Hunter Bay Minerals Channel Sampling Intercepts Significant Results at the Sela Creek Project

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM -- (Marketwire) -- 11/03/11 -- Hunter Bay Minerals plc (TSX VENTURE: HBY) ('Hunter Bay') is pleased to announce that it has received an initial batch of assay results from its channel sampling program at Sela Creek. Highlights of the sampling program include nine meters at 13.6 g/t gold from the Cambior Pit and twelve meters at 1.63 g/t gold from the Jons Pit prospect. Assay results are still pending for a number of channel samples within the highly prospective Jons Pit-Texas trend, where in-situ mineralization has now been observed over a total strike length of seven kilometers (Figure 1).

Artisanal miners at the Cambior Pit (Figure 2) have exploited a sheeted quartz vein zone that is up to 10 meters wide and has a strike length of over 700 meters. Veins generally dip sub-vertically and are hosted at the contact between a granitoid and schist. The latest channel sample results from the Cambior Pit include:

--  9.0 meters at 13.6 g/t gold (from 2.0 to 11.0 meters, CH011), including
    --  1.0 meter at 36.92 g/t gold (from 3.0 to 4.0 meters), and
    --  2.0 meters at 39.43 g/t gold (from 5.0 to 7.0 meters)

The Jons Pit prospect (Figure 3) comprises a number of artisanal pits which have been excavated along a northwest trending shear zone with a strike length of at least 1.3 kilometers. The mineralized section of the shear zone is between 1 to 10 meters wide and gold mineralization is associated with lenticular quartz veins and silica altered, limonite-stained schist. The latest channel sample results from the Jons Pit include:

--  12.0 meters at 1.63 g/t gold (from 22.0 to 34.0 meters, CH005),
    including
    --  2.0 meters at 2.25 g/t gold (from 26.0 to 28.0 meters), and
    --  1.0 meter at 7.11 g/t gold (from 32.0 to 33.0 meters)

--  3.0 meters at 4.32 g/t gold (from 11.0 to 14.0 meters, CH006), including
    --  1.0 meter at 12.22 g/t gold (13.0 to 14.0 meters)

Hunter Bay continues to receive assay results from the ongoing soil and channel sampling exploration program. To date, soil sample assay results has defined a one kilometer long, northwest trending gold in soil anomaly, immediately to the northwest of the Cambior Pit. A gold in soil anomaly has also been defined at the western end of the Central Ridge prospect and a westerly extension of the soil sampling grid in this area is planned.

Hunter Bay considers both soil anomalies highly significant, as they delineate gold anomalism above an elongate magnetic low anomaly defined by airborne geophysics, a signature suggestive of an altered intrusive. It is also significant that alluvial gold has been worked from all drainages shedding from the Central Ridge area but to date the primary source of the gold has not been identified.

About Sela Creek

The Sela Creek Project is a vein, shear and intrusion-hosted, grass root stage, gold exploration target located in eastern Suriname. The project is hosted in a Proterozoic Greenstone Belt within the Guiana Shield. The Guiana Shield is a cratonal block that was joined to the West Africa craton prior to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean and shares similar geology and hosts similar multi-million ounce vein and shear hosted gold deposits. The surface geology of Sela Creek shares many similarities with the Rosebel (IAMGold) and Nassau (Newmont) deposits in Suriname and the Aurora deposit (Guyana Goldfields) in Guyana. To date all of the multi-million ounce hard-rock discoveries within the Guiana Shield of southern Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana have been discovered either beneath, or proximal to, extensive artisanal workings.

The Sela Creek Project is defined at surface by extensive alluvial workings which cover an area of approximately 40 square kilometers (Figure 4) and historic evidence suggests that artisanal miners have produced over 0.5 Moz of alluvial gold. At the center of the alluvial workings local miners have excavated numerous shallow (less than 20 m deep) open pits along the 7 kilometer long strike length of the Cambior-Jons pit trend (e.g. Figure 5).

To view Figures 1-5 please click on: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/hby113.pdf

Miners have targeted gold in saprolite formed by weathering of bedrock. The shallow pits have exposed three main styles of mineralization; sub-vertical mesothermal quartz veins and lenses which are spatially related to regional shear zones and contacts with felsic intrusive bodies; limonitic and silica altered shear zones which are interpreted as the supergene surface expression of quartz-sulphide mineralized shear zones; and variably quartz-veined intrusive rocks.

The channel samples highlighted in this new release have now confirmed the potential of quartz vein zones to host high grade gold mineralization over significant widths. In addition to the artisanal workings of the Cambior-Jons pit trend, Hunter Bay has recently identified a number of outlying artisanal workings which require follow-up exploration work.

Hunter Bay is the first company to explore the Sela Creek Project using modern methods. Since commencing exploration in Q1 of 2011 Hunter Bay has completed a 4986 kilometer aeromagnetic, radiometric and XDS VLF-EM survey, collected more than 900 soil samples over an area of approximately 5 by 10 kilometers, and taken over 500 select rock-chip and channel samples along the 7 kilometer long Cambior-Jons Pit Trend. The work to date has identified numerous high priority drill targets considered favourable for near-surface oxide gold mineralization and deeper hypogene vein-style, shear-hosted and intrusion-hosted gold mineralization. Subject to drill rig availability, Hunter Bay are planning to commence a scout diamond drill program of approximately 5,000 meters in Q1 2012.

Hunter Bay has a well-established field base at Sela Creek and employs up to 15 local workers on a contract basis to assist with sampling and logistics as required. Hunter Bay will commence initial drill pad preparation next month.

Assay Procedure

Sample preparation and gold fire assay was carried out by The Assay Office (Suriname), Paramaribo, Suriname. The laboratory is not certified. The Assay Office includes routine Canadian Certified Reference Materials (CCRM), in-house standards and blank samples with each sample submission. Hunter Bay inserts its own routine QAQC samples, including gold certified reference material and blank material which are routinely checked. Hunter Bay ensures that chain-of-custody is maintained at all time from point of collection to delivery to the assay laboratory.

Andrew Tunningley, MAusIMM (CP), a director of Hunter Bay, is a Qualified Person as defined in National instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects is responsible for the work program on the Sela Creek Project. Mr. Tunningley has supervised and approved all technical information contained in this news release.

About Hunter Bay

Hunter Bay is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral resource properties located in Canada and South America. Hunter Bay currently owns a one-hundred percent (100%) interest in the Great Bear Lake Properties located in the eastern side of Great Bear Lake NWT, has an option to acquire up to an eighty percent (80%) interest in the Sela Creek Project located in Suriname and has an option to acquire a forty five percent (45%) interest in the net profits of the Fortuna Project located in the Nambija Gold District, Ecuador.

Hunter Bay also has the right to operate the alluvial tailings within the Mazaruni and Puruni Permits (the 'Mazaruni and Puruni Operating Rights'). The operation of the alluvial tailings will be done under a 70/30 joint venture with the vendor of the Mazaruni and Puruni Operating Rights and will be subject to a 15% royalty payable to the owner of the Mazaruni and Puruni Permits.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Hunter Bay cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Hunter Bay's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Hunter Bay's ability to complete the proposed soil sampling program on the Sela Creek Project, Hunter Bay's limited operating history; the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations; and potential defects in title to Hunter Bay's properties. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially form the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Hunter Bay undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Hunter Bay Minerals plc

Bridge House, London Bridge

London, England SE1 9QR

Christopher Wilson, CEO and President

( 44) 207-127-9125