The proceedings of the extraordinary general shareholders meeting of OJSC South Verkhoyansk Mining Company (SVMC) held by means of absentee ballot on November 18, 2005 have been made public. The report on the results of the meeting was forwarded today to all shareholders of SVMC.

The management of OJSC SVMC considers it vital to deny categorically statements that have appeared in certain Russian and overseas publications expressing doubts about the legality of the SVMC EGM and the legitimacy of decisions taken at the meeting concerning future growth of the company and development of the Nezhdaninskoye gold deposit.

Such statements are deceiving to the public as they are based on irresponsible abuse of the principles of Russian law.

On November 14th, a magistrate of Voronezh Region, Bobrovsky No. 2 district court, Mr. D.A. Mayorov, issued a preliminary injunction in a case brought by Mr. N.V. Pitersky, an alleged shareholder of Celtic Resources Holdings Plc, prohibiting the general shareholders meeting of OJSC SVMC from taking any decisions on the items on its agenda.

However, three days later, on November 18th, the same magistrate reversed his ruling. In his deliberations magistrate Mayorov indicated that such preliminary injunction – in the form in which it had been issued – was not provided for under Art. 140 of the Civil Procedural Code of the RF.

This last ruling was immediately put into effect.

The assertion that, according to Art. 140 of the Civil Procedural Code of the RF, the ruling should have come into effect only on November 24, 2005, is not grounded in law and is totally baseless.

Furthermore, on November 18, 2005 the Yakutsk office of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) bailiffs service withdrew the order of the court bailiff to enforce the ruling of magistrate Mayorov.

On November 21st, 2005 magistrate Mayorov ruled to dismiss the case on the grounds that it was not a matter for the consideration of a court of general jurisdiction.

Thus, the November 18th general shareholders meeting of OJSC SVMC was held in accordance with the provisions of existing legislation of the Russian Federation and was authorized to take decisions on items on its agenda.

Yakutsk.
November 28th, 2005.