Xstrata Nickel contributes $500,000 towards the new Laurentian Community Track

Sudbury, Canada -- 11 August 2010

Representatives from the Provincial Government, the City of Sudbury, Laurentian University and Xstrata Nickel joined young athletes to celebrate the official opening of the new Laurentian Community Track on Monday at Laurentian University. On Tuesday, the track hosted the opening ceremonies for the Ontario Summer Games and will host Ontario Junior/Senior Track and Field Championships on August 14 and 15, 2010.

Xstrata contributed $250,000 in late 2009 and an additional $250,000 in early 2010 in order for the track facilities to be upgraded in time for these summer events. Xstrata’s contribution, along with funding from the community and other corporate and public partners, allowed a complete rebuild of the track, a new track surface, a new state-of-the-art timing system, new athletic equipment and improvements to the stadium building.

Chris Gore, Manager of Community Partnerships, City of Greater Sudbury said: “The Laurentian Community Track has a long history of hosting athletic events and with the recent investments made by the community, levels of government and corporate sponsors such as Xstrata, this tradition will continue.”

Marc Boissonneault, Vice President Sudbury Operations, Xstrata Nickel said: "The City of Sudbury and Laurentian University have done an excellent job to bring this new facility to completion and Xstrata Nickel is proud to be a part of it. This type of project is an example of how we at Xstrata can contribute to the community in which we operate and help create a long term facility.”

ends

Xstrata Nickel contact
Doug Conroy
Telephone +705 693-2761 x3450
Email dconroy@xstratanickel.ca

City of Greater Sudbury contact
Chris Gore
Telephone +705 674-4455 x 2186
Email chris.gore@greatersudbury.ca

www.xstratanickel.com

Editors Notes

Xstrata plc
Xstrata is a global diversified mining group, listed on the London and Swiss Stock Exchanges, with its headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. Xstrata’s businesses maintain a meaningful position in seven major international commodity markets: copper, coking coal, thermal coal, ferrochrome, nickel, vanadium and zinc, with a growing platinum group metals business, additional exposures to gold, cobalt, lead and silver, recycling facilities and a suite of global technology products, many of which are industry leaders. The Group's operations and projects span 19 countries.

XstrataNickel
Xstrata Nickel, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, is one of Xstrata Group’s global commodity businesses. Xstrata Nickel’s operations include mines and processing facilities in Canada, the Dominican Republic and Australia, and a refinery in Norway. Xstrata Nickel has a promising portfolio of growth projects in New Caledonia, Tanzania and Brazil. Xstrata Nickel is the world’s fifth largest nickel producer, with annual managed production of 88,000 tonnes of refined nickel. In Sudbury, Xstrata Nickel employs more than 1,000 people.