FRIENDLY TAKEOVER – Northgate offers cash for Australian company

VANCOUVER - NORTHGATE MINERALS and Australias PERSEVERANCE CORP. have inked a friendly deal for the takeover of Perseverance by Northgate. At Aus$0.20/share and Aus$0.08/warrant, the deal values Perseverance at about Aus$282 million (US$257 million).

Northgate is now operator of three mines that will have an estimated output of 430,000 oz of gold and 71 million lb of copper in 2008. Resources in all categories contain 7 million oz of gold. Proven and probable copper reserves contain 260 million lb of copper. Average net cash cost of gold production will be US$184 per ounce.

Perseverance operates the Fosterville and Stawell gold mines in Victoria, Australia. The Fosterville mine produced 90,800 oz in fiscal 2006. (www.Perseverance.com.au)

Northgate operates the Kemess South copper-gold mine in British Columbia. A Joint Federal-Provincial Review Panel recently recommended that company's Kemess North mine project not be allowed to proceed. (www.Northgate.com)