March 22, 2011
Excelsior Mining Corp. (TSX-V: MIN) (Frankfurt: 3XS) (“Excelsior”) is pleased to announce the first set of assay results from the Gunnison Copper Property located within the copper porphyry belt in southern Arizona. The 2011 Phase I program consists of 10,000 meters (32,800 feet) of drilling and preliminary hydrological and metallurgical tests.
Highlights from the first three holes include:
| Drill Hole | From (feet) | To (feet) | Length (feet) | Total Copper % |
| NSD – 1 | 530.0 | 1490.0 | 960.0 | 0.45 |
| including | 530.0 | 932.5 | 402.5 | 0.59 |
| NSD – 3 | 563.0 | 1543.6 | 980.6 | 0.28 |
| including | 1360.0 | 1543.6 | 183.6 | 0.44 |
| NSD – 12 | 422.0 | 900.0 | 478.0 | 0.27 |
| including | 422.0 | 744.5 | 322.5 | 0.35 |
Please note that the holes were not drilled in sequence.
Gunnison contains a National Instrument (NI) 43-101 inferred resource of 4.77 billion pounds of copper (787 million tons at 0.30% copper) which remains open for expansion (see news release dated November 2, 2010). The first three holes continue to demonstrate the continuity in terms of thickness and grade of the deposit and are expected to be used in upgrading the resource from the inferred to the indicated category. NSD-01 and NSD-03 also help define the western extent of the copper mineralization.
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| Photo: Core from NSD-1: 902 feet to 918 feet |
“We are excited to have started this drill program with such great results, “says Stephen Twyerould, President and CEO of Excelsior. “Not only are the grades and thickness as we expected or better, but the core is very nicely fractured, which is key for developing this as an in-situ copper recovery project.”
Over two-thirds of the copper contained in the NI 43-101 resource occurs as oxide copper, which has the potential to be mined using in-situ recovery (ISR) methods. The fractured nature of the deposit (see photo on left) allows for fluid to move through and extract the copper before being pumped back up to the surface. For further details on the ISR process and its advantages, please visit:http://www.excelsiormining.com/index.php/investors/in-situ-recovery
Complete assay highlights with drill plan map are posted on the Excelsior website at:http://www.excelsiormining.com/index.php/gunnison-project5
All samples are prepared from manually split half-core sections on site in Arizona. Split drill core samples are then sent to Skyline Assayers & Laboratories in Tucson, Arizona for Total Copper and Sequential Copper analyses. Standards, blanks, and duplicate assays are included at regular intervals in each sample batch submitted from the field as part of an ongoing Quality Assurance/Quality Control Program.
Excelsior’s exploration work on the Gunnison Property is supervised by Stephen Twyerould, Fellow of AUSIMM, President and CEO of Excelsior and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Twyerould has reviewed and is responsible for the technical information contained in this news release.
About Excelsior
Excelsior is an exploration and development company with a copper project located within the copper porphyry belt of Arizona. The Gunnison Copper Project is located close to the required infrastructure and with its in-situ recovery potential, is intended for near-term production. The Excelsior team consists of experienced professionals with proven track records of advancing projects towards production.
Further details about Excelsior can be found on Excelsior’s website at: http://www.excelsiormining.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE EXCELSIOR BOARD
"Stephen Twyerould"
President & CEO
T: 604-681-8030
F: 604-681-8039
www.excelsiormining.com
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