Vancouver, B.C., November 10th, 2008. Empire Mining Corporation (EPC:
TSX-V) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the
appointment of Professor Michael Johnson (Emeritus) to its Board of
Directors, and of Joel Schuster as its Vice President of Commercial
Affairs.
Professor Johnson recently retired as Chairman of Glebe Mines Ltd.,
the principal fluorspar-barytes mining company in Western Europe, and is
presently the Chairman of Land Regeneration Management Ltd. and Ettrick
Holdings Ltd., companies that are connected with land management or mineral
extraction. Professor
Johnson is a member of the Board of Directors of Free State Diamonds SA,
and is the founder of KimCor Diamonds plc, an AIM-listed company. Professor
Johnson, the author of 2 books and over 150 technical papers, holds (or has
held) a number of advisory positions with professional institutes, national
governments, international agencies and funding organisations, including
the World Bank and the United Nations (Environment Program), and is
retained as an external advisor on environmental matters to several
international mining companies, including Rio Tinto plc and New
Boliden-Outokumpu. Professor Johnson is particularly experienced in the
scoping and management of environmental assessments and audits, the implementation
of environmental management strategies in the mining industry and the
development of programmes for the restoration and re-vegetation of
decommissioned mine sites.
Mr. Schuster is a
graduate of the University of Toronto with degrees in political science and
law, and is a member of the bar in British Columbia and Massachusetts. Mr.
Schuster has worked in private legal practice for nearly a decade, most
recently with DuMoulin Black LLP in Vancouver. Mr. Schuster has represented
numerous mining companies in Canada and the United States in connection
with initial public offerings, takeovers, company maintenance, corporate
governance, public disclosure requirements, and the acquisition and
disposition of mineral properties. His experience provides the Company with
legal and managerial experience in its efforts to explore and commercialize
its mineral holdings.
In connection with their
appointments, the Company has granted incentive stock options to Professor
Johnson and Mr. Schuster exercisable into common shares on or before
November 5, 2013 at an exercise price of $0.25 per option, with 200,000
options granted to Professor Johnson and 100,000 options granted to Mr.
Schuster.
Mr. David Cliff,
President and CEO, stated: "We are extremely delighted with our new
appointments, and we look forward to benefiting from Mike's comprehensive
mining background and insight, and from Joel's considerable legal expertise
on mining and securities matters. Bringing these individuals into the
Empire team significantly reduces our costs while greatly increasing our
knowledge base, both of which we consider particularly important in the
current economic climate."
The appointments of
Professor Johnson and Mr. Schuster are subject to approval by the TSX
Venture Exchange.
About Empire Mining
Empire Mining
Corporation is a mineral exploration and development company operating
principally in and near the western segment of the under-explored Tethyan
Belt, which is a major porphyry-related mineralized zone that hosts
numerous world-class ore-bodies. Empire's primary objectives are the
development of its chromite projects in Albania and the exploration and
development of mineral properties in Serbia and Turkey.