PILBARA COMMENCES DRILLING AT TABBA TABBA TANTALUM PROJECT AFTER SECURING FIRST TRANCHE OF FUNDING

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1 ACN ASX ANNOUCEMENT 7 th NOVEMBER 2013 PILBARA COMMENCES DRILLING AT TABBA TABBA TANTALUM PROJECT AFTER SECURING FIRST TRANCHE OF FUNDING DRILLING AND MINING STUDIES UNDERWAY HARD ON THE HEELS OF NEW JOINT VENTURE HIGHLIGHTS: First tranche of funding comprising $750,000 successfully raised with 30% contributed by Directors and Management to underpin the evaluation and development of the advanced Tabba Tabba Tantalum Project in WA. Funds will enable geotechnical and sterilisation drilling and mining studies to commence immediately as part of the Feasibility Study on the Tabba Tabba Joint Venture. Geotechnical diamond drilling program underway, which is required to upgrade the current JORC Inferred Resource classification to Indicated status: o Five HQ holes planned for bulk density and metallurgical studies; o Two geotechnical holes planned for pit wall stability studies Sterilisation drilling program to commence shortly for the waste rock dump facility and the tailings storage facility as part of the Feasibility Study due for completion by the end of 2013: 19 Reverse Circulation holes planned for 570m. Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) is pleased to announce that it has commenced drilling at Tabba Tabba Tantalum Project in Western Australia s Pilbara region after completing the first tranche of funding required to progress evaluation and development of the recently secured project. Pilbara last month signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Nagrom Mining Pty Ltd to jointly evaluate, develop and mine the Tabba Tabba Project, which is located 75km by road from Port Hedland, putting it on track to join the ranks of junior miners next year. The recently commenced diamond drilling program represents the first phase of work required as part of the joint development program agreed with Nagrom. Placement The first tranche of the funding secured comprises a share placement to sophisticated investors comprising 75,000,000 million shares at one cent per share to raise a total of $750,000. Thirty per cent of the placement that was subscribed for by the Directors and Management. 64,000,000 Level 5, 2 Bligh Street Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Tel: Fax

2 shares will be allocated utilising the placement capacity approved at the November 4 shareholder meeting and the Company s 15% placement capacity. Pilbara Directors Mr Neil Biddle and Mr Tony Leibowitz have each applied for 5,000,000 shares in the above Placement, and Director Mr Robert Adamson has subscribed for 1,000,000 shares in the above placement. Acceptance of their subscriptions is subject to shareholder approval. Geotechnical Drilling The next phase of work is currently underway at the Tabba Tabba Project with the drilling of up to seven geotechnical diamond drill holes (see Figure 1) to deliver specific gravity determinations and material strength testwork to assist in pit design. The specific gravity determination will also assist in upgrading the Inferred Resource (as announced October 24, 2013) to Indicated category, which represents an essential step towards calculation of an Ore Reserve. The drill core will be structurally logged and testwork completed including bulk density determinations, uniaxial compressive strength and shear strength testing of defect structures. These results determine slope (pit design) configurations including individual batter heights, batter face angles, inter-ramp slope angles and overall slope angle. This work is being carried out by independent geotechnical consultants Dempers and Seymour Pty Ltd. The aim is to complete pit optimisation studies using current costs and appropriate mining parameters to complete a mine design, life-of-mine schedule and a financial model leading to a mineable Ore Reserve. This will be followed by the final stages of permitting, financing and developing the operation. Figure 1: Preliminary pit shell showing proposed geotechnical and bulk density testwork Page 2

3 Sterilisation Drilling Reverse Circulation drilling is planned at the proposed Waste Rock Dump (WRD) and the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) footprints to sterilise these areas prior to finalisation of the mine infrastructure plan. Total sterilisation drilling is estimated at 570m. Fifteen holes are planned on the WRD area to a depth of 30m. The WRD is located just north-west of the proposed pit area, shown in black on Figure 2 below. Four holes are planned in the proposed TSF, which is shown in the pale blue outline. The TSF design was completed by Coffey Mining based on a minimum 200,000 tonnes of tailings over a two-year period. The total TSF covers an area of 8.2Ha. Figure 2: Infrastructure Layout, showing location, disturbed and undisturbed areas Page 3

4 SUMMARY AND COMMENT Pilbara Executive and Chief Geologist John Young said the completion of the first tranche fund raising would allow the evaluation and development of the Tabba Tabba Project to be fasttracked with the Feasibility Study due to be completed by year-end. This represents a solid outcome in the current challenging equity market for junior resource companies and has been underpinned by the strong commitment of our Board and management team, Mr Young said. This will enable us to move ahead immediately with important drilling programs and mining studies required as part of the Feasibility Study on the Tabba Tabba Project, putting us on a clear pathway towards joining the ranks of mining companies next year. More Information: TABBA TABBA PROJECT The Tabba Tabba Tantalum Project comprises four mining licences, M 45/354, M45/375, M45/376 and 377, totalling 178 ha in area, located 75km by road south-east of Port Hedland (See Figure 1.). It has an extensive history of exploration and alluvial mining and has been essentially held by the same group of companies since Page 4

5 Figure 3: Tabba Tabba Location Plan The Tabba Tabba 50/50 Joint Venture is with metallurgical and gravity processing specialists Nagrom. Nagrom is a leading metallurgical laboratory based in Perth. An independent family business established by Rick Murphy in 1978, their metallurgical division is today a global leader in the extraction of metals from ores with clients such as BHP, Rio Tinto, GAM and FMG. They are regarded as the go to laboratory for the beneficiation of tantalite, columbite, tin, tungsten and gold concentrates with over 35 years of experience. Their analytical division augments the metallurgical work assisting with accuracy and fast turnaround. They are specialists in fabricating gravity concentration plants such as Pacific Wildcat s 35TPH circuit in Mozambique. The Tabba Tabba mining tenements are owned by world-leading global tantalum producer Global Advanced Metals (GAM), which also owns the Greenbushes and Wodgina Tantalum Projects in WA. The JV Project will be developed under a mining and off-take agreement with GAM with the main objective being to produce +5% Ta 2 O 5 concentrate for sale at a fixed price subject to periodic CPI adjustments as per the agreement with GAM. What is Tantalum? The primary source of tantalum is from minerals such as tantalite, columbite, wodginite and microlite hosted in pegmatite veins/intrusives. The largest deposits are located in Australia, Brazil and Africa. Tantalum s major use is in the production of electronic components, especially for capacitors, with additional uses including components for chemical plants, nuclear power plants, airplanes and missiles. It is also used as a substitute for platinum. The tantalum market is boutique in size with around 1,300-1,500 tonnes required each year. Demand is growing rapidly due to capacitor use in wireless and handheld devices. The Tabba Tabba Project could supply approximately 7 per cent of the annual market consumption over two years. There are two major buyers of tantalum raw product worldwide: GAM and HC Starck. Listing Rule 5.23 Statement The Company confirms it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the October 24, 2013 Mineral Resource Estimate and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimate continue to apply and have not materially changed when referring to its maiden resource announcement made on October 24, Page 5