Thursday, 11 May 2006: Wall Street Reporter interviews CRJ

WSR: Could you tell us what the pending ASX listing will mean for the company going forward?

CRJ: Copper Range Limited (ASX symbol – CRJ) has successfully raised A$3 million which will enable it to start meaningful exploration programmes over its three project areas in South Australia. CRJ is the second spin-off from Australia’s International Base Metals Limited (IBML), which started building its South Australian tenement interests in July 2005.

We have been building and evaluating our tenement position by collecting, collating and interpreting historical work in preparation for a fully funded exploration effort. The listing now enables us to start this process.

All the CRJ tenements are in South Australia – a State widely recognised as the most pro-active in Australia in supporting mineral exploration. This was recognised by the Canadian Fraser Institute in a recent review of the most prospective and favourable exploration environments in the world.

The CRJ tenements provide a diversification of mineralisation styles as well as commodities that, although copper oriented, also include gold and uranium as targets. The listing provides the jump-start of a new mineral exploration company that will attract additional funding based on its exploration success with the intention to create an operational base within four years.

WSR: Could you expand on the company’s project and tenement portfolio?

CRJ: Copper Range has 3 project areas in 2 geological environments. The first is the Olympic Province of the Stuart Shelf, inland from Port Augusta, where we have tenements totalling 1,300 square kilometres.

The Olympic Province hosts the deposit style for copper gold and uranium known as iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG). The Olympic Dam deposit, discovered in 1975, has developed into one of the world’s largest copper mines and the world’s largest uranium mine. It was recently taken over by BHP Billiton, which is proposing a radical redevelopment from an underground mine to an open pit operation. Clearly this development has brought renewed attention to the region, which has also seen two major discoveries recently at Prominent Hill and Carrapateena. The first, some 75 miles north-west of Olympic Dam, is finalising its feasibility study prior to an initial 100,000 tpa copper operation and the latter, some 75 miles south-east of Olympic Dam, was discovered in August 2005 with 178 metres grading 1.83% copper and 0.64g/t gold.

These recent discoveries have demonstrated the prospectivity and size of this province, considered the most prospective IOCG region in the world and attracting international players including Teck Cominco, which has committed to spend around A$16 million at Carrapateena and, more recently, Falconbridge Noranda. CRJ is well placed in this province having tenements adjacent to both Carrapateena and the Falconbridge joint venture. The second geological environment in which we have two tenements is the Flinders Ranges, also known as the Adelaide Geosyncline. This region has hosted over 800 copper mines or workings since the 1850s and, apart from hosting the first copper mine in Australia, has produced around 10% of the world’s copper.

Copper Range has tenements adjoining the largest historic mines as well as tenements that are highly prospective for world scale Zambian style copper deposits. In addition, it is evaluating the copper oxide potential found in numerous clusters or old workings particularly in the Hawker Project.

IBML’s first spin off was its significant interest in CopperCo Limited (ASX code CUO) in 2004. IBML first discovered oxide copper in August 2003 and in the intervening 3 years this project has gone from a raw discovery through to a positive feasibility for the development of a highly profitable mid-size SX-EW copper cathode operation. We have the necessary experience to replicate this success in the Hawker Project. Copper Range is committed to creating an operational base within four years. This will provide the necessary sustainability to conduct the larger and longer-term exploration for the world scale IOCG and Zambian style deposits.

WSR: What is it that will define and differentiate Copper Range? What is so unique about this Company?

CRJ: Firstly, Copper Range offers a diversity of commodities focussing on copper and gold and also uranium. Secondly, Copper Range is very regionally focussed with discreet economic or sustainable units in our project areas. Thirdly, Copper Range has a diversity of copper mineralization styles – IOCG, Zambian and oxide. Fourthly, by operating in the State of South Australia, we have been fortunate enough to have been granted Government assistance to accelerate the drilling part of our exploration programmes. Under its PACE programme, the Government provides funding for 50% of the drilling costs of approved projects. Within the Flinders Ranges we have two projects qualifying for this assistance. This is the only State in Australia that offers this kind of incentives to mineral explorers.

WSR: Tell us about the present board and management team in place here at Copper Range.

CRJ: Copper Range has a Board and a management team with a great deal of expertise and knowledge and a can-do attitude.

We have a lawyer as Chairman who was with a major exploration company that grew from being a small explorer into a significant mid-tier company before being finally taken over by Placer Dome (now Barrick). A Resource Lawyer with that commercial experience is extremely valuable.

We have another Non-Executive Director who has been with us since 2002 (a Process Engineer with Operating Experience). He has already founded a significant copper company which developed and operated several oxide copper mines and he is now the Managing Director of CopperCo but remains a director of both International Base Metals and Copper Range.

Dr Ken Maiden is our Chief Geologist, Technical Director and co-founder of International Base Metals. He made the discovery which prompted the creation of CopperCo and is looking forward very much to doing the same thing with Copper Range. Most of the tenement areas of Copper Range are a testimony to his professional geological experience and expertise.

My own background is in resource development working with major companies, Rio Tinto and Consolidated Gold Fields, and with resources banks including CIBC, as well as acting as advisor to major companies including Gencor and Newmont Gold.

It’s a complementary team strengthened by experience in management and proven success. In Australia at the moment there is a real shortage of skills but we have managed to gather a group of outstanding professionals recognised in their disciplines who are able to direct and mentor more recent graduates. It works well.

WSR: In closing, why should investors consider Copper Range as a long-term investment opportunity?

CRJ: We offer investors a degree of security in an inherent risk industry. We do that by diversifying our commodities, mineralization styles, and the location of our projects. With the success of CopperCo, the Copper Range team has a demonstrated track record in creating value for our shareholders quickly and efficiently. We are committed to a small, highly motivated management team and share rewards with the staff and investors. Our IBML shareholders have received in excess of 200% return in less than three years and they still retain shares, which will have a significant value going forward. When we distributed the CopperCo shares to our shareholders it was at 2 cents, it is now the equivalent of over 4 cents.

We believe we have a demonstrated good track record and the capability to do the same or better for Copper Range.

END