Newcastle Announces Private Placement

Newcastle Minerals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:NCM) is pleased to announce that it has
negotiated, subject to regulatory acceptance, a non-brokered private placement
of 1,250,000 units at a price of $0.08 per unit. Each unit consists of one
common share and one-half of one warrant. Each full warrant, in turn, entitles
the holder to purchase an additional common share at a price of $0.12 for a
period of one year from the closing of the offering.


Aumerco Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Augen Capital Corp., is the sole
subscriber. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Augen Capital Corp. is a merchant bank
specializing in the financing of, and investment in, resource companies and
projects. Augen's principals and advisors have many years of collective
experience and expertise in capital market transactions, as well as identifying
properties with substantial mineralization. Augen has an outstanding track
record in sourcing, structuring and executing merchant banking investments in
the natural resource field. In addition, Augen acts as a consultant to issuers
of mineral resource tax-advantaged flow-through partnerships in Canada. Augen
Capital Corp. owns 11% of Augen Gold Corp.


The proceeds from the private placement will be used for general working
capital. Newcastle will pay a cash finder's fee of 8% of the subscription
proceeds in respect of the offering.


Newcastle Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian gold and base metal exploration company
trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX VENTURE:NCM). The company is advancing
its three key properties: its 120-hectare Carscallen Property in the West
Timmins area of Ontario, its 11,100-hectare Pickle Lake Property in northwestern
Ontario and its 6,600-hectare property located in the Swayze greenstone belt of
Ontario near Trelawney Mining and Exploration Inc.'s Chester Project. 


ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Michael Romanik, President