Crosshair Announces Initial Uranium Resource at Bootheel

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 13, 2009) - Crosshair Exploration & Mining Corp. CXX(NYSE Amex:CXZ) ("Crosshair") is pleased to announce the results of the initial independent National Instrument (NI) 43-101 Mineral Resource estimate on the Bootheel Project, in southern Wyoming. The estimate includes an indicated resource of 1.09 million pounds of uranium oxide and an additional inferred resource of 3.25 million pounds of uranium oxide (see Table 1 for tonnage and grade details). The resource remains open for expansion with less than 60% of the historical resource area included in this initial estimate. In addition, a number of isolated above-grade intercepts have not been included in the resource pending additional delineation drilling. "We are very excited about this initial resource," says Stewart Wallis, President of Crosshair. "We have exceeded the minimum threshold for uranium deposits in this part of the world and plan on proceeding with additional drilling, permitting and a scoping study. When compared to other similar in-situ recovery (ISR) projects within the United States, the 14 foot average thickness of the Sundance Formation is greater than many comparable projects and should provide a significant benefit in reducing well field development costs by requiring fewer wells." /T/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE 1 Bootheel Mineral Resource Estimate as of August 13, 2009 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classification Formation Short tons % eU3O8 Pounds eU3O8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indicated Sundance 1,443,000 0.038 1,089,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inferred Sundance 3,637,000 0.031 2,268,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inferred Wind River 762,000 0.064 981,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inferred Total 4,399,000 0.037 3,249,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: 1. Mineral Resources are classified according to CIM Definition Standards, which are incorporated by reference in National Instrument 43-101. 2. Cut-off criteria for Sundance Mineral Resources are minimum grade of 0.015% U3O8, minimum thickness of 4 ft, and minimum grade x thickness (GT) product of 0.15% ft%. 3. Cut-off criteria for Wind River Mineral Resources are minimum grade of 0.020% U3O8, minimum thickness of 4 ft, and minimum GT of 0.15% ft%. 4. A long term price of US$70 per pound U3O8 is used for the Mineral Resource estimate. 5. A tonnage factor of 16 cubic feet per short ton was used for the Sundance and 15 cubic feet per short ton was used for the Wind River, based on density measurements. 6. High U3O8 grades have not been cut for the Mineral Resource estimate. /T/ Resource map is posted on the Company website at: http://www.crosshairexploration.com/i/pdf/Bootheel_Resource.pdf Uranium mineralization occurs within several different sandstone beds at the Bootheel Property. The majority of the resources are hosted by the Sundance Formation, which has demonstrated in the 2008 laboratory testing to have the potential to be recovered using ISR techniques (please refer to News Release dated February 5, 2009). The inferred resource includes approximately 70% of the total Sundance mineralization and all of the Wind River mineralization as there is less information regarding the Wind River's amenability to ISR, the lenses are more discontinuous and there is no laboratory data on permeability or porosity. ISR techniques are more environmentally friendly and less capital intensive than conventional mining methods. There are several ISR projects in Wyoming with resources less than two million pounds which are currently in the permitting process to be operated as satellite operation. With this type of operation, the uranium is recovered on resin pellets, which are then transported to another, licensed operation where the uranium is recovered. These operations have lower capital and potentially lower operating costs. No feasibility studies have been completed on these projects and there is no certainty the proposed operations will be economically viable. The Bootheel Property, together with the Buck Point Property, cover 8,524 acres of gross mineral lands within the Shirley Basin in southern Wyoming and make up The Bootheel Project, LLC. Crosshair, through a wholly owned subsidiary, and Ur-Energy Inc. URE(NYSE Amex:URG), are the members of The Bootheel Project, LLC. Crosshair is currently earning a 75% interest in the Project and anticipates completing its earn-in during this fiscal quarter. Resource Estimate Details The resource estimate for the Bootheel Project is based on results from 93 Crosshair drill holes totalling 50,163 feet (ft) and approximately 1,450 historic drill holes for which detailed information is available. William E. Roscoe, P. Eng. and Douglas H. Underhill, CPG of Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (SWRPA), Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101, are responsible for this Mineral Resource estimate and have reviewed and approved the technical data contained in this news release. This NI 43-101 compliant estimate will be filed in a Technical Report on SEDAR within 45 days. Mineral resources, which are not mineral reserves, have not demonstrated economic viability. Crosshair is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other issues which may materially affect its estimate of mineral resources. Crosshair compiled the drill hole database, prepared the geological interpretation and carried out the Mineral Resource estimate. SWRPA reviewed and accepted the Crosshair interpretation and Mineral Resource estimate. Crosshair estimated an approximate cut-off grade based on an estimated mining cost of $18 per pound of U3O8 and a US$70 per pound long term price of uranium. Operating costs for satellite operations are based on recent data derived from public reports. The resultant cut-off grade used for the Sundance resource is 0.015% eU3O8. For the Wind River resource, the cut-off was increased to 0.020% eU3O8 to allow for the possibility of lower recoveries in the formation and increased drill density required for the development of the well fields. The individual lenses of mineralization were drawn on cross sections and imported into Datamine where they were further interpreted on a section by section basis. Sections were cut east-west, north-south and northeast-southwest to aid in the interpretation. Since mineralization may occur at different horizons within the Sundance Formation, the various elevations were treated as separate units for ease of contouring. For the Wind River Formation, the geological interpretation was strongly influenced by the lithological logs and only mineralization hosted by sandstones or the basal conglomerate with a minimum thickness of four feet was included in the composite database used for the resource estimate. Composites within the selected formation were determined using the grade cut-off combined with a minimum GT of 0.15 ft%. Generally no more than 3 ft of intermediate material below cut-off between adjacent samples was included in the composites but in several cases interpretation suggested that the interval should be extended. Spacing of the drill holes varies but in general the Wind River and Sundance mineralization has been drilled on a spacing of 200 ft lines with drill holes 200 ft apart with the majority of the resources drilled off on 200 ft lines with drill holes 100 ft apart. All mineralized areas were classified as inferred resources except for one area in the Sundance Formation (Zone 6) where drill hole spacing was in the order of 100 ft. by 100 ft. to 150 ft., and resources were classified as indicated. The Sundance Formation resource was estimated using the contour method. The drill hole composites were plotted on horizontal plans depicting vertical thickness (T) and GT values for each midpoint of the mineralized intersection of the drill hole. The T and GT values were contoured on a horizontal plan and the areas between each contour were measured using MapInfo software. To obtain the volume of the mineralized zone, areas between each contour were multiplied by the average T value for each contour interval and summed. Tonnage was estimated by multiplying the total volume by the density of the appropriate formation. Average grade was estimated by dividing the total tonnage grade (Sum of G x Tons) by the tonnage. The Wind River resource estimate was estimated using a polygonal method whereby composites in the same drill hole are summed for the total thickness of mineralization. The composites were compiled using a cut-off of 0.02% eU3O8, a minimum 4 ft thickness and a GT of 0.15 ft%. For each polygon, an area of influence was limited to half the distance between neighbouring drill holes or a maximum of 200 ft, whichever was less. Crosshair's exploration work on the Bootheel project is supervised by Stewart Wallis, P.Geo., President of Crosshair and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Wallis has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release. About Crosshair Crosshair is a dominant player in the exploration and development of uranium in the US and Canada. Its flagship Project, Bootheel, is located in uranium mining friendly Wyoming and with its in-situ mining potential, Bootheel is designed for near term production. The Project is ventured with Ur-Energy, who bring with them additional management expertise to put Bootheel into production. The CMB Uranium Project is located in Labrador, Canada and has four currently defined resources - C Zone, Area 1, Armstrong and Two Time Zone. These assets fall outside of Labrador Inuit Lands and are therefore not directly impacted by the Nunatsiavut Government's decision in March 2008 to place a three year moratorium on uranium mining within their self-governed Labrador Inuit Lands. The Crosshair team is comprised of knowledgeable and experienced professionals with both exploration and mining backgrounds. For more information on Crosshair and its properties, please visit the website at: www.crosshairexploration.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Mark J. Morabito, Chief Executive Officer Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: the risks associated with outstanding litigation, if any; risks associated with project development; the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mining and mineral processing; fluctuations in uranium, gold and other commodity prices; title matters; environmental liability claims and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain officers, directors or promoters with certain other projects; the absence of dividends; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume; and tax consequences to U.S. shareholders. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Cautionary Note Concerning Reserve and Resource Estimates This press release uses the terms "reserves", "resources", "proven reserves", "probable reserves", "measured resources", "indicated resources" and "inferred resources". United States investors are advised that, while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian securities laws, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") does not recognize them. Under United States standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated resources will ever be converted into reserves. Inferred Resources are in addition to Measured and Indicated Resources. Further, inferred resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Therefore, United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of the inferred resources exist, or that they can be mined legally or economically. Disclosure of "contained ounces" is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations, however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report "resources" as in place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. Accordingly, information concerning descriptions of mineralization and resources contained in this release may not be comparable to information made public by United States companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the SEC. National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators, which established standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Unless otherwise indicated, all reserve and resource estimates referred to in this press release or released by the Company in the future have been or will be prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Classification System. The requirements of NI 43-101 are not the same as those of the SEC and any reserves reported by the Company in compliance with NI 43-101 may not qualify as reserves under the SEC's standards.