RNS Number:4346P
Gold Mines Of Sardinia PLC
05 September 2003

GOLD MINES OF SARDINIA PLC

Proposed Joint Venture on Monte Ollasteddu


Gold Mines of Sardinia plc (GMN.L) ("GMS") announces that it has signed a letter
of intent with Bolivar Gold Corp. (TSX: BGC) ("Bolivar"). The two companies will
form a joint venture to develop GMS's Monte Ollasteddu gold project in Sardinia,
Italy. Under the terms of the agreement Bolivar will be able to earn up to a 70%
interest in the project on the successful completion of certain development
milestones. The joint venture company will seek to undertake extensive drilling
to quantify the site's gold resources with a view to the establishment of
production.


The arrangements announced today follow the decision of GMS's former joint
venture partner Homestake Mining Company of California, which was subsequently
acquired by Barrick Gold Corporation, not to pursue the venture for strategic
reasons. GMS has therefore identified an alternative partner to develop its
interests in Monte Ollasteddu.


Under the new proposals, Bolivar will earn a 15% direct interest in the project
upon receipt of all necessary research and access rights to the Ollasteddu
prospect, a further 40% on completion of a prefeasibility study and an
additional 15% upon completion of a bankable feasibility study.


Bolivar will finance 100% of project expenditure until the bankable feasibility
study has been completed.


Gold Mines of Sardinia (GMS) will retain a 20% participating interest and
Progemisa SpA, a corporation owned by the Sardinian Government, has a 10%
carried interest in the project.


Discovered in the year 2000, the Monte Ollasteddu prospect is located in
southeastern Sardinia. GMS describes the prospect as an extensive gold-in-soil
anomaly, identified as 3.5 kilometres long and up to 1 kilometre wide, with up
to 12 grams/tonne (g/t) in soils in the central area. Previous selective
sampling of the individual quartz-sulphide veins returned values typically
between 15 and 50 g/t, and as high as 220 g/t. Although these veins had widths
of less than a metre, they offer the added possibility of discrete
'bonanza-style' veins within the larger bulk tonnage stockwork and disseminated
sulphide target. A more detailed description of the prospect can be found on the
GMS website at www.gmsplc.com/exp_monte.html.


After the parties have entered a detailed JV Agreement, GMS will grant Bolivar
options to acquire GMS stock, exercisable for five years at an exercise price
calculated as the weighted average sale price for stock exchange trades for the
ten trading days immediately prior to grant. The number of options will not
exceed the equivalent of 10% of presently issued capital. The options will be
exerciseable only when Bolivar has commenced a drill program approved by the JV
for the Ollasteddu project.


Completion of the transaction is subject to various regulatory approvals and the
execution of a detailed JV agreement, which is expected to be completed within
60 days.


Commenting on the agreement, Jon Pither, chairman of GMS said,


"Indications from our initial exploration lead us to believe that Monte
Ollasteddu will prove to be a major gold source and, as such, we had already
identified the extensive site as a top drilling priority. I am therefore
delighted that in Bolivar, whose Chairman and CEO is an Italian national, we
have found a partner with considerable resources - administrative, technical and
financial - who shares both our enthusiasm and expectations for the project. We
believe that the deal we are announcing today will accelerate the development of
the mine and bring significant benefit to GMS shareholders over the medium term.
We hope that full access to the site will be secured, followed by comprehensive
exploration to quantify the extent of the gold resources".


Bolivar is a gold exploration development company. Recent announcements by
Bolivar have included the development of a 5,400 tpd operation on its Choco 10
concession in Venezuela and a joint venture with Gold Fields Limited to acquire
and explore additional properties in the El Callao area.


Bolivar has also completed a successful share placement of 39.5million special
warrants raising C$53,333,000. Proceeds will be used to fund the development of
Bolivar's Choco 10 property as well as its share of funding for property
acquisitions under the Gold Fields Limited joint venture. Gold Fields Limited
has recently acquired a 15% interest in Bolivar.


Information on Bolivar can be found at www.bolivargold.com.


Enquiries:
Jon Pither, Chairman, Gold Mines of Sardinia plc                01372 470279
Zoe Biddick, Biddicks Financial Public Relations                020 7448 1000



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