TALV.L Regulatory News (TALV)

7 Mar 2008 12:00

Talvivaara Mining Company Ltd07 March 2008 Talvivaara Mining Company awarded European Mining Deal of the Year by Euromoney's Project Finance Magazine 7 March 2008 Talvivaara Mining Company Ltd ("Talvivaara" or "the Company"), the Finnishmining company with a primary focus on nickel and zinc, is pleased to announcethat it has been awarded European Mining Deal of the Year for 2007 in theProject Finance Magazine awards. The presentation ceremony was held on March 6at a dinner attended by companies from across the international mining industry.Talvivaara won in the face of strong competition from over 200 other deals.Talvivaara was singled out for the innovative nature of its mining project andfor adhering to a very tight schedule in completing the funding. The award recognizes Talvivaara's achievement in simultaneously completing a$320m Project Finance Facility and a successful IPO on the Main Market of theLondon Stock Exchange with gross proceeds of €302m. Talvivaara's sharescommenced trading on London's Main Market on 1 June 2007. Together with the IPOproceeds, the Project Finance Facility ensured that the Talvivaara project wasfully funded. The project is running on time and within budget and Talvivaaraexpects to commence production in the fourth quarter of 2008. Talvivaara's CEO, Mr Pekka Pera commented "We are delighted to accept the awardfor the European Deal of the Year from the Project Finance Magazine. 2007 was adifficult year in the global financial markets, but the successful financing ofthe Talvivaara project has put us in a very strong position to achieve ourtarget first nickel production in the final quarter of 2008. I would like totake this opportunity to thank Talvivaara's dedicated finance team, led by SailaMiettinen-Lahde and the lead arrangers of the Project Finance Facility StandardBank, Societe Generale, HVB and Nordea Bank, together with our investmentbanking advisers JP Morgan Cazenove." ENQUIRIES Talvivaara Mining Company Ltd Tel: +358 20 7129 800Pekka PeraSaila Miettinen-Lahde Merlin Tel: +44 207 653 6620Tom RandellAnca Spiridon NOTES TO EDITORS Company Overview • Talvivaara aims to become an internationally significant base metals producer with primary focus on nickel and zinc using a technology known as bioheapleaching • The Company's main activity is the development and exploitation of two polymetallic deposits, Kuusilampi and Kolmisoppi, in Sotkamo, Finland (together, the "Talvivaara deposits") using bioheapleaching technology (the "Talvivaara Project") - The Talvivaara deposits comprise one of the largest known sulphide nickel resources in Europe with 453 million tonnes of ore in measured and indicated resources (at 0.07% nickel cut off point) - Resources are sufficient to support anticipated production for a minimum of 24 years, expected to start in late 2008, with an expected annual nickel output of approximately 33,000 tonnes; the Company has the potential to provide approximately 2.3% of the world's current annual production of nickel by 2010 - In addition to the mining of nickel, as by-products of the process, the mine is also expected to produce zinc (approximately 60,000 tpa), copper (approximately 10,000 tpa) and cobalt (approximately 1,200 tpa) - The mine site is situated close to existing energy and transportation infrastructure • The Group plans to develop the Talvivaara deposits using bioheapleaching technology - Bioheapleaching harnesses locally occurring, live bacteria for the extraction of metals from ore - This technology is already widely used for other metals, notably copper and gold - During the last two years, the Group has demonstrated the viability of using bioheapleaching technology for the extraction of nickel in large on-site pilot trials • The Talvivaara orebody is well-suited for open pit mining due to the thin overburden, favourable resource geometry and a low waste to ore ratio - The ore has a nickel content of 0.27 per cent. and is well-suited to bioheapleaching due to both its high sulphide content and its low pH, which enables rapid leaching with reduced need for chemical catalysis • The Company has secured a 10-year off-take agreement for 100 per cent. of its main output of nickel and cobalt to Norilsk Nickel • With good infrastructure, progressive mining laws and economically and politically stable operating environment and readily available mining expertise, Finland provides a favourable environment for operating a mine This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange