Antares Announces $1.5 Million 1998 Exploration Program On Exciting Toodoggone Gold Property.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 1998--Antares Mining and Exploration (TSE:ANZ.) Following late 1997 season drilling, which resulted in the discovery of spectacular high grade polymetallic gold mineralization within massive andesite flows at the Creek Zone, Antares is pleased to announce that a $1.5 million exploration program will be carried out on the exciting 28,748 hectares Toodoggone gold property in North Central British Columbia during 1998. Since starting work on the property in the spring of 1997, a contrarian approach to exploring the property has been maintained involving 10,640 metres of diamond drilling. This contrarian approach was initially directed at two types of epithermal gold deposit types namely, the tuff breccia and pyroclastic hosted deposits, however, as the potential for massive flows hosted deposits became apparent, attention was also directed at these occurrences. Additional staking to protect strike extensions to target areas has been completed. A large amount of information was collected during the 1997 program. This, together with an immense amount of historical information, is being analyzed in a major winter research project.

Massive Flows Hosted Deposits

Discovered by the last hole drilled in 1997, the Creek Zone is a spectacular high grade gold polymetallic intersection unsurpassed in the area. The discovery hole CZ97-08, intersected a high grade 103.3 gm. Au/tonne (3.016 oz. Au/ton), 92.2 gm. Ag/tonne (2.69 oz. Ag/ton), 1.34 percent Cu, 0.46 percent Pb and 11.7 percent Zn in a new 4 m. wide zone between 91 and 95 metres consisting of near massive sulfide within a mineralized quartz carbonate stockwork seen in earlier holes. This intersection has a gross metal value of approximately US$1,100 per tonne. The discovery was made based on the compilation of existing data combined with careful field follow-up, which upgraded the Creek Zone area from an old minor gold occurrence to a high priority drill target based on structural setting, airborne geophysics, heavy mineral sampling, soil geochemistry and induced polarization surveys. A total of 1,477 metres in eight holes were completed on the Creek Zone area, six of the earlier holes also intersected parts of the quartz carbonate alteration envelope around the zone and which returned interesting values.

The zone is hosted by a shallow to moderate dipping sequence of altered andesitic flows to flow breccia. Mineralization consists of coarse grained pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena. Low grade mineralization occurs within an apparently structurally controlled extensive quartz carbonate stockwork. High grade mineralization occurs as a massive sulfide replacement zone associated with faulting. Mineralization likely represents a transition feeder zone between epithermal to porphyry style mineralization. The major controlling structure appears to be a high angle NNW fault which, based on IP and Soil Geochem data, is 700 metres long with possible further extensions based on regional data.

Tuff Breccia Hosted Deposits

A considerable resource is believed to exist in the tuff breccia environment at the Toodoggone property represented by the Bonanza, Thesis and B.V. zones which are essentially structurally controlled epithermal deposits hosted within shallow dipping tuffaceous units cut by numerous parallel vertical to near vertical mineralized fractures systems from a buried porphyry system. Drilling was directed at verifying the large amount of work previously undertaken by other operators on the property and to examine the possibility of introducing bulk mining around the previously exposed high grade pods. A total of 3,224 metres of diamond drilling in 26 holes was completed on these deposits and adjacent areas. An updated geological resource for each of these bodies should be available shortly.

Pyroclastic Hosted Deposits

Most of the drilling (16,257 metres in 191 holes) in the last three years on the property was directed at delineating the Finn Zone. The Finn Zone occurs as a tabular shallow dipping 500 x 600 m. body within an altered porous pyroclastic unit. The alteration and mineralization appears controlled by a vertical to sub-vertical fracture system which defines a mineralized envelope principally in the footwall of the Finn Zone, related to a buried porphyry system. Higher grade zones are evident along zones of maximum dilation and fault intersections. The Central Finn Zone is a distinctive quartz breccia mineralized unit which essentially is a product of intense silicification and averages 13 m. in width. Drilling in 1997 was targeted at obtaining samples for metallurgical testing from the central zone and extending the zone down dip to the north involving 3,649 metres of diamond drilling in 27 holes. Geological resource calculations for both the Finn Zone and the open pittable portion of the Central Finn Zone are underway.

Overall Toodoggone Property

Analysis of airborne and ground geophysical data has identified 34 prospective targets for further work, many associated with a major 12 km. E-W mineralized trend on the property and intersections of regional NNW/SSE and NNE/SSW trends. A number of known mineralized zones (Creek, Thesis and Schmit) are also coincidental with some of these intersections. The Toodoggone JV has completed the staking of additional ground to protect onstrike extensions to these target areas.

Planned 1998 Exploration Program

Drill targets for the 1998 season are currently being established with the highest priority attaching to the Creek Zone discovery area with its high grade gold values together with associated significant silver and base metal values. Antares believes that a major mineralized structure has been identified by hole CZ97-08 at the Creek Zone which stretches from Moosehorn Creek to the south of the Toodoggone River. The portion of the zone intersected by CZ97-08 is part of a 700 metre long segment of the structure defined by a coincidental gold in soil geochemical anomaly with an induced polarization anomaly. Consequently, a first priority of the 1998 drill season will be the completion of a series of drill fences on this target to define the true extent of the anomaly and replicate the exciting values. Further ground magnetic and induced polarization surveys will be carried out to establish northern and southern extensions to the current indicated 700 metres strike length.

To date, Antares has spent approximately $3.5 million on the Toodoggone property. The 1998 exploration program on the Toodoggone property is scheduled to commence in May at a cost of $1.5 million, all of which will be financed by Antares. On completion of the 1998 exploration program, Antares will have earned a 55 percent interest in the property while AGC Americas Gold Corporation (AGC - VSE) will own 45 percent. Antares is the operator of this project.

Strathcona Mineral Services Limited of Toronto, Consulting Geologists, have been engaged by Antares to audit drill results from Antares' exploration properties on an annual basis and report thereon to the company's board.

In addition to its interest in the Toodoggone property, Antares owns; a 76.5 percent interest in, and has operatorship of, the 31,644 hectares Ojolali silver and gold property located in Sumatra, Indonesia; a 24.75 percent beneficial interest in Rappa Holdings (Proprietary) Ltd., a South African based gold recovery operation; and a 37 percent interest in the producing Lady Lina gold mine in Zimbabwe.

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CONTACT: Antares Mining and Exploration Corporation

Dennis Gray, 416/861-9940

Or visit our web site at www.antaresmining.com

or

Antares Mining and Exploration Corporation

Peter Southward, 416/861-9940

Or visit our web site at www.antaresmining.com