Cumberland Resources Announces Meliadine West Prefeasibility: 400,000 oz. Gold Per Year Operation Studied.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 8, 1998-- Cumberland Resources(TSE:CBD) CUMBERLAND RESOURCES LTD. (CBD-TSE) (the "Company") is very pleased to announce additional results of the prefeasibility study on the Meliadine West gold property.

The property is under option to WMC International Ltd. (WMC). Cumberland's 22 percent interest is carried to production. WMC (56 percent interest) engaged H.A. Simons Ltd. (Simons) to complete a prefeasibility study of the project, based on gold resources estimated by WMC.

The prefeasibility study included currently outlined resources of 3.23 million ounces of gold and a resource increase of approximately 1.1 million ounces potentially available from extensions to existing ore bodies or new discoveries.

It is considered by WMC that the potential for discovery of further resources on the property, justifies this assumption - and a 38,000 m drill program is underway to achieve this.

The prefeasibility study indicates that, given the above resource increase, the project could support a 400,000 oz. per year operation at current gold prices.

Prefeasibility Study Parameters (all in $U.S. unless otherwise stated):

Diluted Mineable Resources:
Tiriruniak Zone (Open Pit and Underground)
                                 - 7.5 million T at 11.6 g/T
F-Zone          (Open Pit and Underground)
                                 - 1.1 million T at 7.6 g/T
Assumed Additions - 4.5 million T at 10.6 g/T

Milling Rate:  3750 TPD (1,300,000 Tonnes per year)
Production Life:  10 years (minimum)
Mill Recoveries:  94 percent
Average Operating Costs:  $35.74 ($52.50 Cdn.)/Tonne Ore
Total Cash Cost/Ounce: $113.71 ($167.00 Cdn.)

To date WMC has spent in excess of $20 million (Cdn.) on the project and is presently drilling with four drill rigs to reach their goal of increasing the resources to over 4.0 million ounces. Permitting is currently underway to access the deposits by driving an underground decline in preparation for a full feasibility study if resource goals are achieved.

Utilizing the above prefeasibility study parameters, Cumberland contracted H.A. Simons to produce a financial model for the project. The financial model was based on the following parameters:

 - Gold Price:  $300 U.S.
 - Exchange rate of  $Cdn. 1.4686 per $1.00 U.S.
 - 93 percent gold recovery to bullion

Based on the above parameters, financial models for the project yielded the following:

Payback:  3.2 years from start of production
Rate of Return after tax:  17.1 percent
                          (20.10 percent at $325 U.S. gold)
Net Present Value at 5 percent Discount:
                          $130.9 million ($192.2 Cdn.)

The results of the prefeasibility study on the Meliadine West are outstanding and Cumberland is optimistic that ongoing exploration will continue to expand the resource base. Results from the current drill program will be released as soon as they are received from WMC. The Meliadine West Project is strategically located 20 km north of Rankin Inlet in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut (NWT).

To maintain its interest, WMC must continue to make cash payments to Cumberland and provide all financing to production. WMC has the right to purchase an additional 2 percent interest from Cumberland upon production. During payback Cumberland will receive 6 percent of net proceeds from production.

CUMBERLAND RESOURCES LTD., Kerry M. Curtis, B.Sc., P.Geo, Senior Vice President

   CONTACT:  Cumberland Resources Ltd.
              Mr. Glen Dickson, 604/608-2557, 604/608-2559 (FAX)
                   or
              Cumberland Resources Ltd.
              Mr. Kerry Curtis, 604/608-2557, 604/608-2559 (FAX)