Abacus Expands the Development Team for the Afton-Ajax Project

Abacus Mining & Exploration Corporation announce the appointment of Mr. James Whittaker as Project Manager for the development of the Afton – Ajax mine near Kamloops, B.C. Mr. Whittaker will report to Andrew F. Pooler, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Whittaker has more than 18 years of mining experience in both North and South America including 14 years with Placer Dome where he held Plant Operations and Maintenance Superintendent positions at the Minera Zaldivar Mine located near Antofagasta, Chile. For the last four years, James has been working as an international management consultant for CRU Strategies located in Santiago de Chile, consulting in the areas of asset productivity, risk in mining plans, and audit of corporate investment projects.

Abacus plans to develop the Ajax deposit into an open pit mine processing 60,000 tonnes of ore per day producing in excess of 50,000 tonnes of copper and 100,000 ounces of gold per year. An updated 43-101 compliant resource is now expected to be released in the fourth quarter of 2008 followed by a preliminary economic assessment.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome James to the Abacus team. His vast operating and design experience with large-scale processing plants will contribute immensely in the development of the Afton – Ajax Project. Our senior management team continues to strengthen which will allow us to aggressively move the Afton – Ajax project forward,” said Doug Fulcher, President and CEO.

Mr. Whittaker holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in extractive metallurgy from the Dalhousie University / TUNS of Halifax, Canada.

Abacus is a mineral exploration and development company that holds a 100% interest in five significant mineral properties in the prolific Afton – Ajax Camp near Kamloops, British Columbia.
Website: http://www.amemining.com