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December 12, 2001

AXMIN INC. COMMENCES TRADING

AXMIN Inc. (formerly Asquith Resources Inc.) (AXM-CDNX) is pleased to announce that all approvals have been obtained to allow the Company to commence trading under its new name AXMIN Inc. (‘AXMIN’). The common shares of AXMIN were posted for trading at the opening of the Canadian Venture Exchange (‘CDNX’) market on Wednesday, December 12, 2001 under the new symbol ‘AXM’. The Company’s shares were also elevated to a Tier 2 listing. The outstanding common shares of Asquith Resources Inc. will be automatically exchanged for shares of AXMIN, on a one-for-one basis.

AXMIN currently has a total of 61,415,518 common shares issued and outstanding. Of these shares 34,032,845 shares are subject to the terms of an escrow agreement entered into in accordance with the requirements of the CDNX.

Adryx Mining & Metals Limited (‘Adryx’), a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Addax & Oryx Group Limited, holds 33,726,409 shares of AXMIN representing approximately 55% of the total outstanding shares. Adryx has advised AXMIN that these shares were acquired by it for investment purposes and it may in the future increase or decrease its ownership of securities of AXMIN from time to time, depending upon the business and prospects of AXMIN and future market conditions. Adryx has entered into an agreement with AXMIN wherein Adryx has agreed not to sell the shares in AXMIN which it received in exchange for shares it previously held in AXMIN Limited, being 30,546,409 shares, for a period of two years. As well, these shares are subject to the terms of an escrow agreement entered into by Adryx in accordance with the requirements of the CDNX.

Under the Chairmanship of Philip Adeane (Managing Director of Antofagasta plc) the AXMIN management team, comprising the key members of the management team of SAMAX Gold Inc. which was acquired by Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited in 1998, will continue to build on its successful track record of gold discovery in Africa to make significant new discoveries across the highly prospective mineral belts of west, central and east Africa.

Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Forster, said “Our exploration teams bring a wealth of operational experience of working in Africa to the task of taking forward our early stage discoveries in the Central African Republic, Mali and Ghana. With the astute guidance of our President, Michael Martineau, and a highly experienced Board of Directors I am confident that AXMIN will be successful in both expanding its initial successes and its existing portfolio of assets, and in taking advantage of new opportunities to take AXMIN to the forefront in the junior sector of exploration and development in Africa.”

The Canadian Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

For additional information please contact:

Dr. Jonathan Forster, Chief Executive Officer

AXMIN Inc.

Tel: +44 (0)1233 665600

Michael D. Coulter, Secretary

AXMIN Inc.

Tel: +1 416 368 0993

The common shares have not been and will not be registered under U.S. securities laws or state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons except pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sales of these securities in any state in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.