Junior mining companies active in Alaska exploration

Full Metal Minerals Ltd. has 11 exploration projects spanning Alaska. The company's two primary projects are the Lucky Shot high-grade gold property about 90 miles north of Anchorage, and the LWM zinc-lead-silver prospect at its 40 Mile property in eastern Alaska. In a joint venture with BHP Billiton, Full Metal is exploring multiple copper-gold porphyry targets on 88,675 acres of Doyon Ltd. land in eastern Alaska. Full Metal has joint venture agreements with both major and junior mining companies, including Kinross Gold, Freeport McMoRan, BHP Billiton, Mosam Capital, Triex Minerals, Altair Ventures, Highbury Projects and Ashburton Ventures Inc.

Millrock Resources Inc. has an exploration agreement with the Bering Straits Native Corp. to explore 152 square miles of BSNC land on the Seward Peninsula. Millrock's primary focus has been on the Bluff gold property about 42 miles east of Nome. Another priority target for Millrock is the Estelle high-grade gold property about 100 miles northeast of Anchorage. The company's other properties include Fortymile gold, Divide gold, Ketchem gold and Iliamna copper-gold about 31 miles northeast of the Pebble deposit.

Freegold Ventures Ltd.'s Golden Summit high-grade gold property is about 5 miles to the north of the Fort Knox Mine. Freegold is using a combination of closely spaced shallow drilling, deeper core drilling and an on-going bulk sampling program using an on-site gravity-based concentration plant. The company is also drilling its Rob high-grade gold property near the Pogo Mine. Freegold is also exploring the Vinasale gold property about 16 miles south of McGrath, where the company has entered into an exploration agreement with a lease option with Doyon Ltd.

International Tower Hills Mines Ltd. has nine projects in Alaska. The company's primary focus in 2008 has been its Livengood gold property about 70 miles north of Fairbanks. ITH is focused on doubling the overall resource, converting a large portion of the inferred resources to indicated and measured and gathering the data needed to complete a preliminary economic scoping study by the middle of 2009. The company's other key targets in Alaska include the LMS high-grade gold project and the Terra high-grade gold and BMP polymetallic properties.

Late this summer, Mantra Mining Inc. acquired NovaGold's interest in the 35,000- acre Ambler volcanogenic massive sulfide property located about 180 miles southeast of the Red Dog Zinc Mine. The company also purchased Rio Tinto's interest in the precious-metal-rich property. Mantra plans to continue where NovaGold left off, drilling on the Arctic deposit, when it begins its exploration in 2009. Mantra picked up six additional western Alaska mineral properties from NovaGold in 2008, giving the company mineral rights on more than 485,000 acres in Alaska.

Newmont Mining Corp. entered into three joint venture agreements with Gold Crest Mines Inc. to explore for gold deposits on the AKO and Luna properties, covering about 15,200 acres in the Kuskokwim region of Southwest Alaska about 120 miles south of Donlin Creek. Newmont also has a joint venture on the Chilly property located in the Buckstock Mountains about 75 miles northeast of the AKO and Luna claims.

Electrum Ltd. has entered into a joint venture with Gold Crest Mines Inc. to explore the Kisa, Gossan Valley, Little Swift and Gold Creek properties, totaling 15,320 acres in the Kuskokwim region of Southwest Alaska about 120 miles south of the Donlin Creek deposit.

Zazu Metals Corp. completed a 58-hole, 6,900-meter core drill program in 2008 at the Lik zinc-silver-lead deposit located about 13 miles from Teck Resources' Red Dog Mine. Teck is a 50 percent joint venture partner in the Lik property. Zazu can increase its interest to 80 percent by meeting certain spending commitments by 2018. A historic estimate that predates NI 43-101 outlines a resource at the Lik deposit of 26.7 million metric tons grading 9.16 percent zinc, 3.15 percent lead and 49 grams of silver per ton,

Ucore Uranium Inc. is exploring the Bokan Mountain uranium property located on the southern end of Prince of Wales Island about 37 miles southwest of Ketchikan. The company's 2008 drill program at Bokan focused on the I&L zone. In addition to uranium, Ucore discovered rare earth elements and related metals, including yttrium, zirconium, beryllium, and niobium. In 1989, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the property hosts more than 11 million pounds of uranium as well as tantalum, niobium, and rare earth elements.