AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE AND MEDIA RELEASE

SMALL FIRE AT OXIANA’S SEPON COPPER PLANT

A small fire occurred yesterday in the electro-winning tankhouse at Oxiana’s Sepon copper plant in Laos. Established emergency response procedures were invoked and the fire was extinguished within 40 minutes of its starting. The damage sustained was relatively minor.

Importantly, there were no injuries sustained or health problems caused as a result of the fire, nor were there any environmental incidents.

The fire, which was caused by sparks from a grinding wheel, primarily affected the roof and wall cladding of the tankhouse, although there was also some minor damage to electrical cabling. No damage to any major equipment was sustained.

It is likely that the clean-up and rectification works will mean that production at the plant is suspended for between 10 – 15 days. At budgeted production rates, production of copper cathode at Sepon could be impacted by between 1,800 – 2,500 tonnes. Copper production guidance for Sepon in 2008 is 60,000 – 65,000 tonnes, and year-to-date production is ahead of budget. There is no basis for revising production guidance at this stage.

“Demand for Sepon cathode is very strong”, said Russell Griffin, Oxiana’s General Manager Marketing, “and even though the production delay as a result of the fire is relatively small, it is disappointing for us to have to advise customers that our ability to deliver product to them has been temporarily impaired.”

The work required to restore the plant to full production includes:

• rectification of damage to the roof structure and cladding
• draining and cleaning of any affected EW cells
• clean-up of the work areas.

For further information, please contact:

Richard Hedstrom
Corporate Affairs Manager
Oxiana Limited
61 3 8623 2210
61 3 8623 2222
rhedstrom@oxiana.com.au