Acadian Mining announces change in board of directors and management

    
    Trading Symbol: ADA:TSX; C2Z-Frankfurt
    Shares Outstanding: 491,691,616
    

HALIFAX, Feb. 19 /CNW/ - Acadian Mining Corporation (TSX: ADA) ("Acadian" or the "Corporation") announced, effective February 19, 2010, the resignation of its President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Will Felderhof. Mr. Felderhof has advised the board of Acadian that he plans to focus on other business and private interests. Mr. Felderhof has agreed to provide consulting services to the Corporation over the next 12 months.

Mr. Terry Coughlan, Vice President Investor Relations of the Corporation, also resigned as of February 19, 2010 to pursue other business interests. Late in 2009, Mr. Coughlan resigned as a director of the Corporation.

The Corporation wishes to thank both Messrs Felderhof and Coughlan for their services and wish them well in their future pursuits.

The Corporation wishes to advise the appointment of Dr. Allan Trench as Chairman of the Corporation. Dr. Trench is a geologist/geophysicist and business management consultant with approximately 20 years' experience within the Australian resources sector across a number of commodity groups. Dr. Trench holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours), a doctorate in Geophysics, a master of Business Administration (Distinction) and a Master of Science (Distinction) in Mineral Economics. He commenced his career as an academic at Oxford University in England before moving to Australia on a Royal Society Fellowship. After a period at the University of Western Australia he joined Western Mining Corporation as the Exploration Manager for the Leinster-Mt Keith region. Dr. Trench then managed a number of exploration companies before joining McKinsey & Company as a management consultant. From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Trench was employed in a contract role as corporate strategist and benchmarking manager at Woodside Energy, helping to building Woodside's capability in strategy, benchmarking and performance improvement across its global asset portfolio. Dr. Trench currently holds the title of Adjunct Professor at the Western Australia School of Mines, Curtin University.

Mr. Peter Lee will act as interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation whilst a replacement for Mr. Felderhof is sourced. Mr. Lee is the Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Legend International Holdings, Inc. ("Legend") and has over 30 years of experience in mining and exploration companies both in Australia and overseas. Prior to joining Legend, he spent six years with an international firm of chartered accountants in Melbourne and Papua New Guinea. Mr. Lee is a member of the Institute of Company Directors in Australia, a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and a fellow of Chartered Secretaries Australia.

The board of directors of Acadian will now comprise Dr. Allan Trench, Independent Chairman, Mr. Peter Lee, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Glenn Williams and Mr. Jascha Boge, Independent Directors and Mr. Menachem Vorchheimer, a Non-Independent Director.

The Acadian board intends to commence the search for a new Chief Executive Officer immediately.

    
    About Acadian
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Acadian is a Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada based mining company with five advanced gold projects, all of which host National Instrument 43-101 compliant resources. The Corporation also owns a zinc-lead mine (Scotia Mine) at Gays River, Nova Scotia, which is currently on care and maintenance. Acadian is actively exploring and developing its gold, zinc-lead, and barite properties in Atlantic Canada. Acadian holds a 29.18% interest in Royal Roads Corp. (RRO-TSX-V), which is actively exploring in Newfoundland and Labrador with a current focus on the historic Buchans Camp.

    
    Forward Looking Statement
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Certain information regarding Acadian contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although Acadian believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Acadian cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond Acadian's control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what Acadian currently foresees. Discussion of the various factors that may affect future results is contained in Acadian's Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2009, which is available at www.sedar.com. Acadian's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

    
    Additional Information
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For additional information on Acadian's properties and activities, please visit our web site at www.acadianmining.com.

No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the contents of this release.

For further information: Paul Smith, [phone], 1-877-444-7774, [email protected]