Alamos Minerals to acquire La Fortuna Mine.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 11, 1996-- ALAMOS MINERALS LTD. (VSE:AAS) The Company is pleased to announce that it has acquired the right to purchase the La Fortuna Mining property from San Fernando Mining Co. Ltd. ("San Fernando"). The La Fortuna property is located 45 miles northeast of Culiacan, in Durango State, Mexico. The mineral claims cover an area of approximately 56 square kilometres and host the La Fortuna Mine and numerous additional gold occurrences.

The Company can acquire this property in consideration of $50,000 cash and 2,300,000 treasury shares of the common stock of the Company. The right to acquire the property was originally obtained by Chester F. Millar, a director and Chairman of the Board of the Company. Mr. Millar assigned his acquisition rights to the La Fortuna property to the Company at no cost or additional consideration. The Company will reimburse Mr. Millar the sum of $50,000 in cash he paid to San Fernando to obtain the option. This acquisition is subject to various conditions including regulatory approval and approval by the Boards of Directors of the Company and San Fernando.

THE LA FORTUNA MINE

The La Fortuna Mine has a proven minable reserve of 236,000 ounces of gold and 3,200,000 ounces of silver contained in 2.915 million metric tonnes of ore grading 2.57 grams per tonne gold and 34.8 grams per tonne silver, utilizing a cut-off grade of 0.5 grams of gold per tonne. The strip ratio, allowing for external and internal waste is 4.7: 1. This reserve was calculated for San Fernando by the engineering firm Fluor Daniel Wright in their report of October 1995.

Recoveries for gold and silver in a heap leach operation are estimated to be 62.9 percent for gold and 18.5 percent for silver based on studies carried out by the Colorado Mining Research Institute and supervised by Mr. Peter Davies. This result was achieved in a column test with a duration of 111 days, with the ore crushed to minus 1/4 inch. Cyanide consumption was 1.26 kilograms per tonne.

It is the intention of Alamos to conduct a feasibility study, including a bulk leach test, over the next six months. Based on anticipated positive results, the Company will place the La Fortuna Mine into production at an initial rate of 20,000 ounces of gold per year. The Company believes there is considerable potential for the development of additional reserves of gold and silver within the La Fortuna property.

DRILLING PROGRAMS UNDERWAY IN NORTHERN MEXICO

The Company's interests in Mexico comprise the 100 percent owned Piedras Verdes property, covering 1,353 hectares and twenty three properties covering 33,118 hectares which are the subject of a joint venture with Queenstake Resources Ltd. ("Queenstake") which has a 60 percent interest and operatorship of the venture. The Company has the remaining 40 percent interest.

PIEDRAS VERDES, SOUTHERN SONORA STATE

The Piedras Verdes project is located approximately 290 kilometres southeast of Hermosillo and 15 kilometres northwest of the town of Alamos. The company's claims partially surround the claims hosting the Piedras Verdes deposit (1.28 billion pounds of copper contained in 154 million short tons grading .41 percent Cu) controlled by AZCO Resources Ltd. and Phelps Dodge Corporation. Copper mineralization has been explored and exploited in the district and within the Company's claims since at least the late 1800's. $353,000 was spent on exploration of the Company's claims since 1993 by Minera Bienvenidos, S.A. de C.V. ("Minera Bienvenidos"). The company acquired the property in July of 1995 from Minera Bienvenidos.

There are seven zones of known copper mineralization within the Company's claims. These zones occur within a trend eight kilometres long and one to two kilometres wide. One of the zones, the El Tabelo, located in an area without previous drill holes was drilled in June of 1995 and yielded the following results: -0-

T-1     33 metres of 6.52 percent copper
        (including 9 metres of 19.5 percent copper or 6 metres of
         25.15 percent copper).

T-2     33 metres of  0.68 percent copper
T-3     33 metres of  0.17 percent copper
T-4     21 metres of  0.85 percent copper
T-5     33 metres of  0.13 percent copper
T-6     33 metres of  0.19 percent copper

The holes were located within an area of 50 metres by 60 metres. In June 1996 a drill program commenced to further test this zone. This drilling is the first of a three phase exploration program with a budget of $1.15 million recommended by the Company's consulting geologist James J. McDougall. Twenty holes were drilled on 40 metre centres to a depth of 40 metres with a percussion drill rig. Assays are awaited.

Other areas of interest that will receive further follow-up by the Company in the coming months include the following:

Blowout Ridge--- A trench 26.7 metres long completed by the Minera Bienvenidos yielded an average of 2.32 percent copper. The best drill holes in the area yielded 48 metres of 0.51 percent copper and 18 metres of 0.50 percent copper, 33 metres of 0.49 percent copper and 12 metres of 2.05 percent copper. The Company's consultant recommends further trenching and drilling in this area.

Upper Skarn Ridge---Two trenches in this area yielded 3.6 percent copper over 7 metres and 1.22 percent copper across 5 metres. Other showings of copper are exposed within an area of 200 metres length and 100 metres width. Drilling in the area has yielded 9 metres of 0.80 percent copper and 12 metres of 0.94 percent copper.

Lower Skarn Ridge and Robin's Ridge--- The limited access to this area has prevented extensive geological investigation. One drill hole located along an existing road in the valley bottom encountered 3 metres of 1.47 percent copper. A gossan, accompanied by geophysical and geochemical anomalies, and with old gambusino "diggings" showing copper stain, extends for one kilometre in this area. Drilling to depth is recommended to test for a blanket of secondary copper mineralization, such as occurs on another company's concessions in the same eight kilometer trend.

JABALI, NORTHWESTERN SONORA STATE

The Jabali project is located 60 kilometres south of Lukeville, Arizona. A 1,200 meter drilling program consisting of six holes commenced on July 2nd.

The target at Jabali is a series of stacked, flat lying auriferous quartz lenses, connected by high angle mineralized quartz veins, similar in nature to the nearby La Choya deposit. Results of 125 samples taken from one and two metre channel samples from the quartz lenses along a 1.5 kilometre periodically exposed outcrop yielded values consistently in the two to eight grams of gold per ton range, with a high of 16.5 grams of gold per ton. Some samples taken from old underground workings located in the northern portion of the outcrop area yielded values up to 32.2 grams of gold per ton.

BABOYAHUI, SOUTHERN SONORA STATE

The Baboyahui project is located approximately 40 kilometres east of the town of Alamos in proximity to the Company's Piedras Verdes project. A one month drilling program will commence on the property upon completion of drilling at Jabali.

Baboyahui is a structurally controlled porphyry copper deposit related to an east-west elongated multiphase granodiorite stock and affiliated dikes of probable Laramide age that occur along the main structure and its offshoots. Known mineralization is hosted by an andesite breccia pipe, and associated andesite flows in contact with an altered and mineralized granitic mass.

Mapping and sampling has defined a copper oxide target roughly 200 metres by 700 metres. Grades in this area range from 0.2 to one per cent copper in chip samples. Gold is locally important. Data from a series of shallow trenches indicate that the copper can be enriched by a factor of eight within a metre of the surface. The next phase of exploration will be focused on testing the grade and thickness of the mineralized andesite, the enriched blanket potential, and the contact between the andesite and granitic mass. A neighboring gold quartz, tourmaline, molybdenum vein stockwork system will also be mapped and sampled in greater detail.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

John A. McCluskey Director Shares issued: 9,954,580 Fully diluted: 10, 853,038

CONTACT: Alamos Minerals Ltd.

John A. McCluskey, 604/681-7446

604/687-3797 (Fax)