Operations

First Uranium

Simmers listed its uranium assets as a separate entity on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) in December 2006, raising gross proceeds of CDN$233-million (Canadian dollars) in the process. The company is a 37.24%-held subsidiary of Simmers and was listed on the JSE Limited in March 2007 in order to comply with SA Reserve bank requirements. Trading under the symbol FIU on the TSX and FUM on the JSE, First Uranium Corporation is focused on the development of uranium and gold projects in South Africa. The Company's goal is to become a significant producer of uranium and gold through the re-opening and development of the Ezulwini underground mine and the construction of the Mine Waste Solutions tailings recovery facility. To expand its production profile, First Uranium plans to continue to identify and acquire additional uranium projects in South Africa.

Both Buffelsfontein Gold Mining Company and Ezulwini Mine produced uranium until the price bottomed in the 90s. Since 2003 however, the rock value has almost tripled and the dual commodity mix means that the company is perfectly placed to take advantage of any change in market fundamentals. At current prices, the gold component is expected to reduce First Uranium's cash costs to the lowest levels in the industry.

In April 2007, the company's efforts to bring the projects on stream as quickly as possible received a major boost when it announced its intention to acquire Mine Waste Solutions (MWS), a neighbouring gold surface-dump recovery operation that will:

• enable First Uranium to begin a significant amount of its gold production one year ahead of schedule,
• establish a lower cost for its first gold plant module,
• begin the first phase of uranium production at twice the rate previously contemplated.

In May 2007, First Uranium raised a further CDN$150-million when it completed a private placement of senior unsecured convertible debentures, due June 30, 2012. The capital raised as a result of the initial public offering on the TSX and the convertible debentures will be used to refurbish the underground mine at Ezulwini and stabilise the shaft pillar, as well as for the construction of gold and uranium plants, at Ezulwini and Buffelsfontein respectively. At Buffelsfontein, high-pressure water canons will be used to extract the gold and uranium left behind in the tailings dams which are as a result of 50 years of deep level mining in the area.

As part of the company's strategy to grow its significant uranium resources and leverage the infrastructure of its current near-term projects, First Uranium has applied for a prospecting work programme on contiguous properties to the north-east and south-east of its Ezulwini underground uranium and gold mining project. The application has been accepted by the Department of Minerals and Energy pending the completion of an acceptable Environmental Management Plan.

Independent technical reports for both Ezulwini and the Buffelsfontein tailings recovery project can be found at www.firsturanium.com