Pure Nickel Inc. has announced that it has entered into an exploration and option agreement with ITOCHU Corp., a Japanese conglomerate. The agreement provides ITOCHU with the right to earn up to a 75% interest in Pure Nickel’s 720sq/km MAN Alaska property by investing up to USD 40 million in further exploration and development of the property. ITOCHU will reimburse Pure Nickel for expenditures incurred this year at MAN and, under the terms of the agreement, is firmly committed to funding next year’s exploration activity to a combined maximum of USD 6.5 million for 2008 and 2009. On an ongoing basis, exploration activity will be funded through 2014 to a total of USD 40 million subject to ITOCHU exercising its option to continue at the end of 2009 and 2013.