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GRANTING OF COPERNICUS MINING LEASE

Sally Malay Mining Limited (ASX Code: SMY) is pleased to announce that a mining lease has been granted for the Copernicus Joint Venture. Mining Lease M80/540 came into effect on 8 January 2008 and marks a significant milestone in the development of the project. The Copernicus Joint Venture is an unincorporated joint venture between Sally Malay (60%) and Thundelarra Exploration Limited (40%) with Sally Malay as the Manager and Operator.

Steady progress has been made on obtaining statutory approval for the project, with both the WA State Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and Commonwealth Department of Environment and Water Resources (DEWR) having advised that the environmental impact of the project is not at a level requiring formal assessment. Approval by the Department of Infrastructure and Resources (DoIR) remains as the only significant statutory requirement for mining to commence.

Subject to the receipt of final statutory approvals, open pit mining at Copernicus remains on schedule to commence in mid 2008