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Sojitz to Expand Lake Vermont Coal Mine in Australia

Production Capacity of High-Quality Raw Coal to be Doubled

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Dec. 24, 2010

Sojitz Corporation reached an agreement with Marubeni Corporation, Jellinbah Group Pty. Ltd. of Australia, and American Metals & Coal International, Inc. (AMCI) of the United States to increase production capacity of the Lake Vermont Coal Mine in Queensland, Australia. Sojitz owns a 10% interest in the Lake Vermont Coal Mine through Sojitz Coal Resources Pty. Ltd., a subsidiary.

The project will entail investment of approximately A$200 million to expand coal handling and preparation plant facilities and civil works starting in early 2011. Annual production capacity will be doubled from 4 million tons now to 8 million tons in 2014. As a result, Sojitz’s total equity coal production capacity will increase from approximately 7.0 million tons 7.4 million tons annually. The Lake Vermont Coal Mine has extensive reserves of high-quality coal and will have an operational life of more than 20 years even after the increase in production.

Under Shine 2011, Sojitz’s medium-term management plan, Sojitz is accumulating high-quality assets, and the Lake Vermont Coal Mine expansion project is part of those efforts. Sojitz will continue to expand its holdings of high-quality interests in the coal business in the future and will actively create systems to ensure stable supplies to users in Japan and around the world.

Outline of the Lake Vermont Coal Mine

Location Queensland, Australia235 km to DBCT Port, 407 km to Abbot Point Port Terminal, and 475 km to Gladstone Port
Reserves Recoverable reserves of approximately 184 million tons*
Start of production February 2009
Mining method Open-cut mining
Annual production Current:4 million tons annually
After expansion:
6 million tons annually in 2013
8 million tons starting in 2014
Markets Japan, Brazil, China, India, South Korea, etc.
Equity holdings Sojitz:10%
Jellinbah Group:70%
Marubeni:10% (33.33% including indirect holdings)
AMCI:10%

Structure

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