Western Areas Corporate Presentation June 2012, covering Operations, Exploration & Growth, People and the Nickel industry Australia's Class Leading Nickel Producer

1. Western Areas NL
June Corporate Presentation
20 June 2012
Australia’s Class Leading Nickel Producer
1

2. Disclaimer and Forward Looking Statements
This presentation is being furnished to you solely for your information and for your use and may not be copied, reproduced or redistributed to any other person in any manner.
You agree to keep the contents of this presentation and these materials confidential. The information contained in this presentation does not constitute or form any part of any
offer or invitation to purchase any securities and neither the issue of the information nor anything contained herein shall form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with,
any contract or commitment on the part of any person to proceed with any transaction.
You must not take or transmit this presentation or a copy of this presentation into the United States or Japan or distribute it, directly or indirectly, in the United States or Japan or
to any US persons. By your acceptance of this document, you acknowledge that you are a not a “U.S. person” for the purposes of the US Securities Act. Neither this document, in
whole or in part, nor any copy thereof may be taken or transmitted to any other person. The distribution of this document to other persons or in other jurisdictions may be
restricted by law, and persons into whose possession this document comes should inform themselves about, and observe, any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these
restrictions may constitute a violation of the federal securities laws of the United States and the laws of other jurisdictions. The distribution of this presentation in other
jurisdictions may be restricted by law, and persons into whose possession this presentation comes should inform themselves about, and observe, any such restrictions.
The information contained in this presentation has been prepared by Western Areas NL. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made in or in relation to,
and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by Western Areas NL, employees or representatives as to the accuracy or completeness of this information or any other
written or oral information made available to any interested party or its advisers and any liability therefore is hereby expressly disclaimed. No party has any obligation to notify
opinion changes or if it becomes aware of any inaccuracy in or omission from this presentation. All opinions and projections expressed in this presentation are given as of this date
and are subject to change without notice.
This document contains forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause the performance or achievements of
Western Areas NL to differ materially from the information set forth herein, although such information reflects forecasts and projections prepared in good faith based upon
methods and data that are believed to be reasonable and accurate as at the dates thereof and although all reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the facts stated herein
are accurate and that the forward-looking statements, opinions and expectations contained herein are based on fair and reasonable assumptions. Western Areas NL undertakes
no obligation to revise these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Individuals should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements and are advised to make their own independent analysis and determination with respect to the forecasted periods, which reflect Western Areas NL’s view only as of
the date hereof.
The information within this PowerPoint presentation was compiled by Mr. Dan Lougher and Mr. David Southam and the information as it relates to mineral resources and reserves
was prepared by Mr. Dan Lougher and Mr. John Haywood. Mr. Southam, Mr. Lougher and Mr. Haywood are full time employees of Western Areas. Mr. Lougher and Mr. Haywood
are members of AusIMM and have sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which they are
undertaking to qualify as Competent Persons as defined in the 2004 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’.
Mr. Southam, Mr. Lougher and Mr. Haywood consent to the inclusion in this presentation of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.
For Purposes of Clause 3.4 (e) in Canadian instrument 43-101, the Company warrants that Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic
viability.
THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE U.S.
2

3. Agenda
“Western Areas has an enviable track record of
exploring, finding, developing and producing
highly profitable mines..”
 Overview
 Operations
 Exploration & Growth
 People
 Nickel Industry
Explore Develop
 Q&A
Sales Produce 3

4. Western Areas Overview
Western Areas is:
 A proven explorer, developer and operator led by an experienced management team
 An S&P ASX 200 index member
 Market cap ~ $800 million at current prices
 Profitable, even at current nickel prices
 A dividend payer, with a strong balance sheet
 Australia’s third largest producer of nickel at 30,000 tonnes of nickel mined and 25,000 tonnes of
nickel in concentrate produced
 #1 = BHP-B Nickel West and #2 = Glencore (Murrin Murrin)
 Australia’s lowest cash cost and therefore highest margin producer of nickel
 Employer of approx 500 staff, either directly or through contractors
 Into its sixth consecutive year of production, eight consecutive quarter with no downside surprises
 First production 26 October 2006
 Committed to stable incremental growth from the current solid platform
4

5. Western Areas Overview – The Business
Production Exploration
Assets & Growth
Flying Fox
• 1st nickel mine Forrestania &
• 15,000 Ni tonnes WA Regional
per annum
Spotted Quoll
• 2nd nickel mine Canadian Assets
• 10,000 Ni tonnes
per annum
Cosmic Boy
• Nickel concentrator Finland
– treats ore from
both mines
5

6. Overview – Corporate Summary
Listings: ASX & TSX Top 15 Shareholders %
1 T Streeter 14.36
Member of S&P ASX 200 2 Colonial Group 6.28
3 M & A Greenwell 5.46
Shares on Issue: 179.7M 4 Northward Capital 3.83
5 Giovanni Santalucia 3.45
Options: 2.0M 6 Ausbil Dexia 2.91
(varying strike prices >$7.00) 7 UBS Asset Management 2.90
8 Platypus Asset Management 2.09
Share Price: ~ A$4.50 (June 2012) 9 Goldman Sachs Asset Management 1.86
10 Vanguard Group 1.83
Market Cap: A$808 million 11 Independent Asset Management
12 Mt Kellet
1.80
1.70
(undiluted)
13 State Street Corporation 1.69
14 Ely Griffiths Group 1.64
Cash & Receivables: A$184M at 31 March 2012 15 Antares Capital Partners 1.58
TOTAL 53.38
WSA 23 Month Share Price
$8.00
$7.00
$6.00
$5.00
$4.00
$3.00
$2.00
$1.00
$0.00
Jul-10 Sep-10 Nov-10 Jan-11 Mar-11 May-11 Jul-11 Sep-11 Nov-11 Jan-12 Mar-12 May-12
Closing Share Price
6

7. Commodity Share Price Performance
BASE METALS SECTOR OUTLOOK
Base Metal Recovery in the Horizon
Relative Share Price Performance
Last 2 Years
250
200
150
35%
14%
100 5%
(11%)
(41%)
50 (52%)
0 May-12
May-10 Nov-10 May-11 Nov-11
Copper Index Nickel Index Diversified Index Zinc Index Gold Index WSA
Source Capital IQ, IRESS
7

8. Operations
8

9. Location
WSA concentrate to
BHP Billiton
WSA operations
WSA concentrate
exports
9

10. Flying Fox Mine
Summary
 Continuous high grade Nickel to 1300m. Open at
depth
 Ore grades increase at depth from 3.9% to 6.2%
Nickel
 Announced intersection T7: 34.7m @ 8.9% Nickel
Production
 FY2011 – 347,648t @ 4.7% nickel for 16kt nickel
 Low cash cost operation <US$3/lb
 FY2012 – Production around 17kt nickel in ore
Purchase of Kagara Nickel Assets
 Combined Total High Grade Resource now stands at
around 115,000t of Nickel
 Major drilling program to commence at Lounge
Lizard for next 6 months
 T5/ T6 & T7 down dip extensions cross into Lounge
Lizard and remain open at depth
 Flying Fox now approaching a 10 year mine life
 Purchase includes 300sqkm of tenements adjacent
to Forrestania operations
10

11. Spotted Quoll Mine
Summary
 Ore Reserve – 3.095mt @ 4.20% nickel containing
131,360t nickel
 Ore reserve was upgraded in June 2012 by 94% with an
exceptional 88% conversion ratio
 Remains open at depth
 Drilling is ongoing which will result in conversion of
inferred resource to indicated to reserve
 Already over a 10 year mine life
Production
 Stage 1 underground first ore delivered ahead of
schedule
 10,000tpa nickel on stage 1
 Mine optimisation study well advanced for potential
increased in production
 Mill study to be completed
11

12. Concentrate Supply & Offtake Contracts
Concentrate Supply 1000
Global Smelter Demand vs Global Concentrate Supply
950
 Reliable nickel sulphide concentrate supply dwindling 900
850
 Quality nickel sulphide is difficult to find
Nickel in Conc/ Kt
800
 Global nickel grades in decline
750
700
 Tightness in smelter supply to be experienced from 650
2013
600
550
 Laterites & Nickel Pig Iron (swing producer) do not fill 500
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
the void Nickel in Concentrate Supply Smelter Demand
Offtake Contracts
 Long term offtake to BHP – 10ktpa lifting to 12ktpa
nickel
 New Jinchuan contract signed:
o 12 month contract extension
o Improved commercial terms
o Significant uncommitted offtake beyond 2013
 WSA in a unique position being an independent
producer
 Ability to complete spot/ opportunistic sales
NOTE: The graph FORRESTANIA – OFFTAKE CONTRACTS is based on Western Areas’ 10 Year
Production Targets. These Targets include estimates and assumptions on production rates of
existing ore reserves, conversion of existing mineral resources to ore resources and assumptions
on potential extensions to existing mineral resources, based on current information. These
Production Targets may vary due to future drilling results, nickel prices, costs and market 12
conditions. Refer to Disclaimer and Forward Looking Statement in Presentation

13. Forrestania Nickel Concentrator
Concentrator Summary
 Current capacity of 550,000tpa of ore
 Nickel concentrate output >25,000tpa Ni
 Expansion configured for upgrade to 1mtpa of ore
 Concentrate grades of around 14.0% Ni
 14,000t of concentrate storage capacity ($43M value)
Export Infrastructure and Logistics
 Access to >1400 sealed shipping containers
 Using 25 trucks for concentrate transportation
 Shipping contract in place, FOB Esperance Port
Concentrator Expansion
 Built to be expandable
 Some items of infrastructure (crusher) already capable of 1mtpa
 Second mill already on site
 Preliminary high grade expansion study completed
13

14. Exploration & Growth
14

15. Growth Potential
Short Term Medium Term Long Term
< 12 Months 2-5 years >5 years
Spotted Quoll > 10 years  Spotted Quoll & Flying Fox Base Case production 35-
– 30ktpa 40ktpa , plus new mines
Flying Fox > 10 years – drilling in
progress 3rd mine from Forrestania Regional asset producing
(New Morning)
New Morning drilling FinnAust producing
Mill expanded 750 ktpa
Mill Expansion feasibility  Base Metals exposure
First quartile cash costs
Cash costs <US$2.50/lb  Dividends
Sandstone resource
Strong cashflow  Continued exploration
FinnAust in feasibility upside
Dividends 
Dividends Independent producer
New offtake contract – 15ktpa 
Mustang prod – 5ktpa
List FinnAust Mining 1/2 
Forrestania discovery
15

16. The Portfolio
Kawana JV
80% Sandstone
JV 70% East Bull
Lake JV
65%
Cosmic Bullfinch
Makwa Spotted
Boy North JV
Canada Quoll
Resource 70% New
Morning
Mt Flying
Koolyanobbing Diggers
Alexander Fox
South
JV 25% Finland -
VMS
Spotted
Mt Gibb JV Quoll Bioheap
Lake King
70% Southern
JV 70% Underground
Cross
Upgrade
Goldfields -
Other Cosmic
Finland – Boy Mill
Hatters Cosmic
Black
Hill Boy Mill
Schist
Jkjjljljlkj Expansion
Finland -
Copper
Mt Jewel 25%
= International = WA Regional = Forrestania
16

17. Short Term – Near Mine Exploration
 Exploration Budget of A$30M for FY12, majority to be spent on drilling at Forrestania
 100km strike length of prospective Forrestania Nickel Project, within 500km long nickel province
 Drilling Priority within 8km long zone (below). New discovery would access existing mine
infrastructure
17

18. Western Australia – Regional Exploration
Sandstone JV (70%)
 Targeting a major new nickel camp with
potential for multiple mines
 One of largest areas of untested nickel
prospective ground in Western Australia
 Major step up in drilling and geophysical
program during 2011/12
Southern Cross JV (70%)
 WSA has 70% of nickel rights
 Initial testing around Trough Well (Bullfinch
North) where there is known mineralisation
 Geophysical testing (MLEM) has detected
anomalies at Trough Well and in adjacent
areas.
 Drill testing has commenced with continued
drilling and geophysical programs for 2012
 Assessment of other parts of JV tenure
(approx 3000km2) underway
18

19. Canada – Mustang Minerals
 WSA owns 19.9% of Mustang Minerals - a Canadian listed nickel and PGM company
 WSA has two of 5 board seats, plus provides technical assistance
 Makwa Nickel/Copper mine in Manitoba – feasibility in progress targeting 5ktpa Ni in concentrate
 Potentially significant Palladium & Platinum discovery near Mayville Copper/Nickel deposit in Manitoba
 WSA is earning a 65% interest from Mustang at East Bull Lake
 80km west of Sudbury
 Highly anomalous Nickel/Copper and Platinum/Palladium in Gabbro intrusion
 Drill program to commence in 2012
East Bull Lake VTEM targeting Mayville drill core: 74.7m @ 0.75% Cu & 0.24% Ni
19

20. Finland – FinnAust Mining PLC Projects
 79% WSA, planned to list on AIM in 2012
 300km long base metal province in Finland
 Numerous nickel/copper/zinc mines & occurrences
 12 major project areas, many drilling targets
 Geophysics proving very effective in defining targets
 Significant results from historic and FinnAust drilling
 First mineral resource defined at Rautavaara
 Major ramp up of drilling has commenced
Talvivaara type sulphide mineralisation – widespread through northern region 20

21. People
21

22. Board of Directors
 Proven Depth & Experience
 Terry Streeter and Julian Hanna
founders of Western Areas
 Extensive experience in nickel
exploration, mining and
processing
 Global expertise in project
sourcing, exploration and mine
development
 Strong banking, financial, M&A
and corporate governance
backgrounds
 Involvement with other
successful nickel companies Left to right: Joseph Belladonna (Company Secretary), Dan Lougher (Managing Director), David
Southam (Exec Director – Finance), Julian Hanna (Non-Exec Director), Rick Yeates (Non-Exec
(Jubilee Mines) Director), Terry Streeter (Non-Exec Chairman), Robin Dunbar (Non-Exec Director) & Ian Macliver
(Non-Exec Director)
 Solid understanding of Chinese
markets, project financing and
offtakes
22

23. Nickel Industry
23

24. Nickel Market Overview
“The current nickel market
 65% of primary nickel produced used for Stainless Steel appears to be ignoring the
 Stainless market dynamics a good proxy for nickel market impending impact of Indonesian
legislation… As such, the
 Demand growth in Stainless Steel / Nickel mostly driven by China combination of a tighter market
 China still down the curve on stainless steel use per capita, in quarter four through the
moving to be a net exporter of stainless through finished implementation of ore export
goods restrictions, plus an increase in
production costs for those
 General growth outlook higher in China remaining NPI producers due to
 Outlook impact of the 20% ore export tax
is likely to support nickel prices,
 Market bottom likely reached – current price uneconomic with levels expected to move
for many, insufficient to bring on supply back above $US20,000/t during
the quarter.
 Limited supply of good quality sulphide concentrate for
smelters “We therefore favour bullish
 Nickel Pig Iron constrained due to margin compression positions in nickel on a 3-6
month forward basis and in a
 Huge Laterite projects serially underperformers quarter-four context.”
 Indonesian ore export ban and tax increase to bite
Citigroup Analysts, 31 May 2012
24

25. Global Stainless Consumption & Usage
35.0 45.0
Post-War Stainless Steel-Boom: Stainless Steel-Boom:
Crisis Years
Reconstruction Asia - Europe - USA China
40.0
Global Stainless Steel Consumption, in Mill t
2008 - 2010
30.0 World-Financial
China Share of Global Demand, in %
Crises
35.0
25.0
30.0
20.0 25.0
15.0 Stainless Steel Consumption 20.0
G.R.: + 6.1% p.a.
15.0
10.0
10.0
5.0
5.0
0.0 0.0
1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008
25
© Heinz H. Pariser Alloy Metals & Steel Market Research

26. Stainless Steel feedstock
External
Stainless Scrap
Total Shipments of
Internal Scrap Crude Stainless Steel
Meltshop Feed Finished Products
Primary Metals
Production Recipe for 304 Stainless – 18% Cr, 8% Ni
(Basis 1,000 t)
Europe China
540 kg External Stainless Scrap 150 kg
37 kg Primary Nickel 68 kg
149 kg Charge & HC Ferrochrome 264 kg
26
© Heinz H. Pariser, Alloy Metals & Steel Market Research

27. Chinese finished goods exports rising
Stainless Steel
Containing & Fabricated Goods
Stainless Steel Net Exports of
Fabricated & Stainless Containing Goods
2,500 30.0
25.0
Share of Apparent Consumption in %
2,000
20.0
Net Exports in `000 t 1,500
15.0
1,000
10.0
500
5.0
0 0.0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
27
© Heinz H. Pariser Alloy Metals & Steel Market Research

28. China’s future?
30.0
25.0 South Korea
Stainless per Capita Use, in kg
20.0
Japan
15.0
EU 27
10.0
China
5.0 NAFTA
India
0.0
1970
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
GDP (PPP adjusted) per Capita, in Mill US$
28
© Heinz H. Pariser, Alloy Metals & Steel Market Research

29. Energy Intensity
1. Conventional Nickel Sulphide
Mature nickel camps contribute ~45%
global production
NO MAJOR NEW DISCOVERIES
2. Low Grade disseminated sulphide
Increasing reliance on low grade and
low quality nickel sulphide production.
HIGH CAPEX, MODERATE ENERGY
3. Nickel Laterite
Laterite & Ferro Nickel contribute >40%
global production
HIGH CAPEX, HIGH ENERGY COST
4. Chinese Nickel Pig Iron
Chinese nickel pig iron, 15% global
production. Announced cut backs
ENERGY INTENSIVE, HIGH COST Increasing energy intensity
and production cost
Increasing energy intensity
and production cost 29

30. Financial Appendices
30

31. March 2012 Quarterly
Highlights Tonnes Mined
2010/2011
Jun Qtr Sep Qtr
2011/2012
Dec Qtr Mar Qtr
FYTD
Total
Flying Fox
Ore Tonnes Mined Tn's 88,873 95,647 100,647 81,143 277,437
 Record quarter of concentrate sales of Grade Ni % 4.8% 4.5% 4.9% 5.3% 4.9%
Ni Tonnes Mined Tn's 4,236 4,258 4,920 4,278 13,456
8,154t vs 1st half of 11,595t:
Spotted Quoll - Tim King Pit
 Improved shipping logistics Ore Tonnes Mined
Grade
Tn's
Ni %
69,133
6.3%
59,955
5.7%
71,406
4.8%
57,204
4.0%
188,565
4.8%
Ni Tonnes Mined Tn's 4,325 3,400 3,455 2,280 9,135
 2nd Jinchuan offtake contract
Spotted Quoll - Underground
commenced Ore Tonnes Mined Tn's - - 5,996 23,261 29,257
Grade Ni % 0.0% 0.0% 3.3% 4.5% 4.2%
 Cash costs remain the lowest in class at Ni Tonnes Mined Tn's - - 197 1,044 1,241
A$2.48/lb Total - Ore Tonnes Mined
Grade
Tn's
Ni %
158,006
5.4%
155,602
4.9%
178,049
4.8%
161,608
4.7%
495,259
4.8%
Total Ni Tonnes Mined Tn's 8,561 7,658 8,572 7,602 23,832
 Cash & receivables increased by A$30m, Tonnes Milled and Sold Jun Qtr Sep Qtr Dec Qtr Mar Qtr Total
excluding the purchase of Lounge Lizard Ore Processed
Grade
Tns
%
138,513
5.3%
134,412
5.1%
138,360
5.2%
131,748
5.1%
404,520
5.1%
Ave. Recovery % 93% 93% 92% 93% 93%
 7th quarterly delivered without one Ni Tonnes in Concentrate Tns 6,783 6,413 6,632 6,266 19,311
downside operational surprise Ni Tonnes in Concentrate Sold
Ni Tonnes in Ore Sold
Tns
Tns
6,497
830
4,751
357
6,487
-
8,154
-
19,392
357
Total Nickel Sold Tns 7,327 5,108 6,487 8,154 19,749
 New Spotted Quoll underground (SQUG) Stockpiles Sep Qtr Dec Qtr Mar Qtr
operation ahead of schedule and delivering Ore
Grade
Tns
%
97,334
5.1%
109,969
4.8%
146,109
4.5%
175,971
4.2%
as planned Concentrate Tns 8,653 19,903 19,375 11,346
Grade % 14.1% 14.3% 14.1% 14.3%
 Expansion of mill from 550ktpa to 750ktpa Contained Ni in Stockpiles Tns 6,169 8,132 9,300 8,934
Financial Statistics Jun Qtr Sep Qtr Dec Qtr Mar Qtr Total
and SQUG well advanced Group Production Cost/lb
Mining Cost (*) A$/lb 1.72 1.60 1.54 1.86 1.66
 Intensive six month drilling program at the Haulage
Milling
A$/lb
A$/lb
0.08
0.39
0.09
0.35
0.09
0.35
0.09
0.37
0.09
0.36
recently acquired Lounge Lizard deposit Admin
By Product Credits
A$/lb
A$/lb
0.14
(0.02)
0.18
(0.02)
0.19
(0.02)
0.19
(0.03)
0.18
(0.02)
commenced Cash Cost Ni in Con (***) A$/lb 2.31 2.20 2.15 2.48 2.27
Cash Cost Ni in Con/lb (***) US$/lb (**) 2.45 2.29 2.18 2.62 2.36
Exchange Rate US$ / A$ 1.06 1.05 1.01 1.06 1.04
31

32. 1st Half Year FY2012 Highlights -Margins
Highlights
 Low cash cost producer A$2.17/lb 1st Half Highlights ($'000) 1H 2011/12
 Mill recovery at 93% Mine Production (tonnes Ni) 16,230
Mill Production (tonnes Ni) 13,045
 NPAT of $24.1m – one of the few
profitable nickel companies Recovery 93%
Sales Volume (tonnes Ni) 11,587
 Cashflow from operations $64.4m
Cash Costs (US$/lb) 2.23
o capex profile decreasing
o $30m exploration budget
Cash Costs (A$/lb) 2.17
Exchange Rate USD/ AUD 1.03
 Reliable dividend payer
Nickel Price (U$/tn) 18,761
 Flexible balance sheet, strong cash EBITDA ('000) 96,633
 Undrawn debt facility $125m EBIT ('000) 52,814
 3 Convertible Bonds: NPAT ('000) 24,102
o July 2012 @ 8.0% - A$105.5m (converts $7.73) Cashflow from Operations ('000) 64,412
o July 2014 @ 6.4% - A$110.2m (converts $7.53) Cash at Bank 160,856
o July 2015 @ 6.4% - A$120.0m (converts $6.46) Dividend (cents) 5.0
 2H Sales likely to >13,500t of nickel in
concentrate
32