Schedule for Rosemont Copper Record of Decision 

DENVER, CO - Augusta Resource Corporation reported that the U.S. Forest Service ("USFS") has scheduled January 2012 for the record of decision ("ROD") on the Rosemont Copper project, in line with the Company's expectations. Augusta will assist the USFS in every endeavour in order to attain their time line.

In addition, the USFS has also provided a schedule guidance of August 2011 for the draft Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") to be available for public comment. The Company believes that this is a very achievable time frame and that the USFS may be able to issue the draft EIS at an earlier date. The release of the draft EIS to the public is only one point in the official public review process, with the end objective to receive the ROD. Augusta remains confident that in the coming months it will be able to complete all project approvals so it can move forward with the development of Rosemont Copper. "We are pleased that the U.S. Forest Service has come out with an ROD schedule that is consistent with our expectations," said Gil Clausen, Augusta's president and CEO. "Further, we would like to see the USFS beat their August goal for releasing the draft EIS and are hopeful that they can." Augusta focused on advancing the Rosemont Copper deposit near Tucson, Arizona. Rosemont hosts a large copper/molybdenum reserve that may account for about 10% of US copper output once in production in 2013. The company's address is #400 - 837 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 3N6, 604.687.1717, fax: 604.687.1715, email: [email protected].