NEWS

Cooper Minerals Inc. (the "Company") wishes to announce that it has entered into a purchase agreement with William Gennen McDowall ("McDowall"), Frontier Asset Management Limited ("Frontier"), Elite Vantage Development Ltd. ("Elite") and Namura Finland Oy ("Namura Finland") to acquire a 100-per-cent interest in the capital stock of Namura Finland, a private company incorporated in Finland. Namura Finland currently holds 33 mineral claim reservations (an "MCR") over 27 known uranium occurrences located in central and southern Finland.

Each claim reservation covers an area of approximately 9 square kilometres or some 900 hectares.  Namura Finland has also applied for 10 full mineral exploration licenses (an "MEL") in the Kouvervaara area

Total land holdings will be approximately 27,000 Ha. 

The terms of the purchase agreement for a 100% interest in the capital stock of Namura Finland require the Company to make cash payment of $335,000 and to issue 6,000,000 common shares to the vendors as follows:

1. $10,000 to McDowall, $10,000 to Frontier and $10,000 to Elite upon execution of the Purchase Agreement;

2. $90,000 to McDowall, $90,000 to Frontier and $125,000 to Elite upon TSX Venture Exchange approval of the Purchase Agreement;

3. 2,000,000 common shares to McDowall, 2,000,000 common shares to Frontier and 2,000,000 common shares to Elite upon TSX Venture Exchange approval of the Purchase  Agreement;

Each property is subject to a 3% net smelter return royalty.  The Company has the right to reduce the royalty to 1.5% on each property by paying $3,000,000 per property to McDowall, Frontier and Elite.  

Finland is a politically stable country with an excellent infrastructure and an established and diverse mining industry. Historical uranium activity includes the mining of the Paukkajanvaara uranium deposit, which produced some 30 tonnes of yellowcake (solid uranium oxide) during test mining that was carried out in 1960 to 1961. This work was carried out by the Finnish company Atomenergi Oy.

The Projects

Namura Finland Oy currently holds 33 claim reservations over 27 known uranium occurrences. These are all located in central and southern Finland. A complete list of these claims is given in Table 1. Exploration reports have been written for most of these occurrences, however all of these are in Finnish and it is Cooper's intention to have all of these translated into English.

Two of the claims at Nuottijarvi and Kesankitunturi cover uranium occurrences with historical inferred resources. The claims at Kapusta and Hepo cover uraniferous pegmatites and anomalous contact zones. Uranium grades within these units were reported to range from 0.01% to 1.3% U₃O_{8 .}

The geological data and assay results reported here are historical in nature and do not presently conform to the standards as outlined in National Instrument 43-101. Cooper has relied on information obtained from geological reports prepared by the Geological Survey of Finland.  Cooper has not conducted sampling to verify the grades quoted in this press release.

It is Coopers intention to examine each of these uranium occurrences and to decide whether or not to apply for a full mineral exploration licence. All of these claim areas have been covered by airborne radiometric surveys carried out by the Geological Survey of Finland ("GTK").  Most of these surveys were carried out using a line spacing of 200 metres. This radiometric data is available from the Geological Survey and Cooper intends to purchase these data sets shortly.

Table 1 – Claim Reservations held by Namura Finland Oy  

Target Name	Claim Reference	Area (Ha)	Drilled	Comments
Kesankitunturi	P2-060103	829	Yes	0.07% U3O8, 1965,Sericite
Nouttijarvi	P3-060103	900	Yes	0.04% U3O8, breccia zone
Puutostenmaki	P6-060103	900	Yes	Drilled by Outokumpu in granite
Vironniemi	P7-21-060103	900	No	Mapped prospect, 1985, Geological Survey
Toso	P7-21-030106	900	No	Mapped prospect, 1981, Outokumpu Oy
Kuivasteenmaki	P7-23-060103	900	No	Mapped prospect, 1974, Outokumpu Oy
Boulders-1	P7-24b-060103	175	No	Uraniferous Boulders
Savijarvi	P8-060103	900	Yes	Drilled in 1974, Geological Survey
Huutsaari	P9-15-060103	900	No	Mapped prospect, 1979, GTK, Ca silicate
Outcrop-1	P7-25-060103	900	No	Outcrop
Pyylehto	P9-17-060103	900	No	Mapped prospect, 1979 Geological Survey
Boulders-2	P10-9-006103	900	No
Mandelsbacka	P10-13-060103	900	Yes	Drilled in Intermediate Volcanics,
Isokyla	P10-14-060103	900	Yes	Drilled in Intermediate Volcanics
Koyhajoki	P11-12-060103	900	No	Mapped prospect, qtz porphyry, 1974,GTK
Paskonkallio	P12-060103	900	No	U, Th, Mapped, Pegmatite, 1977, GTK
Ruotsalo	P13-060103	900	No	Qtz-Feldspar Schist, 1975, Raut Oy
Kapusta/Hepo	P14-060103	900	No	Mapped, grades to 13.3 kg/T U3O8, 1982
Losonalussuo	P15-1-060103	900	Yes	Phyllite
Losonalussuo-B	P15-2-060103	686	Yes	Phyllite
Losonalussuo-B	P15-3-060103	490	Yes	Phyllite
Orajarvi-1	P18-1-060103	900	Yes	U and Th in granite
Orajarvi-2	P18-2-060103	900	Yes	U and Th in granite
Mustamaa-1	P19-1-060103	900	Yes	U in phosphate
Mustamaa-2	P19-2-060103	900	Yes	U in phosphate
Rana-Tulkkivar	P20-060103	900	Yes	Uranium in Dolomite, 1984, GTK
Uiveronlahti	P21-060103	900	No	Mapped Prospect, 1981, GTK
Lemmetty-1	P22-20-060103	900	Yes	U in Pegmatite up to 1.1kg/t U3O8, 1975 – expressed as
Lemmetty-2	P22-16-060103	900	Yes	U in Pegmatite up to 1.1kg/t U3O8, 1975
Lemmetty-3	P22-17-060103	273	Yes	U in Pegmatite up to 1.1kg/t U3O8, 1975
Lemmetty-4	P22-19-060103	900	Yes	U in Pegmatite up to 1.1kg/t U3O8, 1975
Eronlampi	P23-060103	900	Yes	Uranium in an Amphibolite
Akaslompolo	P17-060103	582

Details concerning some of these claim areas are given below;

Kapusta/Hepo Area

It appears that uranium exploration in this area was first carried out by Kajaani Oy in the early 70's. A number of anomalous areas had been identified from an airborne survey. These turned out to be radioactive boulders. The area was again examined in 1983 and a number of claims were taken out around the lakes Kapusta and Hepo. Ground radiometric surveys, bedrock sampling and trenching was carried out in both areas. In the Kapusta area the uranium mineralisation appears to be connected with pegmatites located at the contact between the biotite-granites and amphibolites known to exist in the area. Boulders collected at these localities returned uranium values between 0.07% and 0.17% U₃O₈ with corresponding low values of thorium (0.01 to 0.02%). 

The Hepo area is located just to the south of Kapusta and was explored by the Geological Survey in 1983 and in 1984. The Hepo uranium occurrence is located at the contact between a reddish granite migmatite and a mica-gneiss. The main uranium mineral is uraninite. The area was mapped and ground radiometric surveys were carried out. A number of anomalous zones were identified. These were trenched and sampled. The lateral extent of the anomalous zone was not established. Assaying returned average values of between 0.01% U₃O₈ and 0.12% U₃O₈. A number of high grade occurrences were also identified, these ranged from 0.12% to a high of 1.33% U₃O_8.   

It is believed that no drilling was carried out at Kapusta or Hepo.

Eronlampi

The claim reservation at Eronlampi is located within the district of Kihtelysvaara. This area was first explored by the Geological Survey during the period 1974 and 1975 after a number of anomalous stream samples were identified in the area. Follow up work located a mineralised shear zone running through the Eronlampi area. The host rock at Eronlampi is best described as a granite-amphibolite-micagneiss. Three boreholes were drilled at Eronlampi. A number of anomalous zones were intersected. Borehole R324 returned 0.032% U₃O₈   over 2.75 metres, borehole R326 returned 0.048% U₃O₈ over 2.1 metres and borehole R 328 returned 0.029% U₃O₈ over 5.1 metres.

Losonalusso Area

This is a drilled prospect located in the Sotkamo district of central Finland. It was first investigated in 1971 by the Geological Survey of Finland. The uranium occurs in a rock analogous to the Nuottijarvi uranium occurrence namely a phyllite, however at Losonalusso the host rocks are not brecciated. The average uranium grades from surface boulders was found to be 0.035% U₃O₈  and in trenches ranged from 0.02% to 0.12% U₃O₈. Detailed geological mapping in the area was carried out. The anomalous unit is described as a phyllite sequence. Further moraine sampling was carried out in the general area and within the Losonalusso area one sample returned a value of 0.035% U₃O₈. Nine holes were drilled (1471 metres) in the area. One hole Sok/Lo-4 intersected a uranium bearing "horizon", concentrations within this horizon ranged from 0.03 to 0.06% U₃O₈ . A further anomalous zone was encountered between 105 and 164 metres. Within this unit a 14 metre section was identified with a grade of 0.036% U₃O₈ . Further work is required to determine both the depth and lateral extent of the uranium mineralisation known to occur at Losonalusso.

Lemmetty

The uranium mineralisation within the Lemmetty claim reservation group appears to be associated with a pegmatite; sample results indicate grades of up to 0.11% U₃O₈  .

Kouvervaara Uranium Deposit

Namura Finland Oy has submitted 10 exploration licenses (MEL) in the Kouvervaara area and is currently awaiting a decision from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). The basis for the proposed exploration license application in the Kouvervaara area is the reported occurrence of uranium at Kouvervaara. The occurrence of uranium in the area was first identified by Outokumpu Oy in 1978. In 2001, Erkki Vanhanen described the uranium occurrence in Bulletin 399 of the Geological Survey of Finland, the publication is entitled "Geology, mineralogy and geochemistry of the Fe-Co-AU-(U) deposits in the Paleoproterozoic Kuusamo Schist Belt, northeastern Finland".

The Kouvervaara uranium occurrence is a drilled prospect. To paraphrase Erkki Vanhanen's comments from Bulletin 399, "it appears that the uranium occurs in a sediment-related, sandstone-type, association. The uranium deposit lies 500 metres south of the Kouvervaara Co-Cu-Au deposit and is stratigraphically above it. The east-west orientated deposit is more than 3 kilometers long and is associated with the contact zones between a biotite and carbonate-bearing horizon below and a partly albitized arkose quartzite member above (Vanhanen 1989a) The deposit is typically stratiform, but in the west the mineralisation may form roll and tube-like sericite-rich structures. The thickness of the deposit varies from a few centimetres up to some metres.  The main uranium mineral is uraninite, which occurs in the matrix of the host rock along grain boundaries. The uranium minerals pitchblende and brannerite have also been noted." Approximately 22 holes were drilled along the strike of the body.

In a report by the Geological Survey of Finland (Geologian Tutkimuskeskus, M 06/4522/-87/1/60 – Kuusamo) written by Erkki Vanhanen, 13-10-87 (in Finnish) reference is made to uranium grades at Kouvervaara ranging from 0.005% U₃O₈ to 0.27% U₃O₈ U₃O₈.  In a second report by Kari Paakkonen (Geological Survey of Finland, Geologian Tutkimuskeskus Ref: M06/4522/-84/1/60) reference is made to assay values for down ice boulders ranging as high as 0.365% U₃O₈  U₃O₈.

Cooper advises that it has not done the work necessary to verify the existence of any resource or reserve associated with the project, it is not treating them as a NI 43-101 defined resource or reserve verified by a qualified person and all historical estimates should not be relied upon.

Cooper's planned exploration program will be directed towards determining the extent and depth of the uranium mineralisation at Kouvervaara. Initially the company plans on carrying out a radon survey over the deposit.

It is Cooper's opinion that this portfolio of uranium projects in Finland represents an opportunity to acquire a full spectrum of uranium projects, ranging from a "blue-sky" scenario to a number of projects with "historically inferred resources". These new projects will significantly supplement Cooper's current Paukkajanvaara uranium project.

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

These transactions are subject to regulatory approval.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Cooper Minerals Inc.

Simon Tam, Director