Xstrata Nickel announced that its Raglan operation in Northern Quebec has been awarded the 2007 FJ O'Connell trophy for excellence in safety for the ninth time in the last ten years.

The FJ OConnell award is presented each year by the Mining Association of Quebec to the Quebec mine that has recorded the most improvements in mine safety and accident prevention.

Mr Michel Boucher GM of Raglan Mine said that "We are delighted to again accept this recognition of our commitment to 'Zero Harm' in our operations. We are proud of our record of continuous safety improvement and have all employees and contractors to thank for reducing our total recordable injury frequency rate by more than 50% last year and for putting safety first."

Mr Ian Pearce CEO of Xstrata Nickel added that "Over the past year, we have continued to make improvements to our health and safety programs throughout our operations and engrained a safety-first philosophy into everything we do. This significant achievement for Raglan is proof that the well-being of our employees is our top priority. We are committed to seeing our ambitious growth plans and prospects at Raglan go hand-in-hand with an emphasis on 'Zero Harm.'"

Xstrata Nickel's Raglan mining camp was constructed at a cost of CAD 600 million and began production in 1997. Raglan consists of three underground and one open pit nickel mines and a concentrator. Approximately 680 employees and 250 contractors work at Raglan. Work is currently underway to increase production to 1.3 million tonnes per annum by the end of 2008 and the company is reviewing plans for additional infrastructure, which is expected to allow a further expansion to reach 1.5 million tonnes by 2011. Exploration results continue to indicate that production can be doubled from current production in future.