Metallica at a Glance

Company Strategy | Key Commodities | Key Points | Corporate Summary

Metallica Minerals Limited (Metallica) was incorporated in 1997 by Founding and Managing Director Andrew Gillies.

Metallica was establised with the primary objective of creating opportunity and wealth for its shareholders through the evaluation and development of mineral projects in Queensland. Metallica was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange November 2004 (ASX Code MLM).

Metallica's focus and flagship project is its North Queensland Nickel Cobalt (NORNICO)

The Directors and management team are proud of the quality of the mineral portfolio that has been carefully selected and secured, particularly nickel-cobalt - NORNICO Project, as well as coal and bauxite projects. The predominantly 100% held mineral project portfolio has excellent development potential as well as being accompanied by considerable exploration upside, with exposure to a suite of other commodities, including Platinum Group Elements (PGE), copper, gold, titanium, scandium, zircon, diamonds, limestone and other industrial minerals.

Company Strategy And Objectives

Metallica is an emerging multi-commodity resource company holding a significant Queensland based mineral portfolio with a Nickel development focus and includes 40% owned Cape Alumina (Bauxite) and 100% owned MetroCoal (Coal projects).

The Company's aim is to develop its 100% owned flagship NORNICO Nickel project as a highly profitable and long-life heap leach nickel-cobalt operation, producing nickel product at a rate of around 10,000 tonnes Nickel per annum for a project life of around 20 years.

Metallica's Vision

Metallica's Vision is to be at the forefront of a new generation of mineral producers, employing leading edge technologies and know how to generate a high value products in a competitive international marketplace, delivering shareholder value through profit, opportunity and growth.

Continue to emerge as a leading Queensland focused exploration and resource development company
Medium term aim of becoming a 10,000tpa Nickel (contained in concentrate) producer
Optimise our significant mineral portfolio, particularly Nickel
Maximise Shareholder value, through opportunity, growth and profit.

Metallica's Mission

To move into Nickel production in the quickest and most economically efficient way.

Social Responsibility

Maintain high professional conduct to ensure good relations with our Shareholders, Landholders and Business Partners
Maintain the highest environmental awareness and responsibility, duty of care and safety standards
Value and encourage our employees and contractors
Support and enhance the communities in which we operate

Key Commodities

NICKEL-COBALT (NORNICO and Lucky Break Projects)
BAUXITE (Weipa)-through 40% owned Cape Alumina Pty Ltd
COAL (Surat Coal Basins) - through 100% owned MetrolCoal

Key Points

Three Company-making Project Opportunities: Nickel/Cobalt, Coal and Bauxite in excellent locations.
Highly experience and talented Board -
Experienced and motivated Team, all Brisbane based.
Focused on Project Evaluation, Feasibility and Development with exciting exploration upside.
Nickel - NORNICO Project focus: Nickel/Cobalt laterites evaluation and Nickel/Cu/PGE sulphide exploration within 2,000 sq km tenure.
Completed Feasibility Study based on an existing Ni-Co laterite resources estimated to contain 222,000t Ni and 9,000t Co (resource estimate Nov 2006 based on approximately 600 drill holes). The target is to establish a low capital and operating cost Heap Leach Nickel Operation producing Ni-Co (approx. 30%) concentrate which would be sold to the nearby Yabulu Nickel Refinery and or exported to other metals refinery. The treatment rate is planned at 1.5 million tonnes of ore per annum and a 75% recovery rate of nickel is forecast based on detailed metallurgical testwork, producing around 10,000t of Nickel per annum (in hydroxide-carbonate concentrate) with Cobalt credits. Production is targeted for late 2009.

Lucky Break Ni-Co Project is 140km by road from BHPB’s Yabulu nickel refinery. A Feasibility Study has been completed by Joint Venture Partners Metals Finance Corporation (MFC) with nickel production targeted for third quarter 2008.
MetroCoal projects comprise 6 Tenues covering 4,000 km2 of Coal bearing strata. Where it will investigate deeper coal seams (>130m to 300m depth) forUnderground Coal Gassification (UCG). As well as for open pit coal deposits where coal seams occur close (<100m) to surface.
Through Metallica's 40% holding of Cape Alumina Pty Ltd Secured granted tenure and applications for mineral rights to extensive >800 sq km government mapped bauxite deposits in Weipa Bauxite Province in Cape York Queensland, including an initial Bauxite Resource of 54 Mt at its Wenlock Bauxite Deposit.

Metallica Minerals Limited - What's in a Name?

Metallica was named after the classic medival mining and metallurgy textbook "De Re Metallica" (All About Metals), first published in 1556 by Georgius Agricola, a German physician and scientist. Agricola, known as the father of mineralogy, was a pioneer in physical geology and the first to classify minerals scientifically.

"De Re Metallica", his most celebrated work, was a standard in metallurgy and mining for over a century and was translated into English (1912) by Herbert C. Hoover. Herbert was a mining engineer who worked in Western Australia and later became president of the USA.

"De Re Metallica" remained the standard textbook on mining and metallurgy for more than 200 years. It describes minerals and mineral processing and was really the foundation for mineral exploration and mining practices.