Matador Exploration Inc.: Reverse Circulation Drill Program Underway at Norris.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Matador Exploration Inc. ("MXN") (TSX VENTURE:MXN) along with Redemption Joint Venture partners Focus Minerals Ltd. (ASX:FML) are pleased to announce the commencement of reverse circulation (RC) drilling at the Norris Project, located within the Coolgardie Gold project, Western Australia.

The Norris area is located in the southwest portion of the Coolgardie Gold Project, approximately 17 km south west of Coolgardie. At Norris gold mineralization occurs within a series of moderately north-dipping thrust fault surfaces which displace mafic volcanics over an ultramafic package, proximal to a major granite batholith. The mineralized surfaces have been traced over 4 km by surface mapping and both conventional and MMI surface geochemistry.

The Norris trend is further divided into three areas, Grossmont, Grossmont East and Norris west. Within the central Grossmont area several open pit and underground mines have exploited up to three fault surfaces over a 1km strike length and have produced an estimated 49,000 ounces Au. Mineralization remains open down-dip along the entire length of the Grossmont area. To the west of the Grossmont area two mineralized fault surfaces have been traced southwest for an additional 1.5km by shallow RAB and RC drill holes to a maximum depth of 35m below surface. Several small, shallow open pits (Benson and Hedges), which were exploited based upon the shallow RAB and RC results, occur 250m west of the current Grossmont inferred resource area,. The Grossmont East area, which continues for an addition 1.5km northeast of the Grossmont area, has seen only limited RAB drilling over the geochemical anomaly.

The planned program, comprised of 1000m of RC drilling in 9 holes, is scheduled to commence the first week of November, and will test the down-dip potential of two mineralized fault surfaces along a 200m strike length beneath the Bensons and Hedges pits. The program will test the mineralized surfaces between 75m and 100m below surface. Previous intersections (to 35m below surface) from shallow RC and RAB drill holes along this segment of the thrust fault surfaces have returned intersections of 15.83g/t Au/3.0m (B026), 14.35g/t Au/4.0m (GRC006), 11.4g/t Au/4.0m (GRB024), 113.54g/t Au/5.0m (92N151) and 20.12g/t Au/4.0m (NRB294).

The current program at Norris will provide baseline geological data which will allow aggressive exploration of the entire 4 kilometres of the Norris trend during the upcoming year.

MXN maintains an extensive quality control program in the preparation, shipping and checking of all samples from the property. The program is supervised by Peter Kleespies, M.Sc. P.Geol., Vice President of Exploration, who is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

Committee Bay Resources Ltd. ("CBR") and Matador Exploration Inc. have scheduled their respective special shareholder meetings for November 18, 2005 to approve a business combination (press release July 12) by way of a statutory plan of arrangement.

This business combination of Committee Bay and Matador will create a company poised to take advantage of the near term production capability of the Coolgardie Project while advancing its prospects in Northern Canada and Western Australia through exploration of two greenstone belts with world class gold potential.

On behalf of the Board

MATADOR EXPLORATION INC.

John Williamson, P.Geol., President

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept resp onsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Matador Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:MXN)