21 OCTOBER 2009 ASX ANNOUNCEMENT
VALE COMPLETES YEAR 1 OF OPTION AGREEMENT
YEAR 2 PROGRAM PLANNING UNDERWAY
HIGHLIGHTS
• Vale completes Year 1 expenditure of US$750,000
• Vale elects to exercise its option to become Operator
• Recent field work confirms a number of uranium anomalies
• Exploration targets to be prioritized for drilling in early 2010
• Project demonstrates high potential for regional/multiple project possibilities
Monaro Mining NL (the "Company" or "Monaro") is pleased to advise that Vale Exploration Canada
Inc.

("VEC"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Vale S.A.

("Vale"), has informed the Company in writing,
that it has exercised its option under the conditions of its letter agreement with Monaro"s wholly
owned subsidiary Uranium Corporation Arizona LLC ("UCA"), to move to become the Operator of
the project.
Under the terms of the letter agreement, Vale is required to spend US$3.25M (by way of option
payments) to earn a 60% interest in a number of claims covered by the joint venture"s "Area of
Influence".

Thereafter, further expenditure will be pro-rata to each parties" respective interests.
The Company is extremely pleased with this development as it confirms the highly prospective
nature of the project.

In advising the Company of its decision, Vale spokesman, Cameron Bell said:
"We are pleased with the results of our joint exploration efforts on this project to date.

The airborne
survey followed up by the field exploration work has confirmed the nature and tenor of the uranium
mineralisation within the project area and it has given us the confidence to ramp up our exploration
efforts.

We now look forward to a more intensive phase of exploration which is to include the
drilling of a number of target areas and prospects in early 2010".
The prospectivity of the project area is based on the Unconformity model and its similarities with
the Canadian Athabasca Basin, one of the world"s premier uranium provinces.

Well-developed
uranium mineralisation occurs in the Dripping Springs Quartzite, which is the upper target zone and
is associated with well-developed structural controls which is expressed as strong linear
radiometric anomalies consistent in placement with the known mineralization and structural trends.
Based on the currently available information, the project is highly attractive on a conceptual basis
as it represents a significant regional "play" with the possibility of yielding multiple targets.

The
Company is confident that this potential will unfold during the coming months.
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Commenting upon the election by Vale to become the Operator of the joint venture, the Chairman
Jim Malone said:
"This is a great result for the Company and not only confirms the prospectivity of the project but
also underscores the success of our US team to secure projects with a long term future in the
uranium business.

We congratulate Vale on their efforts and their confidence in our joint future
success".
The location of the project area is illustrated in Figure 1.
FIGURE 1: LOCATION OF APACHE BASIN PROJECT
COMPETENT PERSON
The review of exploration activities and results contained in this report is based on information compiled by
Mr M Rampe, a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy who is a director of the
Company.

He has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and types of deposits
under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined
in the December 2004 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code).

Mr Rampe consents to the inclusion of this information in
the form and context in which it appears in this report.
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ABOUT MONARO MINING NL - "BUILDING A SERIOUS URANIUM COMPANY"
Monaro Mining NL is an Australian-based international exploration and pre-development company focusing on
uranium.

Its major assets include tenements in the USA, Central Asian Kyrgyz Republic and Australia.

Monaro"s
objective is to be a producer in the medium term through the development of its advanced projects in the USA.
Monaro shares are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and Monaro
ADSs are eligible for OTC trading in the USA.
ABOUT VALE EXPLORATION CANADA, INC.
VEC is the North American exploration division of Vale, the world"s second largest mining company by market
capitalization with its headquarters in Brazil.

Vale reported revenues of US$38.5 billion and net earnings of US$13.2
billion for the year ended December 31, 2008.

Vale is committed to the pursuit of sustainable growth by operating
with respect for the natural environment and being an ethically and socially responsible company.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information please contact Jim Malone, Chairman on +61 4 19537714 or Mart Rampe, Executive
Director, on +61 2 4647 9566.
Media Enquiries: Fortbridge - Bill Kemmery on +61 2 9331 0655.