WISCO-signing-ceremony for Joint Venture on Hawks Nest in November 2008

Western Plains Resources Ltd an iron-ore company announced today that they would not be proceeding with the next stage of its Commonwealth Hill farm-in and joint venture, south west of Coober Pedy in South Australia.

Well-publicised initiatives taken by the Department of Defence after the farm-in agreement was signed in November 2008 raise security of tenure issues for all mining companies with tenements in many parts of the WPA, including Commonwealth Hill.

While the Commonwealth Hill tenements, held by Apollo Resources NL, did have “some exploration potential”, Western Plains Resources said they were within an area known as the “corridor of uncertainty”.

“Until the Commonwealth government releases a clear, transparent and unambiguous policy as to the conditions under which orebodies discovered in the WPA (and in particular in the high investment-risk parts of it) can be mined it is WPG’s view that further exploration expenditure at Commonwealth Hill would be imprudent.”

Executive Chairman Bob Duffin said the withdrawal from the Commonwealth Hill farm-in and joint venture would allow the company to focus more of its resources on its flagship Peculiar Knob DSO iron ore project, which is not in a high-risk part of the WPA.

A further drilling program is scheduled to commence at Peculiar Knob early in the New Year (2010).