BALD HILL & CREEK SIDE

Altura Mining Limited announced that the sale of the Bald Hill asset in Western Australia was completed on 25 June 2010. Altura ceased tantalum mining and processing operations at Bald Hill in late 2005 and the plant was put on care and maintenance. An assessment of the facility was completed in 2009 and subsequent design work on the Balline processing facility determined that the Bald Hill facility was not ideally suited to the processing of mineral sands at Balline. The decision was made to dispose of the Bald Hill tenements and processing facility.

The plant remains on care and maintenance.

The process plant was closed on 21st December for the Christmas break. The plant will undergo a maintenance and upgrade program during the March quarter before recommencing processing of ore from the Creekside pit. During the December Quarter the plant treated a total of 71,718 tonnes of ore at an average head grade of 408 ppm. Ta2O5 recovery averaged 69%. The concentrate has low levels of radioactive minerals and other detrimental minerals. Plant feed was derived from ROM stocks from the Boreline and South Pits. No mining was carried out during the quarter. At the same time a mining lease application was being processed for the Creekside deposit. High levels of lithium have been identified in pegmatites 3kms south of Bald Hill.