MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Dec. 16, 2010) - Creso Exploration Inc.("Creso Exploration" or the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE:CXT)(OTCQX:CRXEF) (FRANKFURT:C3X) is pleased to report that its diamond coredrilling campaign to date in 2010 has exceeded 8,700 meters jointly atthe Minto, Duggan, and Gold Corona areas that lie within the Company's broader holdings totaling over 280 km2 in the Shining Tree Project in northeast Ontario.The Company is waiting for results from 14 holes that have beencompleted, and a second lab is being utilized to accelerate the receiptof these results.
At the Minto Zone over 7,200 meters have been drilled in ten holesin 2010. Drilling in Hole MC10-10 will continue until field work isshut-down for the Christmas break, and will resume again on January 10, 2011.The current program is designed to test IP anomalies associated withmineralization encountered in previously released intervals from HolesMC10-01, 02, and 03b, and where possible, to model a mineral resourcearound these intervals. The deeper portions of holes 01 and 02 have beenanalyzed and do not show significant widths of high grademineralization, although a picture is emerging of a surprisingly broadhalo of low grade mineralization and alkalic alteration peripheral to anortherly trending, structurally controlled hydrothermal system plungingsteeply at about 80 degrees southward.
At the Duggan property, 3.2 km northwest of the Minto Pit, two holes(DUG10-15 and DUG10-16) totaling 465 meters were drilled across thenorth-trending Duggan Zone and encountered multiplenarrow sulfide-bearing quartz-carbonate veins, with logging and samplingcurrently in progress. These holes were drilled to test vertical andstrike extensions of historical high grade gold zones from rock-chips intrenches located some 50m to the south, which ran up to 8.18 oz/t Auover 1.2m (1938 MNDM Assessment File # CO 1322). The two holes are alsointended to test the possible extension of lower grade mineralizationassociated with quartz veinlets as indicated by the interval of 1.5 g/tAu over 76m starting at 76m depth that was encountered in Creso hole DUG3-07 that was collared in 2007 slightly north of the historical trenchwith high grade gold noted above (see January 20, 2010 43-101 Report by M.V.White).
In addition, Creso drilled three holes totaling 1,003 meters on the Gold Corona JV with Platinex in the West Shining Tree area, with all sample results pending.
Creso management and geologists emphasize that based-on results todate, it is clear that Shining Tree is a district-wide exploration playfor deep-rooted alkalic gold hydrothermal systems, with more than 35known gold occurrences, with 7 historical mining shafts onCompany-controlled ground, providing abundant targets to prioritize andsystematically test. In addition to ongoing drilling and surfacetrenching to be conducted in 2011 over the areas indicated above, theCompany plans to do similar work at the Matona property, 4.6 km west of Minto,where three shafts had minor historical production and reported drillintercepts from the Main Vein of up to 26.8 g/t Au over 0.65m and fromthe Hare Creek zone, of up to 21.7 g/t Au over 1.3m (see Creso Press Release, June 22, 2010).
Creso has not analyzed the historical assay results reported fromthe Duggan and Matona properties above and therefore cannot verify thevalues presented. The historical values reported have been used only asconceptual guides to current ongoing exploration.
This Press Release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Michael White, M. Sc, P. Geo., the Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.