Alexandria Provides Update on Akasaba and Sleepy

TORONTO, March 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Alexandria Minerals Corporation (TSX-V: AZX; Frankfurt: A9D) provided today an update of its ongoing activities on its Cadillac Break Property Group in Val d'Or, Quebec, specifically on its Akasaba project where it is in progress with a National Instrument ("NI") 43-101 Resource Estimate.

The Cadillac Break Property straddles the Cadillac-Larder Lake Break, a 300 km long fault zone that extends across Quebec and Ontario, and which controls the locations of gold mines from which some 100 million ounces of gold have been produced from the mining camps from Val d'Or to Noranda in Quebec, and from Kirkland Lake to Matachewan in Ontario. Alexandria's property hosts 2 Current Resources, at Orenada and Sleepy, and has seen past underground production from Mid-Canada (78,000 tonnes grading 7.44 g/t Au) and Akasaba (282,000 tonnes grading 5.14 g/t Au).

The initial Resource Estimate at Akasaba is expected in the next few weeks. The Company has completed some 38,000 meters of drilling during the past two years, expanding the gold-bearing zone in and around the past-producing mine to 1,000 m along strike, with two high grade zones now extending to 500 m depth. In order to minimize further delays on the NI 43-101 study, the assay lab has been instructed not to report assays to Alexandria for drill core samples now in the lab until after the results of the study have been released.

Accordingly, assay results are pending for 10 holes at Akasaba (all reported lengths are true widths):

• 3 deep offset holes below the mine, between 400 and 600 m depth, around the previously-released drill intersection in hole IAX-11-176 (7.07 g/t Au over 7.59 m),
• 3 holes located 700 m west of the mine, between 200-300 m depth, testing down dip extension of shallow level gold mineralization intersected in hole IAX-10-119 (1.15 g/t Au over 42.24 m, including 8.24 g/t Au over 3.96 m) and Cambior hole AK 94-03 (2.18 g/t Au over 3.21 m),
• 2 shallow level holes, 1,200 m to 1,400 m west along strike from the mine, to-date the westernmost Alexandria holes along the mine horizon,
• 2 holes testing shallow mineralization in the North Zone, located 150 m north of the Mine Horizon, and which hosts a gold-bearing zone with similar geological characteristics to the Mine Horizon.

Assay results will be released following the NI 43-101 study.

Eric Owens, Alexandria's President and CEO, said, "Our first resource estimate is a significant milestone for our flagship project Akasaba.  As we still have several assays pending and we plan to drill aggressively, this initial estimate will be a good foundation for a further growth.  Our focus this year is to continue our great results at Akasaba and Sleepy in order to be able to realize the best commercial options for the properties."

A 4 hole drill program is also nearing completion on the Company's Sleepy Project, located 12 km east of Akasaba. The four holes have been targeting shallow levels of the Sleepy Horizon in an effort to enlarge the upper portion of the Current (Inferred) Resource, estimated in 2009, of 1.5 Mt grading 3 g/t Au (for 150,000 ounces of gold). During 2011, focus was on the down dip extension of the resource, and Alexandria successfully deepened gold mineralization from the bottom of the Current Resource at 300 m depth, to 450 m depth with the following drill hole intersections:

• SAX-11-009 - 6.66 g/t Au over 15.8 m,
• SAX-11-001 - 3.88 g/t Au over 7.0 m,
• SAX-11-005 - 11.28 g/t Au over 2.4 m

Both Akasaba and Sleepy have potential for significant growth, as both are open along strike and at depth. Company geologists have identified some 36,000 m of drill targets at Akasaba, and on adjacent  properties with Akasaba-like targets, and a further 15,000 m of drill targets at Sleepy, in order to enlarge gold zones on both projects.

Separately, Alexandria is pleased to state that it is exhibiting at the annual Prospectors and Developers Conference in Toronto, March 4 to March 7, 2012, Booth 2716. All interested parties are encouraged to stop by for discussion.

All results presented in this press release have been previously released, and reviewed by Peter Legein, PGeo, and Eric Owens, PGeo. Alexandria follows industry standards with its sampling and assay procedures, and conducts periodic review of these procedures in order to assess their validity depending on the situation.

About Alexandria Minerals Corporation

Alexandria Minerals Corporation is a Toronto-based junior gold exploration and development company with one of the largest property packages along the prolific, gold-producing Cadillac Break in Val d'Or, Quebec. The Company is currently focused on advancing its Akasaba and Sleepy projects, and has two NI 43-101 compliant gold resources. At Orenada, at a 0.5 g/t cutoff, the Company has delineated a Measured and Indicated Resource of 446,000 ounces of gold (10,273,932 t grading 1.35 g/t Au), and an Inferred Resource of 302,000 ounces of gold (7,399,644 t grading 1.27 g/t Au). At Sleepy, the Company has delineated an Inferred resource of 150,000 ounces of gold (1,500,000 t grading 3.0 g/t Au). Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd., with two producing gold mines in the region, owns roughly 10% of the Company.

WARNING: This News Release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of up-coming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, 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 statements. Alexandria Minerals Corporation relies upon litigation protection for forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Alexandria Minerals Corp.