Dec 12, 2011 (ACCESSWIRE-TNW via COMTEX News Network) -- Vancouver, B.C. December 12, 2011 Lori McClenahan, President of St.
Elias Mines Ltd. (SLI - TSX:V) ("St. Elias" or the
"Company") announces that St. Elias has increased the
ongoing diamond drilling program at its wholly owned Tesoro Gold
Project in Peru (the "Project") from an initial 10,000
metres to 20,000 metres. In order to accomplish this in a timely
manner, the Company is taking all necessary steps to mobilize a second
diamond drill rig to the Tesoro Project. It is anticipated that the
rig will be on site in January 2012.

Further mechanical trenching on both the Main Structural Corridor and
the Parallel Structural Corridor is scheduled to commence in January
2012. The Company is also in the process of hiring three additional
geologists for the project and the necessary Project infrastructure is
being increased to accommodate the additional personnel.

The drilling program has been designed to test near-surface and
deeper-seated geophysical anomalies identified by Titan 24 geophysical
surveys.

A Brief History of the Tesoro Gold Project

The Tesoro Gold Project is 100% owned by the Company with no
underlying royalties. The property covers approximately 6,974 hectares
(17,436 acres) and is part of the prolific 300km X 30km Nazca-Ocona
gold belt parallel to the Pacific coast of southwestern Peru. The
Nazca-Ocona gold belt has a long mining history dating back to
pre-Incan time. Gold is associated with disseminated sulphides in
quartz veins and fractures within intrusive rocks. The continuity of
the quartz veins and fractures is very impressive in the Nazca-Ocona
gold belt. While the veins tend to be narrow, the grade is
significant and the mineralized structures tend to extend along strike
for several kilometers and to depths of up to 1,000 metres.

To date, the Company has identified five mineralized zones with more
than 50 quartz veins (having a total combined length of 9km) at the
Tesoro Project and has carried out underground exploration and
development work on three of these veins (C1, C2 and A4 Veins.) The
veins are mesothermal, indicating that the vein structures may extend
to considerable depths.

The Tesoro Property has never been evaluated to depth, or to its full
strike potential. This leaves a large potential for the discovery of
additional mineralization.

For additional information on St. Elias and its projects, please visit
us at www.steliasmines.com or call 1-888-895-5522 (toll free US and
Canada) or contact:

European Consultant
U.S. Investor Relations Consultant

Michael Kott
Herbert Haft
CM-Equity AG & Co. KG Financial Service The Haft
Group, Inc.

Tel: 011 4989 1890 474 0
Tel: (212) 759-8865

Email: kott@cm-equity.de
Email: herbhaft@haftgroupinc.com

herbhaft@aol.com

ST. ELIAS MINES LTD.

(signed "Lori McClenahan")

Lori McClenahan, President

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of
this document.

This News Release may contain forward-looking statements including,
but not limited to, comments regarding the timing and content of
upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, potential mineral
recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future
events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and
uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those
currently anticipated in such statement.

Copyright 2011 ACCESSWIRE-TNW