Development Of Lalor Mine Is Approved 

TORONTO, ON - "Our mines in northern Manitoba continue to perform well and production of all metals remains on track to meet our 2010 full-year guidance," said David Garofalo, HudBay Mineral's President and CEO.

On August 4, 2010, HudBay's board of directors made a full commitment to the development of the company's 100% owned Lalor project by authorizing the expenditures necessary to put the project into full production. Initial production from the access ramp is scheduled in the second quarter of 2012 and full production from the 985 meter production shaft is anticipated in late 2014. The project's estimated capital cost of $560 million, which includes $21.5 million spent as at June 30, 2010, is expected to fund full project development, including access to the gold and copper-gold zones and a comprehensive upgrade of the company's Snow Lake concentrator. HudBay intends to fully fund the project from its current cash resources and future cash flows. "The board's approval to proceed with full development of the Lalor mine is a significant milestone for our company," said Mr. Garofalo. "The excellent exploration results at Lalor combined with HudBay's experience in the region over the past 80 years have given us the confidence to develop Lalor on a fast track basis and establish it as HudBay's next mine. When it reaches full production we expect the Lalor mine will add significant value to our company by nearly doubling gold production and increasing zinc production by 50%." The company's current mine planning for Lalor contemplates the following: 1. Full production of 3,500 tonnes of ore per day. 2. The $560 million estimated capital cost, $21.5 million of which has been spent as at June 30, 2010 on the ramp access, site preparation and equipment purchases, includes an average 13% contingency. The approved expenditure is intended to fully fund project development, including the extension of power and water facilities to the site, a 300 person camp, surface and underground construction at the mine site, including the completion of the access ramp, a production shaft and a ventilation shaft, an upgrade to the existing tailings facility and a comprehensive upgrade of the company's Snow Lake concentrator. 3. Construction at the concentrator will include replacing copper and zinc floatation cells and concentrate dewatering equipment, and construction of a new gold leach plant which is intended to improve gold recovery. Upon completion of the upgrades, the concentrator will be capable of processing 3,500 tonnes of material per day and will principally produce zinc and copper concentrates and gold dore bars. The company's address is 1 Adelaide Street East, Suite 2501, Toronto, ON M5C 2V9, 416-362-8181, fax: 416-362-7844, email: [email protected]