Yamana Acquires Gold and Copper Properties in USA.

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 1997--YAMANA RESOURCES INC(TSE YRI.) Yamana Resources announces that it has obtained exploration and mining leases on three prospective properties covering 2,395 acres(x) in northern Washington state (see attached map).

Dick Walters, Yamana's Executive Vice President and COO said, "All three properties have defined mineral targets - two gold and one which is primarily copper. We intend to drill them this year."

The 1,272-acre Schuer Bet property is located 75 miles north of Spokane where Yamana has its executive offices. Schuer Bet contains a gold target similar to the 1.7-million-ounce Crown Jewel gold skarn deposit near Republic, Washington, owned by Battle Mountain Gold Co. and Crown Resources Corporation.

Geophysical, geochemical and geologic surveys have defined drilling targets. There is a pronounced positive magnetic anomaly greater than 2,000 feet long and about 400 feet wide. Surface evidence of gold skarn mineralization includes samples from an old mine dump (0.07 ounces of gold per ton) and a trench (17 feet of 0.03 ounces of gold per ton). Surface work should be completed in the spring, followed by a drilling program consisting of several reverse circulation holes to depths of 500 feet.

The Blue Lake property, 200 miles northwest of Spokane in the Okanagon Valley, is a Nevada-style epithermal gold prospect covering 489 acres. Mineralization is controlled by a prominent fault zone of shattered limestones and quartzites over a strike length of more than 3,000 feet with a large population of anomalous gold values in rock chip samples ranging from 50 to 1,900 parts-per-billion. Drill targets have been defined, surface work is complete and spring plans call for five to eight reverse circulation drill holes each up to a depth of 500 feet.

Yamana's third Washington property, the 634-acre Palmer Mountain prospect, has a volcanogenic massive sulfide target. "Here, we are looking for several million tons of very high-grade copper with important gold and cobalt credits," Walters noted.

Underground mining conducted during World War I produced 3,500 tons averaging 3.1 percent copper and 0.03 ounces per ton gold. Old mine maps of various workings on the property show high-grade copper interceptions between 1 percent and 10 percent in zones up to 10 feet thick with overall mineralized zones up to 20 feet thick.

In 1968, drilling intercepted sulfide mineralization ranging in thickness up to 59 feet, including massive sulfides 9 feet thick assaying 2.5 percent copper. Another hole, 600 feet away and connected by a geophysical anomaly, hit 9 feet of 1.5 percent copper, including 1.2 feet of 6.2 percent copper.

The old drill core was not assayed for gold or cobalt, and Walters said there are indications all over the property of strong gold and cobalt credits in the mineralization.

Surface work on Palmer Mountain has been completed. Magnetometer (mag.), electromagnetic (EM), induced polarization (IP), surface rock chip sampling, and soil geochemistry surveys have been integrated with geologic mapping, succinctly defining drill targets. Drilling on the property, which is located at the 4,000-foot level on the east flank of the Cascade mountains 220 miles northwest of Spokane, is expected to begin as soon as roads are passable. Yamana's plan calls for five diamond core holes averaging 500 feet. The 1968 drill results will be checked, followed by the testing of a large associated coincident geophysical (mag., EM, IP) and soil geochemical anomaly.

These three leases represent Yamana's entry into North American mineral exploration. They involve primarily private land and provide standard net smelter royalties to the landowners. "Our policy has been, and will continue to be, to focus on fee (private) land in the United States, including patented mining claims," Walters said, " because they will not be subject to the uncertainty of royalties which we believe will be included in pending federal mining legislation."

Historic prospecting and mining have taken place on all three properties, which are now used for rangeland, and the Company currently does not foresee difficulties in obtaining appropriate county and state exploration permits.

Yamana Resources is a Canadian exploration company now holding interests in 78 properties covering 13,250 square miles in the United States, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. This includes 10,400 square miles on the island of Kalimantan, Indonesia, where the company is exploring extensive areas near the Busang gold deposit.

((x)Conversion factors: 1 acre = .40 hectares / 1 square mile = 2.59 square kilometers / 1 mile = 1.61 kilometers / 1 ounce = 31.1 grams / 1 foot = 0.30 meters )

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and reserves, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Yamana, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Yamana's expectations are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Yamana's documents filed from time to time with The Toronto Stock Exchange, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Yamana or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice.

NOTE: There is a map available from Yamana at the telephone number listed below and also on CCN INTERNET http://www.cdn-news.com

CONTACT: Yamana Resources Inc.

Greg W. Taylor, 509/838-6615

509/838-0714 (FAX)

http://www.yamana.com (Internet)