SUMMARY OF 2005 CHANGES TO GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT

In 2005, Northern Plains Resource Council and its two affiliates in Sweet Grass and Stillwater counties (Cottonwood Resource Council and Stillwater Protective Association) inked a revised Good Neighbor Agreement with the Stillwater Mining Company. Originally signed just five years ago in May 2000, the Agreement is a partnership between the local communities and the mining company to protect and enhance quality of life while encouraging responsible economic development. It is a legally-binding contract that raises the bar for environmental performance well beyond state and federal regulatory requirements.

MAJOR BENEFITS

Major benefits of the renegotiated Agreement include:

1. Water quality monitoring of the East Boulder and Stillwater Rivers for the duration of mining operations. This includes essential annual biological monitoring on both sides of the mountain each year and a Cadillac suite of parameters every third year. In addition, the Agreement includes built-in mechanisms to initiate more frequent monitoring if conditions deteriorate.

2. Water management plans for both mines that ensure at least 90% of pollutants are treated for the duration of mining operations. In addition, over the next three years the company will further optimize water management practices to reach as close to zero discharge of pollutants as is technically possible.

3. Independent review of the company's performance bonds (a financial assurance deposit) and reclamation plans every five years. The original Agreement specified only a single initial bond review. Now, local citizens and independent experts review bond amounts and reclamation plans each timethe Montana Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Forest Service do, to ensure they are sufficient.

Other key components of the Good Neighbor Agreement remain the same, including the traffic and bussing programs to keep local roads safe; citizen access to environmental performance information and an "open door" policy; strict water quality pollution limits for both the Stillwater and East BoulderRivers; confinement of any mine-sponsored housing to existing city limits; and regular oversightmeetings with local citizens to address issues of concern at the earliest possible time.

WHAT THE COMPANY GETS

Changes to the Agreement also benefit Stillwater Mining. These include: a separate agreement with the Boulder River Watershed Association on the company's annual financial contributions to that organization; a streamlined environmental audit program that switches from amandatory 5-year basis to an "as needed" basis; a shifting of resources from an expansive fisheries study into more direct monitoring of mine activities and new treatment technologies.  In addition to these changes, the Company and citizen groups scrutinized the Agreement line by line to clean up language and modify the administrative programs so that they reflect our actual working relationship after five years.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Company and the citizen groups will continue to meet regularly to conduct citizen oversight of the mine sites. Implementation and monitoring of the new water plans will be a key project for the next three years.

In addition, the company and citizen groups are jointly piloting a "pasted" tailings experiment, with the hopes of identifying new mine waste reduction technologies that can drastically reduce the need for and size of future mine waste impoundments.