Ivanhoe Mines' Chief Executive Officer Robert Friedland announced today that the company expects to receive US$502 million from Rio Tinto later today following Rio Tinto's decision to exercise all remaining share-purchase warrants that it holds in Ivanhoe Mines.

Papuan Precious Metals Corporation announces that drilling is continuing at the Kuliuta gold-copper prospect, which is testing both the near surface gold potential, in addition to the deeper copper porphyry potential. The program has been expanded from four holes to a total of six with completion expected before the end of July.

Passport Potash, Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PPI)(OTCQX:PPRTF) is pleased to report preliminary results from two core holes that have intersected significant potash deposits at relatively shallow depths in the Holbrook evaporite basin. According to chemical assay results obtained from Skyline Laboratories in Tucson, Arizona, PPI2011-04 ("Core 1") intersected 9.5 feet (1463.0-1472.5 feet) of 12.29% KCL which includes a 4.0 foot (1465.5-1469.5 feet) interval containing 18.28% KCL. PPI2011-6 ("Core 2") intersected 7.5 feet (1437.5-1445.0 feet) of 11.93% KCL within which includes a 2.5 foot (1439.0-1441.5 feet) interval containing 24.34% KCL.

Teck Resources provided an update today to its coal guidance for the second quarter. As a result of the February earthquake and tsunami in Japan, some of Teck's coal customers have deferred shipments due to reduced steel production requirements and Teck now expects coal sales in the second quarter at the low end of its previously announced guidance range of 5.5 to 6.0 million tonnes.

Pitchstone Exploration Ltd. ("Pitchstone") has finalized plans for summer exploration activities in the eastern Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. Work will include 2,250 meters of diamond drilling at Gumboot and Johnston Lake, plus 2,000 meters of diamond drilling at Wolverine. Additionally, Pitchstone has recently staked three new claims in the eastern Athabasca Basin.

Extorre Gold Mines announced that it has entered into an agreement pursuant to which a syndicate of underwriters led by TD Securities Inc. (the "Underwriters") has offered to purchase, on a bought deal private placement basis, 2,400,000 common shares (the "Shares") of the Company at a price of $10.50 per Share (the "Issue Price") for total gross proceeds of $25,200,000 (the "Offering"). The net proceeds from the Offering will be used for exploration and development of the Company's mineral projects in Argentina and for general working capital purposes.

Lateegra Gold announced the commencement of exploration drilling on its DeSantis Project, located near Timmins, Ontario, as well as filing of a technical report on the property. A diamond drilling program of approximately 8,000 metres in 18 holes is planned as the 2011 drill program for the project, contingent on exploration results. The 2011 drill campaign will follow-up on 2010 drill results and test other geological models for gold mineralization on the property.

Alderon Resource Corp. (TSX VENTURE:ADV)(OTCQX:ALDFF) ("Alderon") is pleased to announce final assay results from the 2011 winter program on the 100% owned Kamistiatusset ("Kami") Iron Ore Project in western Labrador.

Further to its news release of April 14, 2011 the Company announces that it has completed the private placement of 16,655,920 shares at $0.10 per share, the proceeds of which are to be used to fund the costs of the transaction with Origo Partners PLC ("Origo"), as detailed in the April 14 Release and to retire outstanding indebtedness. The private placement closed in two tranches, with 9,700,000 shares issued subject to a hold period expiring September 6, 2011 and the balance of 6,955,920 shares being issued subject to a hold period expiring October 17, 2011.

First Point Minerals Corp. (TSX VENTURE:FPX) ("First Point" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Cliffs Natural Resources Exploration Inc., an affiliate of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF)(PARIS:CLF) ("Cliffs"), has assumed management of, and is starting the 2011 exploration program on the Decar nickel project in central British Columbia. Cliffs has hired Caracle Creek International Consulting (CCIC), a professional geological, geophysical and engineering services consulting company, to supervise the 2011 exploration program at Decar.

Centurion Minerals announced that two diamond drill rigs have been secured to test multiple priority targets that the Company has identified on its epithermal gold and porphyry copper-gold prospects in Aceh, Indonesia. The first diamond drill rig is currently being mobilized and will be used to complete a minimum 2,000 metre drill program on the Company's Badak property.

ECU Silver Mining Inc. (TSX:ECU) is pleased to report the results from developing a new vein on the Nazas property which included assays grading up to 6.18 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) and 2,755 g/t silver (Ag). The Nazas property is under option to ECU Silver with the possibility of ECU Silver acquiring a 100% interest for payments totalling US$1,100,000 over the next two years.