Fact Sheet: Mantle Mining brown coal exploration licence application

Mantle Mining is currently applying to the Victorian Government for an exploration licence (EL
5367) to locate brown coal deposits in the Colac Basin, under the Mineral Resources (Sustainable
Development) Act 1990. Mantle Mining’s announcement can be found at:
http://www.mantlemining.com/files/announcements/990256.pdf

Thiess, a desalination construction company, and Melbourne company Exergen will partner with
Mantle Mining to dry the coal, which they plan to export to India and other industrialising nations.

The Government may issue an exploration licence for up to 5 years, which would allow Mantle
Mining to conduct surveys, drill, take samples and extract minerals for a non-commercial purpose.

After exploration, the company can then apply for a mining licence which would allow them to
construct facilities and infrastructure such as roads, tailing dumps, dams and pipelines.

The application only applies to private land because the few areas of Crown land within the area
have been exempted from application by the Department of Primary Industries.

The Minister for Energy and Resources, Michael O’Brien, is able to exempt any land from the
exploration area to protect land that is of significant environmental importance. This can be found
in section 7 of the Act.

Section 2A of the Act requires the Department to administer the Act in accordance with the
principles of sustainable development.

Mantle Mining is obliged to share information with residents about how their activities may affect
them, and provide reasonable opportunity for the community to express their views. However,
they are not obliged to incorporate these views into their operations.

Residents are asked to send any objections they have to the exploration licence to:
David Boothroyd
Manager, Earth Resources Tenements
Department of Primary Industries
Level 16, 1 Spring Street Melbourne VIC 3000
David.Boothroyd@dpi.vic.gov.au

Objections to the exploration licence can only be made in the next three weeks, until 12 August 2011.