venture With Agricola Paukkajanvaara Uranium Deposit, Eastern Finland

Cooper Minerals Inc. has started a joint venture with Agricola Resources PLC to explore for uranium on Agricola's Paukkajanvaara uranium project in Finland. The project area is made up of 10 claim reservations totalling 90 square kilomerers located in the Joensuu district of Finland. Joensuu is located 400 kilometres northeast of Helsinki. The well-known mining town of Outokumpu is approximately 50 kilometres to the west. The project area is well served by high-quality tarred roads. It is sparsely populated, with flat-lying forestry areas intersected by numerous lakes.

The Finnish government has recently decided to expand its nuclear energy production by building a fifth nuclear power plant. Four nuclear power plants are now in operation and nuclear power presently accounts for 27 per cent of the total electricity supply in Finland. The country presently imports all of its uranium requirement for its nuclear power reactors. In 2003, 549 tons of uranium was required. Cogema, a major French nuclear player, has been granted uranium exploration rights adjacent to the Agricola licences in Finland near Helsinki.

All of the ground previously held by Agricola under a claim reservation has now been applied for as a full exploration licence. In addition to this, further ground-covering extensions to the area have also been taken out under a number of claim reservations. A second exploration company has recently become active in the area and has applied for ground in the vicinity of Agricola's current holdings.

Agricola's claims include the only previously operated uranium mine in Finland called Paukkajanvaara. Test mining in 1960 and 1961 by Finnish company Atomienergia Oy at Paukkajanvaara produced about 30 tonnes (66,000 pounds) of yellowcake (U3O8) from 30,700 tonnes of ore assaying 0.12 per cent U3O8. The mineralization at Paukkajanvaara shows similarities to the so called unconformity-type uranium deposits, similar to the world's richest operating mines in Canada.

Geochemical till sampling for uranium at Paukkajanvaara demonstrated a distinct response from the deposit itself, but the sampling also showed an equally strong response from a second source located to the east of the main deposit. This eastern area was one of the locations examined by Agricola using radon detectors. This area, together with three other areas, returned distinct radon anomalies. These results, together with the original work carried out by Outokumpu Oy, will form the basis of the radon survey to be undertaken by Cooper Minerals. As part of this program, Cooper has already purchased 2000 radon detectors from Alphatrack, a supply company based in Vancouver. The deployment of these detectors at Paukkajanvaara will commence shortly.

An examination of the aeromagnetics covering the area shows a clear association between a magnetic high feature and the mineralized unit. This magnetic high can be traced to the northwest for a distance of over 30 kilometres. Mineralized boulders have also been identified along this trend. Claim reservations along the trend have been applied for by Agricola and, if awarded, will become part of the joint venture.

Cooper will carry out a complete literature search through the Geological Survey of Finland archives and to examine and assay any core samples from the Paukkajanvaara uranium deposit that are currently stored with the GSF. Digital airborne geophysical data (magnetics and radiometrics) for the entire area will also be purchased from the GSF.

One of the main priorities of the forthcoming exploration work is to delineate the extent of the mineralization in and around the main deposit at Paukkajanvaara and to look for other uranium occurrences to the east and northwest. It is hoped that the mineralized unit may be traced using ground magnetics.

Cooper will shortly be appointing an exploration manager in Finland to supervise its exploration program.

Mike Magrum, PEng, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has approved the technical content of this news release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Cooper Minerals Inc.

Craig Walker
Director

The TSX Venture Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

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