Sale of Elura Mine and Newcastle Shiploading Operation
9 April 2003

MEDIA RELEASE

SALE OF ELURA MINE AND
NEWCASTLE SHIPLOADING OPERATION

Pasminco today announced that it had entered into an agreement with Consolidated Broken Hill to sell its Elura mining operation at Cobar and shiploading operation at Newcastle in New South Wales.

The total consideration is up to $22.2 million. Consolidated Broken Hill will pay Pasminco $2.2 million in cash on completion, a further $3.2 million nine months after completion, and up to a total of $5.0 million in the form of price linked payments which will commence one year after completion and are payable during a period of up to four years. Consolidated Broken Hill will also assume $11.8 million in financial liabilities including all clean up and rehabilitation liabilities in respect of the Elura mine.

Supply contracts have been agreed for on-going delivery of Elura concentrates to Pasminco’s Cockle Creek, Hobart and Port Pirie smelters at normal commercial terms.

The sale agreement is conditional on various requirements being met to the satisfaction of both Pasminco and Consolidated Broken Hill. These include Consolidated Broken Hill finalising its financing arrangements and other usual conditions precedent. Assuming all conditions precedent are met, completion of the sale and transfer of ownership are expected to occur in early August.
The completion of the sale of these assets will unfortunately mean that Pasminco’s current Elura employees will be retrenched. Pasminco will pay all employees their full entitlements as and when they fall due.

The assets included in the sale are Pasminco’s mining tenements and their associated facilities at Elura, housing in Cobar as well as concentrate storage and shiploading facilities located at Newcastle.

Chief Executive Officer Greig Gailey said that the agreement was an excellent one for Pasminco. "A mine of this nature is best operated by a smaller mining company than Pasminco," he said.

"The sale of Elura, together with the closures of Cockle Creek and the US mines, will largely complete the wholesale rationalisation of Pasminco`s asset base which began with the successful sale of the Broken Hill mine in 2002. It leaves us well placed to re-list the company when market conditions are appropriate," he said.

Pasminco was advised on the sale by UBS Warburg and Blake Dawson Waldron.

For further information contact:

Trevor Shard
General Manager Investor and Community Relations
++ 61 (3) 9288 9186
0419 584 515


Stephen Baines
Manager Public Affairs
++ 61 (3) 9288 0215
0418 992 651

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