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12 March 2009

Zambezi Resources Limited 

Rio Tinto Mining and Exploration Ltd Withdraws from Mulofwe Uranium JV

Zambezi Resources Limited ('Zambezi' or the 'Company') (AIM:ZRL; ASX:ZRL) today announces that it has received notice from Rio Tinto Mining and Exploration ('Rio') that it has withdrawn from the Mulofwe Uranium Joint Venture ('JV') in Zambia. Rio's withdrawal from the JV took effect as of 9 March 2009.

Rio cites the primary reason for withdrawing from the JV as 'a reduction in global budgets across Rio Tinto Exploration has forced us to re-examine our portfolio and focus on a few core projects'. Rio entered into the JV on 4 September 2007 with the intention of generating and drill testing targets for uranium mineralisation within the property. 

Initial work by Zambezi highlighted the potential of the project through detailed airborne radiometrics. Follow up rock chipping and trenching lead to the discovery of the Nkala Prospect. Results of this initial radiometric survey showed an anomalous corridor of elevated radiometric response in excess of 20km in strike coincident with lithostratigraphic shale units and structure.

Subsequent to the JV being signed in 2007, Rio embarked on a detailed and focused exploration program consisting of airborne VTEM, surface mapping, spectral mapping, rock chipping, trenching, SEM characterisation of selected minerals and wholerock analysis of selected samples.

The work carried out by Rio has significantly advanced the Nkala Prospect and identified other new targets with coincident VTEM conductors and elevated radiometric response within the project area. As a result of the detailed exploration work carried out by Rio, collar positions for drillholes have been planned and were intended for testing by Rio in Q4 2008. It is Zambezi's intention to drill these targets when the Company has secured its financial position. 

The Company has today received a query letter from the ASX in respect of the ASX announcement of Rio's withdrawal from the JV ('the Withdrawal'). This letter queries, in particular, the materiality of the Withdrawal and the timing that the Company became aware of the Withdrawal. 

Due to the infancy of the project and work that had been carried out on the project to date by Rio Tinto the Company does not believe that the Withdrawal is material to the operations of the Company given the progress that had been made and that Withdrawal took place prior to any drilling taking place and any drill results being announced.

A copy of the ASX letter and Zambezi's response letter have been announced to the ASX and are available on the ASX website www.asx.com.au and the Company's website www.zambezireources.com

For Further Information please contact:

Julian Ford, Managing Director  Zambezi Resources (Australia)  +61 (08) 9216 9000 +61 (0) 418 949 580	Simon Edwards / Adam Lloyd  Evolution Securities Ltd + 44 20 7071 4300
Fiona Owen  Grant Thornton UK LLP +44 20 7383 5100

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Zambezi is listed on London's AIM market and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX & AIM Ticker: ZRL) and currently has two main projects, Cheowa and Kangaluwi. The Company is focused on discovering and developing large Copper-Gold projects in southern Zambia. The Cheowa project is a joint venture with Glencore International AG, who have earned a 51% interest in the project. The Company believes that the Kangaluwi project has the potential to be a world class open pit copper deposit. To date the Company has spent over US$ 10 million on the project and drilled over 50,000metres, testing 8km's of the 28km's of strike length. The Company has one remaining Uranium Joint Venture on approximately 30% of its tenement area, with Lithic Metals and Energy. 

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