Part 3: HISTORY OF THE COMPANY

Palladium and platinum were discovered in the J-M Reef by Johns Manville Corporation (“Manville”) geologists in the early 1970s. In 1979, a Manville subsidiary entered into a partnership agreement with Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (“Chevron”) to develop PGMs discovered in the J-M Reef. Manville and Chevron explored and developed the Stillwater property and commenced underground mining in 1986.

Stillwater Mining Company was incorporated in 1992 and on October 1, 1993, Chevron and Manville transferred substantially all assets, liabilities and operations at the Stillwater property to the Company, with Chevron and Manville each receiving a 50% ownership interest in the Company’s stock. In September 1994, the Company redeemed Chevron’s entire 50% ownership. The Company completed an initial public offering in December 1994, and Manville sold a portion of its shares through the offering reducing its ownership percentage to approximately 27%.

In August 1995, Manville sold its remaining ownership interest in the Company to institutional investors. The Company’s common stock is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “SWC”. On June 23, 2003, the Company completed a stock purchase transaction with MMC Norilsk Nickel (“Norilsk Nickel”), whereby a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel became a majority stockholder of the Company. On that date, the parties entered into a Stockholders Agreement governing the terms of Norilsk Nickel’s investment in the Company. A summary of such terms is included in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K
filed on June 23, 2003.