Gujarat NRE Coke's Australian Mine "NRE No. 1 Colliery" opened to initially
mine 1 million metric tonnes per annum
(September 26, 2005)

Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd. (GNCL), the largest non-captive manufacturer of Low Ash Metallurgical (LAM) Coke in India, today announced that its first Australian Mine "NRE No. 1 Colliery" was formally opened last Friday by Hon. Mr. David Campbell, Minister for Regional Development, Illawarra and Small Business, Govt. of New South Wales, Australia.

Gujarat NRE Australia Pty Ltd. (GNAL), a subsidiary of GNCL owns and operates Bellambi West Colliery at Russell Vale, 10 kms north of Wollongong. The Company had purchased this historical coal mine in New South Wales region of Australia last December and renamed it as 'NRE No. 1 Colliery'.

NRE No.1 Colliery will initially start with 1 million metric tonnes per annum and scale up to 2 million tonnes of coal a year.

�We successfully concluded the landmark ownership of a coking coal mine 'NRE No.1 Colliery' in Australia last year in December. We are proud to announce that it has been formally opened last week. This captive ownership (through a subsidiary) - the first such instance for the Indian industry - represents a significant de-risking against erratic supply and pricing, protecting the company and customer interests. Not resting on it, we acquired another mine, in the Southern Coalfields of New South Wales, which will also become operational very soon� said Arun Kumar Jagatramka, Vice Chairman of Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd.

�This mine will ensure GNCL is self sufficient in raw material supply on a long-term basis. We will wash coal in India and the Company is building a mini-steel mill. Gujarat NRE Coke believes that in a volatile raw material environment, business stability can only be achieved through backward/forward integration. Together it will also facilitate an insider�s perspective into the coking coal industry, enabling the company to gauge the prevailing sentiment and plan better in response to industry trends� Mr Jagatramka added.

The commencement of production demonstrates unflinching determination and commitment on the part of both GNAL and the Company to their aim of producing coal at an annualized rate of 1 Mio tonne per annum by December 2005 and thereafter increasing it to over 2 Million tonnes per annum. The consolidated manufacturing capacity of the GNCL including its subsidiary Bharat NRE Coke Limited (BNCL) will be 1.4 Million Tonnes in 2006 through the Indian operations.

More than 150 people attended the opening ceremony by the Australian Minister, which included the Consul General of India, Mr. M Ganapathy, two former New South Wales Premiers, Hon. Neville Wran and Hon. Bob Carr, and Lord Mayor Alex Darling.

Trade between Australia and India is reaching $7.4 billion. India has overtaken UK to become Australia�s sixth largest export market.

GNCL is the largest metallurgical non-captive coke manufacturer in India. The company has embarked on a number of pioneering and significant initiatives with the objective to emerge as one of the largest and most competitive merchant producers of coke in the world. The Company has also recently acquired the colliery at Avondale, south of Wollongong, called NRE Avondale and invested $8.5 million in Resources Pacific and $2 million in Zinc Resource NL, an Australian exploration company.