St. Elias Mines Ltd. - Tesoro Gold Project, Peru -- Mineralization Continues to Depth/Gold Grades Increase with Depth

St. Elias Mines Ltd. ("the Company”) (TSX VENTURE:SLI) (ISIN CA7849211080) (FWB:EKL) is pleased to provide the following progress report on the underground and surface exploration activities at the Tesoro Gold Project (the "Property”) located in southwestern Peru. To date, the Company has identified five mineralized zones on the Property with more than 50 quartz veins (having a total combined length of 9km) and has carried out underground exploration and development work on two of these veins (C1 Vein and A4 Vein System.) Zona Canchete The shaft at the C1 Vein (previously referred to as the ZCV#1 Vein) has been deepened to the 80m level and the vein continues to be consistent and generally high grade. Currently, a short drift is being completed to the east of the shaft on the 80m level in order that a manway/ventilation raise can be installed between the 80m and 60m levels. The following assay results have been received for face samples taken in the C1 shaft at 2m intervals between the 64m and 74m levels: Sample   ShaftLevel   Width(cm)   SampleType   Gold(g)   Gold(opt) TV 23 64 87.00 channel 23.30 0.68 TV 24 66 30.00 channel 22.90 0.67 TV 25 68 5.00 panel 6.02 0.18 TV 26 70 14.00 channel 16.70 0.49 TV 27 72 3.33 panel 57.00 1.66 TV 28-29 74 13.50 panel 76.50 2.23 The C1 shaft will continue to be deepened to a planned depth of 100 meters below the surface. The shaft is currently in a transition zone from oxide facies to sulphide facies. Two select samples of massive sulphides were taken from approximately the 74m level in the shaft and assayed for gold and other elements in order to see if the gold content increases, diminishes, or remains the same in the sulphide-rich vein material relative to the oxide-rich material. Assay results, listed below (both from the sulphide zone), indicate that the gold content increases in the sulphide-rich material and that the material is also enriched with silver, copper and tungsten. Sample   Gold(g/t)   Gold(opt)   Silver(g/t)   Silver(opt)   Copper(%)   Tungsten(%) TV 835 110 3.21 83.6 2.44 5.59 0.13 TV 836 127 3.70 26.1 0.76 0.31 0.19 The C1 Vein (ZCV#1) is only one of eight gold-bearing quartz veins located at Zona Canchete. Systematic trench sampling of the C2 Vein at Zona Canchete is presently underway. Additional surface sampling and trenching on other veins located at Zona Canchete (C3-C8 Veins) is planned in order to identify additional veins warranting underground development. Zona Central The Company is in the process of extracting two high-grade gold-bearing pods from the A4 Vein System at Zona Central, one in the shaft between the 8m and 31m levels, and another on the 42m level. Results of these bulk samples will be used by the Company as a guide to determining optimum spacing for diamond drilling. Additional underground development at the A4 Vein System will be carried out after the completion of a systematic drilling program. Zona Central is comprised of five gold-bearing quartz veins and three additional vein swarms. Systematic trench sampling of the A1 Vein at Zona Central is presently underway. Additional surface sampling and trenching on other veins located at Zona Central (A2, A3 and A5 Veins) is planned in order to identify additional veins warranting underground development. Camp Expansion The Company has recently installed six additional prefabricated buildings on the Property (two warehouses, one kitchen, one dormitory and two offices.) The buildings range in size from 12 to 45 square meters. The camp is being expanded to accommodate additional personnel in preparation for future mining on the C1 Vein. In addition, more personnel are required for a night shift on the drill, for detailed trenching of veins, and for possible future underground development of additional veins. Sample preparation and analytical work was undertaken at ALS Chemex SA laboratory (an ISO certified 9002 facility) in Lima, Peru. The technical information contained in this news release has been verified by, John Brophy, P.Geo., a Canadian geologist residing in Peru, who is a qualified person as defined in "National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Properties.” The Tesoro Gold Property is 100% owned by the Company with no underlying royalties. The Property is situated in a highland desert plateau within the prolific 300km x 30km Nazca-Ocoña gold belt of southwestern Peru. To date, more than 70 gold deposits have been exploited in this region. The Property is located between two gold deposits/mining camps. Malaga Inc. T-MLG (formerly Dynacor Mines Ltd.), the owner of the claims located immediately northwest of the Property, published a gold resource of +606,611 oz at 16.4g/t (on only 3 of 10 veins discovered to date) and has subsequently announced the discovery of additional veins carrying comparable gold grades. For additional information on St. Elias and its projects, please visit us at www.steliasmines.com or call 1-888-895-5522 (toll free US and Canada). ST. ELIAS MINES LTD. (signed "Lori McClenahan”) Lori McClenahan, President The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this document. This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the ongoing and upcoming exploration work and expected geometry of geological formations and structures. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.