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FOCUS MINERALS LTD Capital/Financing Update 2007

Jul 16, 2007

64932_rns_2007-07-16_569ee8e2-2ecf-4755-81cf-1a0f52f0ea3f.pdf

Capital/Financing Update

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MEDIA / ASX RELEASE

PERTH

Level 3 105 St Georges Terrace Perth Western Australia 6000 Phone: 61 8 9215 7888 Fax: 61 8 9215 7889 Email: [email protected]

ACN 005 470 799

17 July 2007

FOCUS MINERALS SECURES PROCESSING CAPACITY FOR FIRST COOLGARDIE GOLD PROJECT ORE

DEAL TO TREAT HIGH-GRADE PERSEVERANCE ORE AT GREENFIELDS PLANT ON REDEMPTION JV LAND

WA gold and nickel company Focus Minerals Ltd (ASX: FML ) has further expedited plans to commence nearterm gold production, with the announcement today that its Redemption Joint Venture (RJV) with Canadianbased Committee Bay Resources Ltd (TSXV: CBR ) has secured priority toll treatment for first ore from the Coolgardie Gold Project through an agreement with Higginsville Mining Pty Ltd.

The processing agreement, for the treatment of up to 480,000 tonnes of RJV ore per annum was negotiated as part of a sub-lease extension contract offered by the RJV to Higginsville Mining.

Higginsville Mining owns and operates the Greenfields mineral processing plant located on the lease, which is adjacent to the RJV’s fully-permitted 1.2mtpa Three Mile Hill processing facility. Under the terms of the lease agreement, Higginsville Mining will toll treat RJV ore at the Greenfields plant, at highly competitive rates and on a priority basis.

The RJV’s combined sub-lease extension and toll treatment agreement with Higginsville Mining facilitates the commencement of production from the Coolgardie Gold Project prior to the planned re-commissioning of the large Three Mile Hill facility.

Focus Minerals’ Managing Director, Mr Peter Williams, said the agreement was an example of effective industry co-operation during an extended period of cost and labour constraints.

“This lease agreement supports not only our plans to move into production, but also the continued success of existing regional gold operations, their service providers and the Coolgardie community as a whole,” Mr Williams said. “In addition, it underpins the future and much needed expansion of processing capacity within the region.”

The RJV is completing a Bankable Feasibility Study for the priority development of the high-grade Perseverance deposit (Inferred Resource of 296,000t @ 9.4g/t Au), which is centrally located within the Coolgardie Gold Project and in close proximity to the Three Mile Hill and Greenfields processing plants.

Final tender negotiations are underway for the construction of a decline from existing fully maintained underground infrastructure to facilitate access to the Perseverance lode, enabling further exploration and resource upgrade drilling programs and potential development.

Decline development work is scheduled to commence in August 2007, to enable the potential commencement of mining from as early as December 2007.

Simultaneously, the RJV is considering options to support an optimal re-commissioning of Three Mile Hill. These include toll treating in combination with RJV ore and treating 100%-derived RJV ore. Current resource estimates and development timelines indicate the Coolgardie Gold Project could potentially provide the plant’s total 1.2mtpa capacity throughput from 2010.

COMPETENT PERSON’S STATEMENT

The information in this report relating to Resources and Reserves is based on work supervised by Mr Chuck McCormick who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). Mr McCormick has the relevant experience as a “Competent Person” as defined in the 2004 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves in relation to the mineralisation reported on. Mr McCormick is Exploration Manager of Focus Minerals Ltd and consents to the inclusion of the material in the form and content in which it appears.

ENDS

Released by: Nicholas Read/Susan Bower Read Corporate (inc Jan Hope & Partners) Telephone: (+61-8) 9388-1474

On behalf of: Peter Williams, Managing Director Focus Minerals Limited Telephone: (+61-8) 9215-7888 Web: www.focusminerals.com.au

BACKGROUND INFORMATION – FOCUS MINERALS LTD

Focus Minerals Ltd (ASX: FML ) is an Australian-based exploration and development group whose focus is to become a significant gold and nickel producer in the Coolgardie-KalgoorlieWidgiemooltha region of Western Australia.

Focus is currently fast tracking development of its wholly-owned Nepean Nickel Project (current estimated resource totaling 591,300t @ 2.2% Ni) located 25km south of Coolgardie. Focus has a view of recommencing mining operations from the historic production centre in 2008.

Through its Redemption Joint Venture with Canadian-based Committee Bay Resources Ltd, Focus Minerals is the largest landholder in the Coolgardie Gold Belt located in Western Australia, 560km east of Perth and 35km west of the ‘Super Pit’ in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. More than 2.6 million ounces of gold has been produced from the Coolgardie gold belt alone since 1892. The Redemption Joint Venture holds the mineral rights to more than 210sq km of tenements including Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources exceeding 1.6 million ounces of gold as well as the 1.2mtpa Three Mile Hill processing plant.