RMLA Rusina Mining

    RNS Number : 0870J
  Rusina Mining NL
  27 November 2008
   

    Thursday November 27th 2008        

    RUSINA MINING NL ("Rusina" or the "Company")

    Rusina Announce Positive Results on the Acoje Pre-Feasibility Study in the Philippines

    Highlights
    * JORC combined limonite plus saprolite Indicated Resource of 34.41 Mt at 1.09% nickel from an Inferred plus Indicated Resource of 50.14
Mt at 1.06% nickel using a 0.8% cut off grade


    * Estimated annual production of 24,500 tonnes of nickel and 930 tonnes of cobalt


    * Estimated cash cost of US$3.10/lb of nickel, net of by-products including refining costs at US$6.00/lb nickel price and US$10/lb
cobalt price

    * Total development estimated at US$498 million


    * Estimated capital cost per annual pound of nickel of US$7.84


    * Post-tax Net Present Value of US$375 million (at a 10% discount rate) and US$6/lb nickel price and $10/lb cobalt


    * Internal Rate of Return of 28.3%


    * 3 year payback period


    * Forecast annual sales of US$260 million, based on a long term nickel price of US$6.00/lb and including by-product credits


    * Significant potential to increase NPV and IRR with extended mine life by confirming the JORC Inferred Acoje and Zambales Chromite
deposits to JORC Indicated status

    Rusina Mining (AIM:RMLA, ASX:RML) is pleased to announce positive results from the pre-feasibility study on the Acoje deposit in the
Philippines using European Nickel's heap leach technology. European Nickel and Rusina will now commence a Definitive Feasibility Study
("DFS"), which will be due for completion by late 2009.

    The pre-feasibility study results demonstrate an economically viable nickel laterite project using heap leach technology producing
24,500 tonnes a year of contained nickel and 930 tonnes of contained cobalt. The study for the Acoje project is based on a JORC Indicated
Resource of 30.76 million tonnes at 1.12% nickel and 0.05% cobalt (at a 0.8% nickel cut-off for saprolite and a 0.9% nickel cut off for
limonite) giving the project an initial mine life of ten years. Mining will be at a rate of three million tonnes per annum, with a low strip
ratio of 0.46, and cash costs are estimated at US$3.10 per pound of nickel (at US$6/lb Ni), net of by-products including a refining charge
of 25% of the nickel price and a cobalt price of US$10/lb. Further potential resources have been identified, the JORC Inferred Resources at
Acoje and the Zambales Chromite deposit, which are expected to extend the mine life beyond 20 years and are expected to be confirmed to JORC
Indicated Resource levels during the DFS.  

    The basis for the Study was the November 2008 Snowden Mining Industry Consultants (Snowden) resource estimate. The Companies anticipate
that further resources will be upgraded at Acoje by infill drilling in 2009. This could significantly increase the net present value and the
rate of return of the project in the future.

    It is proposed that the nickel laterite ore will be leached with dilute sulphuric acid produced from a sulphur burning acid plant to be
built at the site and the nickel will be recovered in a precipitation plant in a two stage concentration process producing two saleable
products. The first stage primary nickel product ("PNP") will contain 39% nickel and 1% cobalt and the second stage nickel product (SNP)
will contain 25% nickel and 1% cobalt. The project plans to use the same plant design as European Nickel's ?lda* project in Turkey where
over 80% of the design for the precipitation plant is already complete. 

    The Acoje project's total development cost is estimated at US$498 million, including infrastructure and working capital, which equates
to a capital cost per annual pound of nickel of US$7.76. The project has a post-tax Net Present Value of US$375 million (at a 10% discount
rate), an Internal Rate of Return of 28.3% and a three year payback period. Annual sales, based on a long term nickel price of US$6.00 per
pound, are forecast at US$260 million, including by-product credits which would generate US$108 million of free cash flow annually.

    European Nickel will, pursuant to the terms of the joint venture, earn a 40% economic interest in the Acoje deposit by spending US$10
million on the metallurgical heap leach trial, engineering design and permitting, following which Rusina will hold 40% and their Philippine
partner, DMCI Mining Inc, will hold 20%.

    The potential development and commercial mining operation at Acoje will have a significant positive economic impact on the local and
regional community. During the development and construction phase, approximately 50% of the construction costs are estimated to be spent
within the Zambales region and of the US$498 million total development cost, an estimated 70% will be expensed in the Philippines. This
project will provide a significant economic and social boost to the Zambales region.

    A copy of the Executive Summary of the Pre-Feasibility Study is available on the Company's website - www.rusina.com.au.

    Resource Model

    Based on additional geological modelling in 2008, the Companies updated the first JORC-Compliant resource estimate produced for Acoje by
SRK Consulting (SRK) in December 2007, with a second resource produced by Snowden in November 2008. The Companies prepared the electronic
database which was then reviewed by Snowden. The JORC-compliant resource estimate (including Indicated and Inferred resources) for limonite
and saprolite, produced by Snowden at a 0.8% nickel cut-off was 50.14 Mt @ 1.06% Ni which includes approximately 233,000 tonnes @ 1.44%
nickel that has already been mined.

    The new updated resource estimate is the result of 3 dimensional block modelling undertaken by Snowden Mining Industry Consultants,
Perth (Snowden) for use in producing a mine plan and schedule.

    A detailed breakdown of the resource is provided below:








 Property         JORC Category  Million Tonnes  Ni (%)  Co (%)
 Acoje Limonite   Indicated          10.78        0.99   0.081
                  Inferred            5.27        0.93   0.075
 Acoje Saprolite  Indicated          23.62        1.14   0.038
                  Inferred           10.67        1.05   0.044
 Total Acoje*                        50.14        1.06   0.052

    Cut-off grade Ni = 0.8%
    Rounding may introduce minor computational errors 
    *includes approximately 233,000 tonnes mined at a grade of 1.44% Ni


    Resource Details
    The resource estimate was undertaken independently by Snowden. The resource for the Acoje Nickel Laterite has been re-estimated, using
all drill holes and test pits available as at 31 May 2008. The estimate is based on 1,587 drill holes and test pits, spaced on a nominal
100m x 100m grid and in some cases closer. Each pit was manually sampled on 1m intervals, and each diamond drill core was split in half and
sampled on 1m intervals. All samples were split at site, with one sample being kept at Rusina's storage facility. All samples were assayed
at McPhar Assay Laboratories in Manila using chemical digestion for Cr2O3, Ni, Cu, Co, Fe, Mg and fire assay for Au, Pd, Pt. The sample
database was reviewed and checks were conducted to identify entry errors. Where pits were twinned by a deeper drill hole Snowden elected to
use the deeper information for model construction and resource estimation.
    A geological model of the laterite deposit was constructed by Snowden based on the supplied geological rock-type codes and chemistry of
the sample assay data. The geological model identifies soil (overburden), limonite and saprolite horizons. MgO/Fe ratios were used to define
limonite, saprolite and bedrock rock-type codes. Soil (and unmineralised overburden) was defined as material

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