ABN Newswire Stocks to Watch: December 22, 2009

Sydney, Dec 22, 2009 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Australian regenerative medicine company, Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB) (PINK:MBLTY), Monday confirmed that national news items broadcast last Friday on the ABC, Channel 9, Channel 7 and Channel 10 reported on positive preclinical results using its patented adult stem cell technology platform for the treatment of diabetes. Dr. Ravi Krishnan, Senior Scientist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, South Australia, led the study in collaboration with Mesoblast's United States-based associate company Angioblast Systems Inc.

One of Australia's former large and high grade nickel laterite mines is being acquired by Metallica Minerals Limited (ASX:MLM) in an expansion of the Company's flagship nickel-cobalt portfolio and planned mining precinct between Townsville and Cairns. A combined total consideration of A$1.65 million will go to Straits Resources Ltd (Straits) and Resource Mining Corporation (RMI) to acquire all of their joint venture ownership of the three Greenvale tenements, EPMs 11223, 10680 and 10866 which comprise the historic Greenvale nickel mine and its immediate surrounds - Metallica's 100% owned subsidiary Greenvale Operations Pty Ltd will hold 100% of the Greenvale tenements.

Atlas Iron Limited (ASX:AGO) is pleased to announce that the Schemes of Arrangement between Warwick Resources Limited ("Warwick") (ASX:WRK) and its shareholders and option holders (the "Scheme Participants") in relation to the merger of Warwick with Atlas have now been implemented. All Warwick ordinary shares have been transferred to Atlas. All Warwick options to acquire shares in Warwick will now be cancelled. An application to delist Warwick from the ASX has been made and this is expected to take effect on 21 December 2009.

AuDAX Resources Limited (ASX:ADX) (PINK:ADXRF) said that the Romanian National Agency of Mineral Resources (NAMR) has awarded eight prospecting licenses to AuDAX. AuDAX will undertake detailed geological and geophysical studies in these permits to identify the oil and gas potential and high grade future drilling targets. This forms part of AuDAX' strategy to successfully bid for highly prospective Romanian exploration and development acreage in the upcoming licensing rounds.

D'Aguilar Gold Limited (ASX:DGR) said that on 18th December 2009, a binding letter of intent ("LOI") was executed with Lions Gate Metals Inc (CVE:LGM) (PINK:LGMFF). The LOI contains the principal terms of the business combination transaction disclosed in the Company's ASX release of 3 September 2009. Lions Gate will acquire from the Ausnico shareholders all of the issued and outstanding shares and options of Ausnico in exchange for the issuance of an aggregate of 10,000,000 common shares of the Company to the Ausnico shareholders and 3,000,000 warrants to the Ausnico optionholders. Ausnico is 79% owned by DGR.

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Michelle Liang Asia Business News Asia Bureau Tel: +61-2-9247-4344 Email: michelle.liang@abnnewswire.net