17 September 2008

JOINT ASX / MEDIA RELEASE

AUSDRILL RECEIVES LETTER OF CONFIRMATION FOR $100 MILLION GOLD FIELDS CONTRACT

Ausdrill Limited (ASX:ASL) advises it has received a Letter of Confirmation that it is the preferred tenderer for an estimated $100 million exploration drilling contract with global gold producer Gold Fields Limited, at its St Ives and Agnew Gold Mines in the Kambalda and Leinster regions.

Subject to final agreement, the five year exploration drilling contract will commence in June 2009.

The contract (once awarded) will represent a further extension of Ausdrill?s long term working arrangement at St Ives, where it has already been on site for more than 12 years ? initially with Western Mining Corporation and now with Gold Fields Limited.

Ausdrill Managing Director Ron Sayers said ?this would mark a significant contract extension with a valuable and long-term partner for Ausdrill?.

?Once agreed, this extension would take the term of the existing contract to a total of 17 years and will further underwrite Ausdrill's Kalgoorlie and Kambalda operations?.

The agreement with Gold Fields will follow a number of other major contract wins for Ausdrill since May, when Macmahon Holdings announced its takeover offer for the Company.

?In the past few months Ausdrill has secured more than $600 million in new or extended contracts.?

?We now have about four years of contracted work ahead of us, with further opportunities for growth both in Australia and in Africa,? Mr Sayers said.

Recently announced new or extended contracts by Ausdrill and its subsidiaries include:

?         $300 million drill and blast contract extension with Fortescue Metals Group.

?         US$150 million contract extension for African Mining Services (AMS) at Gold Fields? Damang open pit mine.

?         $US40 million contract for AMS at the Yatela Project in Mali, West Africa.

?         $US20 million contract for AMS at the Iduapriem Project in Ghana, West Africa.

?         US$70 million underground contract for African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) with Red Back Mining, in Ghana, Africa.

?         $US11 million contract for AUMS at Central African Gold Plc?s Bibiani Mine in Ghana.

For further information

Visit: www.ausdrill.com.au

Or contact:

Media inquiries:

Purple Communications

Caroline de Mori - 0418 919 064

Ryan McKinlay ? 0408 347 282

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