MAGELLAN WELCOMES ESPERANCE LEAD EXPORT APPROVALTORONTO, ONTARIO – December 3, 2008 – Ivernia Inc.’s (TSX: IVW) wholly-owned subsidiary,Magellan Metals Pty Ltd (“Magellan”) today issued the following media release in Western Australia:
MAGELLAN WELCOMES ESPERANCE LEAD EXPORT APPROVAL
Perth – 3 December 2008 - Magellan Metals welcomes a decision by the Western Australian Government
which will allow the export of the Company’s 8,000 dry metric tonne lead carbonate concentrate stockpile
at the Port of Esperance.
Magellan is working to a timeline which has now been agreed with the State Government and the
Esperance Port Authority (EsPA) to implement the Lead Removal Plan in early January and complete
removal of the stockpiled lead from Esperance in approximately three months. The stockpile has been
sealed in a storage shed within the Port since lead carbonate concentrate exports were suspended in
early 2007.
As announced in Parliament today by the Premier of Western Australia, Hon. Colin Barnett, the State
Government approval of the Lead Removal Plan is a significant step forward in resolving the outstanding
lead issues at Esperance. Once the stockpile is removed, the existing old inner storage shed, currently
containing the lead stockpile, will be cleaned, demolished and disposed of, allowing a final clean-up of the
port and town to commence.
The Government’s approval authorizes the EsPA to allow Magellan to export its stockpile under strict
conditions. The process for exporting the stockpile is detailed in the Lead Removal Plan available at
www.magellanmetals.com.au or www.esperanceport.com.au. It involves loading concentrate into twotonne bags, sealing them, and vacuum cleaning the outside of the bags before locking them in steel
containers, which will then be loaded on to ships at the Port. It is essentially the same process as
Magellan’s proposal for sealed shipment exports via Fremantle.
Work has already commenced on implementing the Lead Removal Plan with the bagging equipment
prepared at Wiluna for temporary relocation to Esperance, improvements to the Esperance lead shed are
completed to ensure the Company and the EsPA meet the strict environmental and health and safety
monitoring requirements and logistics arrangements are well advanced for delivery of empty containers
and shipping from Esperance of the approximately 330 containers which will contain the bagged lead.
Necessary arrangements to get containers to and from Esperance have been complex and challenging,
as commercial container cargo is not regularly handled at the Port of Esperance.
Once the bagging and containerisation of the lead carbonate is complete the bagging facility will be
dismantled and returned to Wiluna. After the stockpile and bagging plant are removed, the shed will be
cleaned, demolished and safely removed from the Port as soon as possible.
Dr John Yeates, Magellan’s General Manager Corporate Social Responsibility, said “We will continue
working very closely with the Department of Environment and Conservation and other regulators and the
EsPA to ensure that the export process runs safely and smoothly. We will also be helping to ensure the
community is kept informed of our progress throughout this operation. Exporting the stockpile is the first
stage of Magellan’s commitment to helping resolve lead issues in Esperance and demonstrate the high
environmental and health and safety standards of our sealed shipment process.”
As indicated by the Premier in his media conference today, Magellan is working closely with the State
Government to reach agreement on a financial contribution to past, current and future clean-up activities,
as well as a contribution to community projects in Esperance.
About Ivernia
Ivernia is an international base metals operating, development and exploration company. The Company
is the sole owner and operator of the Magellan lead mine in Western Australia. When operations resume
and target production levels are achieved the mine is expected to be a significant pure lead producer
accounting for approximately 2% of the total world lead mine production.
Ivernia trades under the symbol “IVW” on the Toronto Stock Exchange.