ASX RELEASE. Monax Signs Option Deal to Acquire Prospective Bauxite Tenements, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland

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1 For Immediate Release Tuesday 12 January 2010 ASX RELEASE Monax Signs Option Deal to Acquire Prospective Bauxite Tenements, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland HIGHLIGHTS Monax signs Option Deal with Delminco Pty Ltd for 5 EPM Applications covering approximately 1358km 2 on Cape York Peninsula, premier bauxite area within Australia Monax applies for three tenements within prospective bauxite area Exploration to commence upon grant of tenements Monax Mining Limited (ASX:MOX) is pleased to announce the signing of an Option Deal with Delminco Pty Ltd (Delminco) for five EPM Applications within the highly prospective Cape York Peninsula. Under the terms of the agreement, Monax will pay a $50,000 (non-refundable) Option Fee which provides Monax the rights to explore the tenements for a period of one year. At the completion of the twelve month option period, if Monax wishes to purchase the tenement outright it will make a final payment of $500,000 to Delminco. Bauxite is a naturally occurring material from which alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) and aluminium metal are produced. Australia is a major supplier of bauxite accounting for approximately 33% of global production in Monax believes this project offers the Company significant exposure to a commodity which is considered to have excellent growth capacity with demand for bauxite estimated to increase significantly as supply and quality decreases from other sources including Indonesia. The Cape York Peninsula is considered to represent the premier bauxite province in the world, with two major mining operations at Weipa (Rio Tinto) and Aurukun (Chalco Australia Ltd a subsidiary of Chinalco). Cape Alumina s Pisolite Hills deposit also located on the Cape York Peninsula is due to commence production in 2013/14. Included within the Option Deal are five current tenement applications (see Table 1), which cover an area of approximately 1358 km 2 (Figure 1). All five tenements are currently being advertised, which is the first stage of the granting process. Monax has also submitted three EPM Applications covering an area of approximately 644 km 2 (see Figure 1), taking the total project area to approximately 2002 km 2. Page 1

2 Table 1: Tenement details for Monax Cape York Bauxite Project Tenement Tenement Name Status Tenement Holder Sub-blocks Area (km 2 ) EPM Pretender Creek C Application Delminco Pty Ltd EPM Pretender Creek D Application Delminco Pty Ltd EPM Kendall River B Application Delminco Pty Ltd EPM Archer River Application Delminco Pty Ltd EPM Pretender Creek E Application Delminco Pty Ltd EPM Pretender Creek Application Monax Mining Ltd EPM Holroyd River South Application Monax Mining Ltd EPM Holroyd River North Application Monax Mining Ltd Bauxite occurs throughout the Cape York Peninsula within bauxitic lateritic weathering profiles preserved as topographic highs between major drainage divides. Exploration for bauxite has shown that these topographic highs are also characterised by anomalous radiometric responses greatly assisting in exploration for potential bauxite resources. An assessment of the tenement applications has shown extensive areas of topographic highs which are clearly seen on satellite imagery. Figure 2 shows a detailed view of EPM showing 3 areas of topographic highs which potentially contain bauxite. Figure 3 is a radiometric image showing elevated total counts corresponding to topographic highs, covering an area of approximately 25km 2. Plate 1 shows an aerial view within EPM showing areas of topographic highs characterised by orange colouration due to bauxitic weathering profile. Plate 2 shows a sample of bauxite with characteristic bauxite pisolites from EPM area (collected by previous tenement holder). Monax is planning a rapid exploration program when tenements are granted comprising hand auger sampling across all areas to assess the depth of the bauxite or weathering profile. Gary Ferris Managing Director Monax Mining Limited For further information please contact: Gary Ferris Managing Director, Duncan Gordon Monax Mining Investor Relations Ph: (08) Ph: info@monaxmining.com.au The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Mr G M Ferris, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Ferris is employed full time by the Company as Managing Director and, has a minimum of five years relevant experience in the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and qualifies as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr Ferris consents to the inclusion of the information in this report in the form and context in which it appears. Page 2

3 Exploration Office Figure 1: Location of Delminco EPM Applications on Cape York Peninsula, Northern Queensland Page 3

4 Exploration Office Figure 2: EPM (Monax s new EPM Application) showing topographic highs which represent areas of potential bauxite Figure 3: EPM showing regional radiometric data (total count) highlighting topographic highs Page 4

5 Plate 1: Aeriel view of area within EPM showing topographic high on left and back zone of photo with characteristic orange colour. White zone in foreground represents topographic low zone where the bauxitic profile has been eroded (photo courtesy S Foster) Plate 2: Sample of bauxite showing charateristic pisolites within clay matrix from within EPM (photo courtesy S Foster) Page 5