RNS Number:7104T
Gympie Gold Limited
30 December 2003



                             ASX & AIM Announcement
                                30 December 2003

             Appointment of Voluntary Administrators and Receivers

Following the devastating underground fire at the Southland Colliery over the
Christmas period and the subsequent sealing of the mine, the Board of Gympie
Gold Limited has today appointed Joseph Hayes and Murray Smith of KPMG as
Voluntary Administrators to the Group.

Shortly after the Voluntary Administrators were appointed this morning, HSBC
Precious Metals (Australia) Limited, acting as Agent for the company's corporate
loan facility, appointed Andrew Love, Peter Geroff and Allan Lewis of Ferrier
Hodgson as Receivers and Managers to the Group.

Despite cash-on-hand currently and the strong outlook until the last week for
future cash flows in light of increased US$ coal prices, the current emergency
at the Southland Colliery has caused a rapid and substantial deterioration in
Group's financial position and prospects.

After taking legal advice, the Directors resolved to appoint Voluntary
Administrators, given that:

   *The Southland Colliery is unlikely to resume production for at least some
    months, Southland having been the Group's primary source of net operating
    cash flow;
   *The cost of re-establishing production at the Southland Colliery, if
    proved feasible, cannot presently be quantified, but is likely to be
    substantial;
   *It is not possible to quantify the amount to be recovered from insurance
    at present, and in any event the insurance recovery will not be immediately
    received;
   *The second tranche of the recent $25 million placement will not proceed
    and the General Meeting called to approve the second tranche will not be
    held; and
   *Alternative sources of financial support have not been forthcoming.

The Board of Directors, Managing Director and staff are pro-actively assisting
the Voluntary Administrators and Receivers and Managers, with a view to
preserving as much value as possible for all stakeholders.

The Voluntary Administrators will be convening a meeting of creditors (including
Convertible Noteholders) to be held within five business days. Over the coming
weeks, the Administrators will review the Group's financial position and will
likely report to creditors again in the next month or so regarding the Group's
future. Information for shareholders on the Administration will also be posted
on the Company's website.

Gympie Gold is dual-listed on ASX (Code "GYM") and AIM (Code "GGD") and is an
Australian mining exploration, production and marketing company with two core
businesses: coking coal and gold.

The Gympie Eldorado Gold Mine is located at Gympie, 180 kilometres north of
Brisbane, Queensland. The Southland Colliery is located near Cessnock in the
Hunter Valley of New South Wales.

                        For further information contact:
                 Andrew Love, Receiver and Manager 02 9286 9999



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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