Toronto,Ontario - Aug 11, 1997

South American Gold and Copper Company Limited Reports Drill Target on its Antena Prospect

Toronto, Ontario, - South American Gold and Copper Company Limited (TSE, symbol "SAG") announced today that it continues to focus attention on a 80 square kilometer area at Antena with a team of six geologists. One hundred and forty line kilometers of magnetic surveying and over ten kilometers of road trenching comprise part of the work completed to date.

Exploration at Antena has recently outlined a strongly altered dacitic intrusion with zones of moderate to strong stockworking. This intrusion occurs within a four by one and a half kilometer area and has been intruded into older granites. Gold bearing terrace deposits extensively mined in the past with primitive placer workings show a close association with the dacite. The terraces lead downstream to the famous Marga Marga placers from which historical records document that 1,100,000 ounces of gold were recovered during Spanish colonization with total gold recovered over the last 450 years believed to be substantially greater.

In one zone within the intrusive area, gold, found by panning, is occurring above and up slope from the terraces on the flanks of a rounded conical hill, approximately 500 meters in diameter. This suggests the source for the gold is within the dacite. Gold nuggets of up to 5 mm across have been found by gully panning in another zone within the intrusive area which may exceed a square kilometer in extent.

Gold panning is effectively guiding exploration and defining areas for follow up work. It also eliminates the time lag in waiting for geochemical assay results. Location of road trenches is also being guided by this information. Trenching is followed by geological mapping and, where appropriate, sampling. Samples are being prepared and assayed by ACME Analytical Laboratories of Chile, a subsidiary of ACME Laboratories, Vancouver.

Within the next ten days, a percussion drill will start drilling on the flanks of the conical hill described above.

SAGC is a mineral exploration company with extensive gold properties in Chile and Peru. Its common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SAG.

For further information, Stephen W. Houghton, President and CEO; William C. O'Donnell, EVP and CFO (odonnell@sagc.com). Telephone: (212) 983-9300, fax: (212) 983-9314.