BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA--(Marketwire - April 30, 2012) - Intrepid Mines Limited (News - Market indicators)(ASX:IAU) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the release of its report for the quarter ended 31 March 2012 regarding development and exploration activities, as required under ASX Listing Rules 5.1 and 5.3.

The documents are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and the ASX website (www.asx.com.au) as well as on the Company's website (www.intrepidmines.com).

All dollar values are United States Dollars unless otherwise stated.

OVERVIEW

Tujuh Bukit

• Assay results from deep drill hole GTD-11-248, in the on-going drilling program at the Tumpangpitu copper-gold porphyry within the Project, have returned the highest grade copper and gold intersection to date from a position east of the previously known porphyry mineralisation boundary
• The Company reported assay results from the initial Diamond drill hole SAN-12-001 at the Salakan prospect which intersected telescoped porphyry/ high sulphidation mineralisation from near surface to end of hole at 924.7 metres
• A total of 55 holes were either, completed, initiated, or initiated and completed, at Tumpangpitu during the reporting period, for a cumulative total of 12,580 metres.
• Exploration expenditure of $11.2 million for the quarter
• Canadian National Instrument 43-101 lodged: Tumpangpitu porphyry copper-gold zone Inferred Resource expanded by 70% to 1.7 billion tonnes at 0.41% copper and 0.46 grams per tonne ('g/t') gold (at a cut-off grade of 0.2% copper):
  • 15 billion pounds of contained copper and 25 million ounces of contained gold;
  • geological potential foreshadowed to increase the announced resource
    40% to 60% at a slightly reduced grade

Finance

• Group unaudited loss of $12.6 million (includes discontinued operations) after tax for the three months ended 31 March 2012.
• During the quarter, the Group advanced $2,021,000 to PT IMN to meet their 20% share of ongoing exploration expenditure above the initial Intrepid sole-funding commitment of A$50.0 million.
• Cash and short term investments (no debt) at quarter end totalled $139.3 million.
• 562,500 options to acquire shares exercised. 
• Certain members of senior management were granted 1,742,024 options and 871,011 restricted share rights during the quarter ended 31 March 2012.

Corporate

• The Company provided further clarification of Indonesian Government Regulation Number 24 of 2012 (the "Regulation"), publically released on 6 March 2012.
• The Regulation amends existing divestment requirements for foreign-owned companies holding mining licences in Indonesia, such that the ownership participation of Indonesian entities or nationals after the end of certain annual periods following commencement of (commercial) production shall not be less than 51% after ten years.

Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements, relating to, but not limited to Intrepid's expectations, intentions, plans and beliefs. Forward-looking information can often be identified by forward-looking words such as 'anticipate', 'believe', 'expect', 'goal', 'plan', 'intend', 'estimate', 'may' and 'will' or similar words suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future outcomes, or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information may include reserve and resource estimates, estimates of future production, unit costs, costs of capital projects, and timing of commencement of operations and is based on current expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to, failure to establish estimated resources and reserves, the grade and recovery of ore which is mined varying from estimates, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects and other factors. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied.

Shareholders and potential investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. By its nature, forward-looking information involves numerous assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and various future events will not occur. Intrepid undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law.

Statements relating to gold resource estimates are expressions of judgment, based on knowledge and experience and may require revision based on actual production experience. Such estimates are necessarily imprecise and depend to some extent on statistical inferences and other assumptions, such as gold prices, cut-off grades and operating costs, which may prove to be inaccurate.

Forestry Permitting

The Indonesian Forestry Law restricts non forestry activities within protected forests and prohibits mining using an open pit method in protected forest areas. The area of the Porphyry copper-gold resource estimate, and the Zone A, Zone B and Zone C oxide resource estimate areas fall within a protected forest area. Intrepid's Alliance partner, PT IMN, is working with relevant Indonesian authorities regarding a potential review of forest land status. There is no assurance that the forestry reclassification will take place in this instance. PT IMN received an extension of the Forestry Exploration Permit dated 7 July 2010, which allows for exploration activities within forestry areas.

Qualified Person

The information in this report that relates to exploration results at Tujuh Bukit and Shyri Project is based on information compiled by or under the supervision of Gary Snow, who is a fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy as well as the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Gary Snow is employed by Intrepid Mines Limited and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" and is a Qualified Person as defined in the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). Gary Snow consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

The information in this announcement that relates to mineral resources at Tujuh Bukit is based on information compiled by or under the supervision of Dr Phillip Hellman, who is an independent consultant to Intrepid Mines Limited. Dr Hellman is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and a consultant to H&S Consultants. Dr Hellman has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as an Independent Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" and an Independent Qualified Person as defined in the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). Dr Hellman consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

Quality Control

Intrepid exercises a strict chain of sample custody in its drilling program at Tujuh Bukit (Indonesia). Joint Venture personnel remove the core from the drill rig and deliver it to a project geologist who logs the core and marks the core into two metre sample intervals. Intrepid and Joint Venture personnel supervise the immediate splitting, sawing and bagging of samples, and packaging of groups of samples for dispatch to the laboratory. The remainder of the split core remains on site. Samples are securely packaged, batched, and then transported under supervision to Intertek's laboratory facility in Jakarta. At the laboratory, the samples are prepared by crushing and pulverizing and a 30-gram charge is assayed for gold by conventional fire assay and/or atomic absorption methods. Multi-element ICP analysis is carried out using a multi-acid digestion process. All samples that contain silver and/or copper, lead, and zinc values that exceed the upper detection limits for ICP are re-analysed by conventional atomic absorption methods to determine the absolute values of these metals.

ABN: 11 060 156 452