ROSEMONT

CLICK HERE to view the Forest Service Reading Room MPO
CLICK HERE to view Rosemont Mine Plan of Operations
CLICK HERE to view the Reclamation Plan
CLICK HERE to the Infrastructure Plan
CLICK HERE to view proposed project timeline

The Rosemont Copper property is located in Pima County, approximately 50 kilometers southeast of Tucson, Arizona, and is situated near a number of large porphyry type producing copper mines operated by Freeport McMoRan and Asarco. The property contains three known potentially open-pit mineable copper/molybdenum (“Cu/Mo/Ag”) skarn deposits: Rosemont, Peach Elgin and Broadtop Butte.

Rosemont's proven and probable mineral reserves contain 493 million tons at 0.47% Cu, 0.015% Mo and 0.12 oz/t Ag in sulfide ore and an additional 50 million tons at 0.18% Cu in oxide ore. Proven and probable reserves are included within the measured and indicated resource, which estimates 7.2 billion pounds ("lbs") of Cu in measured, indicated and inferred resources. The estimate also includes 180 million lbs of Mo, and 75 million ounces of Ag in measured, indicated and inferred resources.

The proposed Rosemont mine is expected to produce annually 220 million pounds of Cu (84% recovery), 4.5 million pounds of Mo (56% recovery), 2.7 million ounces of Ag (78% recovery) and approximately 15,000 ounces of gold as a by-product credit over the 18.2 year mine life. The heap leach SX-EW plant is expected to produce an additional 14 million lbs of Cu cathode (65% recovery) per year for the first 8 years of production.

*Proven and probable reserves totals are included within the measured and indicated resource values quoted below. For purposes of the feasibility study, 69 millions tons of inferred resources above the NSR cutoff grade within the ultimate pit have been treated as waste. Additional drilling and geological modeling in the future may permit a reclassification of some of this material to measured & indicated resources.

ROSEMONT DEPOSIT INFERRED MINERAL RESOURCES

Feasbility Study - In May 2006 the Company announced positive results from metallurgical test work that would impact production and process techniques at Rosemont. The new findings had a major positive impact on flow sheet design and the financial performance of the project. The Company published a positive preliminary assessment ("PA") in June 2006, which demonstrated that the Rosemont copper/molybdenum/silver deposit may be developed as a low cost open pit mine with potentially robust project economics. With the positive project economics noted in the PA and the continued buoyant market for these strategic metals, management decided to move the Rosemont project to full feasibility study. M3 Engineering was awarded the contract in August 2006, and published the bankable feasibility study in August 2007, which evaluated the project economics associated with processing sulfide ores as well as oxide copper processing.

Click here for a summary of the Bankable Feasibility Study

Permitting - The Company completed the first step of the permitting process when it filed its comprehensive Plan of Operations with the US Forest Service in July 2007. Using this plan as a basis for permitting, Augusta is now expecting to move through the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) permitting process, whereby the US Forest Service initiates an Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) and public review process.

The US Forest Service is the official agency in charge of leadingthe process of reviewing potential project impacts and identifying relevant mitigation plans resulting from the Plan of Operations. As such, the US Forest Service is responsible for issuing the final EIS and “Record of Decision” after pubic review and comment. These documents and findings are then considered by other federal and state agencies as they review the permits required to initiate mineral development on the property.

It normally takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months to complete the draft EIS and the initial public review process. Another three to six months are typically required to respond to public comments and prepare the final EIS, after which the US Forest Service will issue a “Record of Decision” either approving the plan or providing recommendations for modifications to the plan. Subsequent to the “Record of Decision”, the Company will file a final Plan of Operations (incorporating any necessary modifications). It is then that permits would be issued allowing the Company to commence construction. Upon completion of this process, Augusta expects to receive approval to construct the mine in 2009 and begin pre-production mining in 2010.

Click here to view the Rosemont Economic Impact Study

Water Supply - The Company obtained a sustainable water supply source for Rosemont when it signed two contracts with the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) in June 2006. One contract allows Augusta to become a water user in the CAWCD system, allowing Augusta to request up to 10,000 acre-feet of water per year for the five-year term of the contract. The second contract allows the Company to store the water in the Pima Mine Storage and Retrieval Facility in Pima County, Arizona. The pre-stored water will accumulate in a water-bank account to offset groundwater removed from the aquifer once mine operations begin on the Rosemont property.

Augusta announced in June 2007 it has already stored a full two years’ worth of water needed to operate the Rosemont Copper project within the Tucson Active Management Area. By the end of this year a total of 15,000 acre feet of water delivered by the Central Arizona Project ("CAP") is expected to be stored in the greater Tucson aquifer, bringing the level stored for Rosemont Copper to a three-year supply.

In addition to Rosemont Copper’s unique approach to supplying water, the project will employ water conservation and recycling techniques never before implemented by an Arizona copper mining facility. These initiatives are anticipated to yield a 50 to 60 percent reduction in water use, compared with traditional mining practices.

TECHNICAL REPORTS

August 29, 2007  Rosemont Copper Project Feasibility Study - NI 43-101 Technical Report
April 26, 2007   NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate Technical Report for Rosemont Deposit
April 21, 2006   NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate Technical Report for Rosemont Deposit
June 14, 2006   Rosemont Preliminary Assessment and Economic Evaluation

CLICK HERE for more information on the ownership of the Rosemont property.