Augusta Announces Signing of Project Financing Mandate Letter

Augusta Resource Corporation (NYSE AZC) ("Augusta" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Rosemont Copper Company, together with its joint venture partners, LG International Corp. and Korea Resources Corporation (together with Augusta, the "Sponsors") have executed a project financing mandate letter (the "Mandate Letter") with a syndicate of twelve international financial institutions (the "Mandated Lead Arrangers" or "MLAs"). The Mandate Letter sets out an exclusive arrangement with the MLAs describing the activities needed to arrange a limited recourse loan facility for the construction of the Company's Rosemont Copper Project ("Rosemont") in Arizona. The proposed senior secured loan is expected to provide all of the debt required for Rosemont, including a cost overrun component. The Mandate Letter sets forth the required steps, including agreement on final terms and conditions and requisite documentation for the loan, completion of due diligence, and procurement of credit approvals, as well as time frames for completing these steps. The Mandate Letter also specifies the roles and responsibilities of the MLAs, appoints certain MLAs to agent roles and stipulates certain fees payable to the MLAs and agents. The twelve MLAs who have signed the Mandate Letter include: BNP Paribas, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Export Development Canada, Export-Import Bank of Korea (Financial Advisory and Structuring Department), ING Capital LLC, KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH, Korea Development Bank, Korea Finance Corporation, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. The MLAs are being advised by Shearman & Sterling LLP (Lenders' Counsel), DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy, P.C. (Lenders' Arizona Counsel), and SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. (Lenders' Independent Engineer). The Sponsors are being advised by Endeavour Financial International Corporation (Financial Advisor), Allen & Overy LLP (Project Finance Counsel), Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP (Corporate Counsel to the Company), and Fennemore Craig, P.C. (Sponsors' Arizona Counsel). "The signing of the Mandate Letter represents a significant step forward towards completing project financing for the construction of Rosemont," said Gil Clausen, Augusta's President and CEO. "The high quality, large scale and strong economics of this project, combined with its favourable location in Arizona, make it an attractive candidate for financing from the international banking community. This step illustrates that progress for finalizing our financing is keeping pace with Rosemont's permitting process, which is rapidly nearing completion in the coming months." ABOUT AUGUSTA Augusta is a base metals company focused on advancing the Rosemont Copper deposit near Tucson, Arizona. Rosemont hosts a large copper/molybdenum reserve that would account for about 10% of US copper output once in production (for details refer to www.augustaresource.com). The exceptional experience and strength of Augusta's management team, combined with the developed infrastructure and robust economics of the Rosemont project, propels Augusta to becoming a solid mid-tier copper producer. The Company trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE MKT under the symbol AZC.