Duluth Metals ramps up winter exploration on Nokomis Deposit

TORONTO, March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Duluth Metals Limited ("Duluth") (TSX: DM) (TSX:DM.U) today announced progress on its current winter drilling program. The new drilling contract with IDEA Drilling of Virginia, Minnesota is directed towards further exploration of the company's two federal prospecting permits on the Nokomis Deposit near Ely, Minnesota.

Three diamond drill rigs have been deployed and have drilled four holes to date for 4,000 metres (13,000 ft.). Subject to winter conditions allowing drilling to the end of April 2010, the winter drilling program anticipates drilling thirteen holes on seven federally approved sites for a total of 11,000 metres (36,000 ft.). The winter drilling program includes both in-fill and step-out drilling on the Nokomis Deposit and targets the inferred resources with the anticipation of upgrading the resource estimate. Assaying of the core is being conducted by ALS Chemex, Vancouver, B.C.

Future contemplated drill programs will include targeting previously identified higher grade zones (six zones totaling 140 million tonnes Indicated Resource and 34 million tonnes Inferred Resource - see press release dated December 11, 2009), step-out drilling to determine the extent of the deposit, and in-fill drilling for mine planning and design, and environmental testing purposes.

"We're pleased to put the IDEA rigs back to work on the deposit and to add jobs to the Minnesota economy, including five additional staff to our Ely exploration office" said Dr. Henry J. Sandri, President and CEO of Duluth Metals. "With IDEA Drilling we have a strong Minnesota company that has many years of experience on the Range and the Duluth Complex. The contract allows the resumption of drilling which advances our development of the project."

The winter program comes on the heels of the January 14, 2010 announcement of a joint venture with Antofagasta plc. Antofagasta is one of the world's premier major copper producers with proven expertise in planning, building and operating large mining projects. The joint venture with Antofagasta accelerates Duluth Metals' activities over the next three years in developing the project and working with state and federal officials on environmental reviews and permitting. Activities such as exploratory and development drilling, mine planning, metallurgical testing, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies and continued environmental data collection and analysis will be the development focus for the next 24 months.

The Nokomis Deposit presently contains 550 million tonnes of Indicated Resources grading 0.639% copper, 0.200% nickel, 0.660 grams per tonne TPM (TPM = Pt + Pd + Au) for a copper equivalent (CuEq) grade of 1.51%, plus an additional 274 million tonnes of Inferred Resources grading 0.632% copper, 0.207% nickel, 0.685 grams per tonne TPM for a CuEq grade of 1.53% based on the Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. NI 43-101 Resource Estimate dated October 26, 2009. To date, only sixty percent of the Nokomis property area has been drilled, with 40 percent still unexplored, and prior to this current program, Duluth Metals completed over 153,000 metres (500,000 ft.) of diamond drilling on 155 holes and 67 wedge holes from 2006 to 2009, with every hole drilled to target depth intercepting mineralization in varying widths and grades. (See assay results on Sedar.com.)

David Oliver, P. Geo. is the Qualified Person and Project Manager for Duluth, in accordance with NI 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators, and is responsible for the technical content of this press release and quality assurance of the exploration data and analytical results.

About Duluth Metals

Duluth is committed to acquiring, exploring and developing copper, nickel and platinum group metal (PGM) deposits. Duluth's principal property is the Nokomis Property located within the rapidly emerging Duluth Complex mining camp in northeastern Minnesota. The Duluth Complex hosts one of the world's largest undeveloped repositories of copper, nickel and PGMs, including the world's third largest accumulation of nickel sulphides, and one of the world's largest accumulations of polymetallic copper and platinum group metals.

This document may contain forward-looking statements (including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) relating to Duluth's operations or to the environment in which it operates. Such statements are based on operations, estimates, forecasts and projections. They are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and may be beyond Duluth's control. A number of important factors could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements, including those set forth in other public filings. In addition, such statements relate to the date on which they are made. Consequently, undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements. Duluth disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, save and except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Duluth Metals Limited