Adelaide, Aug 1, 2006 (ABN Newswire) - The Directors of Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) are pleased to announce that the Company has entered in to two Agreements with Pioneer Nickel Limited (ASX: PIO) to acquire 80% of Pioneer's nickel interests in both the "Wattle Dam tenement group" and the "Logans/Larkinville tenement group".

The Agreements give Ramelius a twelve month Option Period, anytime during which it may exercise its option to acquire an 80% interest in Pioneer's nickel rights over the two areas of interest (Wattle Dam tenement group and the Logans/Larkinville tenement group).

Ramelius will pay Pioneer a fee for the option and a consideration to exercise the option. On exercising the option, Ramelius must sole fund expenditure of no less than $1,000,000 on nickel exploration collectively on both areas, within four years from the commencement date.

The parties will then associate in a nickel joint venture with Pioneer holding a 20% interest, free carried up to the completion of a feasibility study.

The Wattle Dam Nickel Rights gives Ramelius access to nickel rights on it's 100% held gold and tantalum tenement package at Spargoville. The Logans/Larkinville Nickel Rights gives Ramelius access to the nickel rights on the western Spargoville belt in which it is already earning a 75% interest in the gold and tantalum rights.

Nickel deposits have been identified in the Widgiemooltha and Spargoville regions since nickel exploration commenced in 1966. The majority of this exploration work was focused, with considerable success, on the eastern ultramafic belt at Spargoville and around the Widgiemooltha Dome to the south. Limited attention appears to have been paid to the western ultramafic belt that lies within the Logans/Larkinville tenement group.

The "Wattle Dam tenement group" surrounds the Spargoville 1A and Spargoville 5A, B & D nickel deposits held by Breakaway Resources Limited and the strike continuation of the ultramafic units that host the adjacent North Widgiemooltha Nickel Deposits (Zable, McEwen and Armstrong). It also holds a 12 kilometre strike length of a second ultramafic belt along which the recently discovered Hilditch nickel occurrences and the historical 1Z prospect are located.

Ramelius has used detailed ironstone sampling coupled with modern geochemical analysis to locate nickel sulphide mineralisation outcropping as gossan at its Hilditch Nickel Project. The same approach will be used across all the outcrop and sub outcropping areas in the Spargoville area. Priority areas are north of Hilditch, along strike from the 1A deposit and north, along strike from the 5D.

Detailed auger geochemistry also used with great effect at Hilditch to identify potentially nickel sulphide bearing ultramafics, will be applied to areas of outcrop, sub outcrop and residual soil cover.

A comprehensive geophysical (detailed aeromagnetics and ground EM) and geochemical data base has been compiled by Pioneer, particularly over the eastern Spargoville area. An extensive review of the geophysics in particular will be applied to the prospective nickel sulphide horizons identified above, along with additional areas identified by the above techniques.

The continuing assessment of the 1A north and south prospects commenced by Pioneer will be prioritised into the work program.

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