Augusta Signs New Letter of Intent With Silver Wheaton

Augusta Resource Corporation announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Silver Wheaton Corp. dated October 31, 2008 regarding a new silver purchase agreement. The new letter supercedes the December 19, 2007 letter of intent between Silver Wheaton and Augusta. An update of Augusta’s August 2007 bankable feasibility study, reflecting an increased mineral resource, is expected to be completed by the end of December 2008, following which Silver Wheaton and Augusta intend to discuss an efficient structure for a transaction between them. Both companies consider that it is in their best interests to negotiate and complete the new transaction based on a percentage of silver to be determined once the updated study has been completed.

Augusta is a base metals company focused on advancing the Rosemont Copper deposit located near Tucson, Arizona. Rosemont currently hosts a large copper/molybdenum reserve that may account for about 10% of US copper output once in production in 2011 (refer to Augusta’s website for further details). The exceptional experience and strength of our management team, combined with the developed infrastructure and robust economics of this project, will propel Augusta to become a solid mid-tier copper producer within the next three years. The company is traded on the NYSE Alternext US (formerly American Stock Exchange) and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol AZC, and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol A5R.