TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 13, 2008) - MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. ("MacDonald Mines" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:BMK) is pleased to announce that the Company added contiguous ground to the southern part of the original McNugget Property and recent airborne geophysical data has already identified a number of high-priority targets in this newly staked area.

Recently completed high-resolution airborne surveys, using three helicopter-mounted systems, flew 10,000 line kilometers of AEM (electromagnetic) and magnetic surveys for MacDonald and its joint venture partners, Temex Resources and Baltic Resources. The Company is analyzing this data and initial interpretations indicate that gabbroic hosted nickel sulphide drill targets can be identified.

Hadyn Bulter, P. Geo., Director, provided the following comment. "The McNugget Property has approximately 20 km of coincident magnetic-electromagnetic targets in an identical basal contact (stratigraphic) position to Noront's Eagle 1 discovery - known basal ultramafics in the McNugget differentiated gabbro chamber are immediately adjacent to the same "western granitic contact" as that seen at Eagle One. The 112 meters of ultramafic-hosted nickeliferous disseminated sulphides in drill hole MN07-46 is similar to disseminated sulphide halos in other differentiated gabbroic chambers occurring adjacent to massive sulphide deposits (e.g., eastern deeps at Voisey's Bay) and is a very positive indicator of an established nickeliferous sulphide system".

Preliminary analysis of the new data outlined an additional number of high-priority targets on the McNugget Property area. The cumulative number of existing and new targets prompted a re-location of our exploration camp from the community of Webequie to Butler Lake located on the McNugget Property.

When the Company completes its analyses of this new data and all the information has been fully interpreted, favorable targets will be identified and ground work will commence. This will include line cutting and establishing of grids for the execution of ground geophysical surveys. A Time-Domain Electromagnetic survey will be conducted over selected target areas in order to define potential deeper sources within the nickeliferous sulphide system.

The Drill Targets

1. The Original McNugget Property

The original McNugget Property, which includes the Hawk Uranium joint venture claims, contains, as previously outlined by Hadyn Butler, 20km of coincident magnetic and/or electromagnetic targets in an identical basal contact (stratigraphic) position to Noront's Eagle One discovery. The number of targets has yet to be quantified for this program but will constitute a significant portion of the total program because of the very favourable geology.

Kirk McKinnon, President & CEO commenting, said, "the original Noront discovery required, from a market perspective, additional mineralized discoveries in order to verify a new mining camp of significance. Noront's recent "Eagle Two" discovery, which is over two kilometres from the original discovery, meets this requirement. The second Noront discovery changes the dynamics for MacDonald Mines as the Company can now analyze its properties from a new geological perspective. Our drill program analysis going forward will now focus on the exploration for nickel-bearing ore deposits relative to Voisey's Bay or Sudbury, where most of the significant mineralized discoveries in both those camps occurred at depth."

2. The McNugget Property Extension

During the late 2007 staking rush in the area, MacDonald Mines immediately added contiguous ground to the southern part of the McNugget Property, as we already had previous knowledge of the geology in the area. The recent airborne data has identified a number of high priority targets in this newly acquired area.

3. The MacDonald Joint-Venture "Hornby" Property in Close Proximity to Noront's Eagle One Discovery

The Hornby joint venture Property (with Temex Resources) has a number of targets on the small but important claim blocks immediately west and south to the Fancamp and Freewest Properties. These anomalies run from the Fancamp and Freewest Properties on to the Hornby Property and are high-priority targets that are being prioritized in importance for subsequent drilling.

4. The MacDonald Joint-Venture "Adelaide" Property

The important and larger Adelaide joint venture Property (with Temex and Baltic Resources) lies due south of the McNugget Property and contains a number of interesting anomalies that are currently being prioritized for ground follow-up work.

This news release has been prepared under the supervision of Bill Nielsen, P.Geo., Director, who is the designated qualified person for the technical information contained in this press release.

Field exploration is managed by Randall Salo, P. Geo., and with respect to the joint-venture properties, in coordination with Bruce Durham, P.Geo, Vice President of Temex Resources.

WARNING: The statements made in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results could differ materially from expectations and projections set out herein.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd.
Brent Nykoliation
Director, Business Development
1-800-818-5442 or (416) 364-4986

MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd.
J. A. Kirk McKinnon
President and CEO
1-800-818-5442 or (416) 364-4986

MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd.
Richard Schler
Vice President & CFO
1-800-818-5442 or (416) 364-4986
(416) 364-2753 (FAX)
Email: info@macdonaldmines.com
Website: www.macdonaldmines.com