Ausdrill Limited

The Board of Conquest Mining Limited (ASX:CQT) (PINK:CQMLF) is pleased to announce that Mr Jake Klein has accepted the position of Executive Chairman of the Company. Mr Nicholas Curtis and Mr James (Jim) Askew will also be appointed to the Board as Non Executive Directors. The appointments are subject to shareholder approval and will take effect on the date of an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to be called as soon as practicable.

US market was closed for Thanksgiving Day holiday, but the overseas markets were strongly hit by fears of a debt default by Dubai World, Dubai government's key holding company. Dubai World, which owns strategic global assets, has asked bondholders for a standstill on about US$60 billion in debt until May.

The US Federal Reserve's bailout of insurance giant American International Group (AIG) did little to ease the concerns of investors worldwide, Asian markets were deeply in the red, with Hong Kong's bourse down about seven per cent. The Australia share market took another massive beating yesterday.

The Australian market has received a mixed lead, with Wall Street up while oil, gold and silver were down again. Yesterday local banks finished mixed despite heavy losses on Wall Street as the US investment bank Lehman was thought facing difficulties. Analysts said the market was volatile, heavy and irrational.

Yesterday, the Australian share market ended more than 1% lower following sharp losses in the US overnight, with resources and the banks leading the decline locally.