Eastern Platinum mine construction at the Crocette section

Mr. Ian Rozier, President and CEO of Eastern Platinum Limited report that following the granting of the New Order Mining Right for the Crocette section of the Crocodile River Mine (CRM) by the South African Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) the development of the Crocette mine has been initiated and underground development is underway.

Crocette is one of the few remaining undeveloped near surface PGM projects on the western limb of the Bushveld Complex. Recent infill drilling has confirmed the continuity of the UG2 to depths exceeding 200m with a dip of 18 degrees, a reef width of 1.2m and an average head grade of 4g/t (3PGE+Au). Open pit mining at Crocette is not an option as the reef outcrop is highly oxidized close to surface resulting in poor metal recoveries; this is a common feature of outcropping PGM reefs throughout the Bushveld Complex. Accordingly, Eastplats will expedite underground mine development in order to maximize initial grade and recoveries. Orebody access and development has begun from two portals at Crocette which will allow entry and exit of the trackless vehicles necessary for orebody development and the tramming of ore from underground. Atlas Copco is providing the trackless fleet as an extension to the existing Zandfontein fleet.

A commitment to provide construction power for the project has been received from Eskom but alternative guaranteed supplies are also being evaluated by Eastplats.

The Crocette section is anticipated to build up to 40,000 tons per month (anticipated 55,000 opa PGM) at full production by mid 2010 which will enable CRM to reach its full production target of 200,000 tpm (250,000 opa), in line with Eastplats’ anticipated growth profiles. This does not include any potential production from the Kareespruit Section at CRM.

The kick-off of Crocette marks another era of expansion of CRM and Eastplats’ operations. We look forward to further increases in production levels to offset current fixed costs on the mine with significantly lower capital inputs in comparison with other deeper PGM projects on the western limb. The effective build-up of production at Crocette will enable us to continue to fast track the proposed CRM mine expansion, stated Ian Rozier.