Standard & Poor's Announces Changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index

TORONTO, June 26 /CNW/ - Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Thursday, June 26, 2008:

    
    -  The shares of Lero Gold Corp. (TSXVN: LER) will be removed from the
       index. The company will be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange
       following its acquisition by European Minerals Corporation (TSX: EMC.TO).
    -  The shares of Pan African Mining Corp. (TSXVN: PAF) will be removed
       from the index. The company will be delisted from the TSX Venture
       Exchange as a result of a plan of arrangement with Asia Thai Mining
       Co. Ltd. and African Queen Mines Ltd.
    

Company additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.

About Standard & Poor's Index Services

Standard & Poor's Index Services, the world's leading index provider, maintains a wide variety of investable and benchmark indices to meet an array of investor needs. Its family of indices includes the S&P 500, an index with $1.32 trillion invested and $4.91 trillion benchmarked, and the S&P Global 1200, a composite index comprised of seven regional and country headline indices. For more information, please visit www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence, including independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately 8,500 employees, including wholly owned affiliates, located in 23 countries, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit: www.standardandpoors.com.

Contacts

Tony North
(416) 507-3200
sp_index@standardandpoors.com

Dave Guarino
(212) 438-1471
dave_guarino@standardandpoors.com