SMI’S LEADING SHAREHOLDER, XSTRATA NAMED AS SECTOR LEADER IN THE DOW JONES

Sagittarius Mines announces that Xstrata plc, the mother company of its leading shareholder Xstrata Copper, has been named as the Mining Sector Leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)for 2009/10.

This is the third consecutive year that Xstrata topped all other mining companies in sustainability performance. It was also named sector leader in 2008 and 2009.

The DJSI invites the world’s largest 2,500 companies to participate in its annual survey which is based on sustainability trends. The assessment covers economic, environmental, and social performance with a clear focus on long-term shareholder value creation.

Xstrata has been identified as the company best prepared to seize the opportunities and manage the risks deriving from economic, environmental, and social development in the mining sector.

“We are proud that our sustainable development and management practices at SMI and Tampakan Copper-Gold Project are aligned with that of Xstrata’s,” said SMI General Manager Mark Williams. “As SMI advances the feasibility study phase of our Tampakan Copper-Gold Project, we can assure our stakeholders that our activities will continue to be governed by the standards set by the Philippine laws, our host communities, and the leading standards of our leading shareholder.”

SMI adheres to and operates within the structure of Xstrata’s leading standards of corporate governance as set out in Xstrata's Statement of Business Principles, Sustainable Development Policy - and 17 Sustainable Development Standards. Our compliance with these standards is regularly audited on an internal and external basis. The annual external audit was conducted in June, while the next internal quarterly audit will be in November until December.

As part of the Xstrata Group, we endorse the principles set out in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation Conventions. Xstrata is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and has aligned its SD framework with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.