St Elias Mines Ltd. announced further exploration and development plans for its wholly owned Tesoro Gold Project in southern Peru. The other part of the strategy involves development focused on more than 20 waste rock dumps left behind by prior mining activity. St.

Elias intends to sample and test the dumps and prepare a National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate. St. Elias proposes to follow up with a prefeasibility study to determine whether gold could be profitably recovered from the dumps, providing cash to support additional exploration.

Details of Proposed Exploration Drilling Activities, Subject to the availability of additional capital, St. Elias proposes diamond drilling of 3,000 -- 5,000 m in order to: Test the extensions (both vertical and along strike) of some of the known gold bearing quartz veins (notably the A-4, C-1, C-2 and Poderosa veins). The geologically-modelled strike extensions of both the C-1 and C-2 vein systems are covered by a 10-30 m thick blanket of dacite tuff both to the east and west of the previously-drilled outcropping vein segments; Explore for high-grade gold in deep, down-plunge extensions of the steeply-plunging gold-bearing "ore shoots" in the A-4, C-2 and Poderosa veins.

The "ore shoots" in these veins were thoroughly exploited by independent miners in past years, but production was limited to a few tonnes per day pers. comm., Marcial Portocarrero, 2012; Explore for high-grade gold in selected parts of the A-4, C-2 and Poderosa veins, notably the inferred down-plunge "ore shoots" in these veins that were thoroughly exploited by independent miners in years past. These are worthwhile drill targets because past production in each mine was limited to a few tonnes per day.