Solitario Quadruples Pedra Branca Land Holdings

DENVER, CO - Solitario Resources Corporation reported that it has quadrupled its land holding on the Pedra Branca platinum-palladium ("PGM") project to 178,514 hectares and received notice that its joint venture partner, Anglo Platinum, has elected to fund Solitario's $1.5 million 2008 exploration program. The Pedra Branca project is an advanced exploration project that hosts four defined PGM deposits in the northeastern part of Brazil. To date a total of 243 drill holes have been completed on the project.
During 2007, Solitario initiated regional exploration efforts surrounding its original concessions, which identified new areas with potential to host significant PGM and nickel mineralization. This regional exploration program utilized satellite images, previously gathered regional geochemical information and new Brazilian geochemical reports indicating areas of high chrome concentrations in stream sediments (chrome is often associated with PGM mineralization). As a result of this effort, Solitario acquired vast new concession areas in virtually all directions from it's original land holdings and Solitario and Anglo Platinum now control concessions totaling 178,514 hectares. The concessions extend over an area 100 kilometers long in a north-south direction and 25 kilometers wide in an east-west direction.
Concurrent with Solitario's exploration and mineral rights acquisition activity, there was also a considerable increase in competitor exploration surrounding the original 45,365-hectare Pedra Branca land position in 2007. Several of the largest mining companies in the world including Vale (formerly CVRD), Xtrata and Votorantim Metais staked large concession blocks surrounding much of the expanded claim position.
Solitario President, Christopher Herald said, "Although we just recently initiated follow-up exploration work on our new concessions, we have already discovered a new chromitite boulder field where our only composite sample of boulders yielded an assay of 8.6 gpt platinum and 6.4 gpt palladium. In addition, we have also identified a new area with nickel mineralization where our only sample of subcropping boulders yielded 0.98% Ni. With this excellent start, we are optimistic about the potential of our new land holdings."
"We completed a total of 3,251 meters of core drilling in 35 drill holes at Pedra Branca during 2007. Sixteen different prospect areas were drilled with four returning favorable results. These successful tests were at the Cedro Prospects (three areas) and an extension of mineralization at Trapia West. All of these successes were in the central "core" of our original project area. Significant potential is thought to exist in each of these four new specific areas of recent drilling success and in several other nearby areas that display thick ultramafic rock formations and/or areas with strong PGM anomalies in rocks or soils, Herald said.
Going forward, Anglo Platinum will fund Solitario's $1.5 million 2008 Pedra Branca exploration program. This program includes regional surface work on the recently acquired concessions to identify new drill targets as well as 2,000 meters (approximately 18-20 holes) of core drilling to be conducted in mid-2008 to further test currently identified high-priority targets.
The company's address is 4251 Kipling Street, Suite 390, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033, 303-534-1030, fax: 303-534-1809.