Pinetree Capital Ltd. Acquires Securities of Augusta Industries Inc.

TORONTO, CANADA--(Marketwired - Dec. 23, 2013) - Pinetree Capital Ltd. (TSX:PNP) announces that on December 19, 2013, it acquired ownership of 18,000,000 common shares ("Common Shares") of Augusta Industries Inc. ("Augusta") representing approximately 8.9% of the total issued and outstanding common shares of Augusta as of December 19, 2013. As a result of this transaction, Pinetree held, as at December 19, 2013, an aggregate of 52,272,112 common shares of Augusta, including the Common Shares, and rights to acquire an additional 7,777,778 common shares of Augusta upon exercise of certain convertible securities (the "Convertible Securities"). In the event that the Convertible Securities are fully exercised, the holdings of Pinetree represents a total of 60,049,890 common shares of Augusta, or approximately 28.5% of all issued and outstanding common shares as at December 19, 2013, calculated on a partially diluted basis assuming the exercise of the Convertible Securities only.

This transaction was made for investment purposes and Pinetree could increase or decrease its investment in Augusta depending on market conditions or any other relevant factor.

About Pinetree

Pinetree Capital Ltd. ("Pinetree") was incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario and its shares are publicly-traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") under the symbol "PNP". Pinetree is a diversified investment and venture capital firm focused on the small cap market. Pinetree's investments are primarily in the resources sector: Precious Metals, Base Metals, Oil and Gas, Potash, Lithium and Rare Earths, Uranium and Coal. Pinetree's investment approach is to develop a macro view of a sector, build a position consistent with the view by identifying micro-cap opportunities within that sector, and devise an exit strategy designed to maximize our relative return in light of changing fundamentals and opportunities. Pinetree is recognized as a value-added partner in the resource industry.