VAL-D'OR, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - March 22, 2012) - Cartier Resources Inc (TSX VENTURE:ECR) ("Cartier") announces the signing of an option and joint venture agreement with SOQUEM Inc ("SOQUEM").

Under the terms of the agreement, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, Cartier has an option to earn a 50% undivided interest in the Fenton Project hosting a deposit of the same name, located 47 km southwest of the town of Chapais (Figure 1), in the province of Quebec.

More specifically, Cartier will have an option to earn a 50% undivided interest in the project by: (i) issuing 50,000 common shares to SOQUEM upon receipt of regulatory approvals; and (ii) incurring exploration expenditures aggregating $1,500,000 by March 21, 2015. In addition, Cartier has a firm commitment to invest $500,000 in exploration work over the first year, and to issue 50,000 common shares to SOQUEM on each of the first and second anniversaries of the agreement. SOQUEM will be the operator. After the Company earns its undivided interest of 50%, SOQUEM and Cartier will form a joint venture.

"This agreement provides the Company with an advanced exploration project and forges close ties with a quality partner", commented Philippe Cloutier, President and CEO. "The SOQUEM team has built a solid project containing historical resources, and has advanced it to the drilling stage. The goal of next year's work program will be to increase the volume of known mineralization and expand the project's potential."

SOQUEM's mechanical stripping program in 2009 produced gold-bearing channel samples over a distance of 350 metres within the known mineralized envelope of the Fenton deposit. Below are some of the recently obtained results consisting of weighted averages across a width for consecutive samples:

--  9.90 g/t Au / 13.5 m (MF(1): 133.65) Channel completed by Exploration
    Boreale in 1998 
    
--  8.48 g/t Au / 13.5 m (MF: 114.48) Twinning of the previous channel by
    SOQUEM in 2009 
    
--  3.99 g/t Au / 27.0 m (MF: 107.73) Channel by SOQUEM in 2009 
    
--  8.85 g/t Au / 11.0 m (MF: 97.35) Channel completed by Exploration
    Boreale in 1998 
    
--  6.20 g/t Au / 12.0 m (MF: 74.40) Same Channel as previous with grade cut
    to 34 g/t Au 
    

(1) The Metal Factor (MF) is the grade multiplied by sample length; it represents the amount of metal contained in the rock.

Previous work(2) on the Fenton Project claims focused on updating information about the Fenton deposit and led to an eventual (historical) resource calculation. The Fenton deposit was discovered in 1948 by Consolidated Mining and Smelting Corporation. The historical mineral resource estimate stands at 426,173 tonnes with an average grade of 4.66 g/t Au, representing 63,885 ounces of gold using a lower cut-off grade of 2.0 g/t Au and a minimum true width of 1.0 metre. This calculation, performed by Exploration Boreale Inc (Denis Chenard, ing., 2000; Sudbury Contact Mines Ltd press release issued September 18, 2001), predates the implementation of the regulation respecting standards of disclosure for mineral projects ("Regulation 43-101"). Cartier and its qualified persons have reviewed the information and work related to the Fenton Project and will provide updates through future press releases. Additional drilling is needed to better define and increase the gold resource of the Fenton deposit.

To date, 111 holes totalling 18,464 m have been drilled on the Fenton deposit, mainly testing the first 100 metres below surface. There is a good possibility of increasing the quantity of contained gold ounces in the Fenton deposit along lateral extensions and at depth, and this for each of the five known gold zones within a 350-metre-long mineralized envelope.

(2) Cartier believes the information is reliable, but has not re-assayed any of the drill core. Additional drilling will be necessary to confirm the results from previous drilling programs.

"Our review of the previous data suggests that the Fenton gold zone is still open laterally and at depth. The project as a whole presents considerable exploration upside for discovering new mineralized zones, mainly within a 10-km2 area trending north-northwest, marked by a strong magnetic signature and containing many unexplored anomalies", concluded Mr Cloutier.

The claims comprising the project are easily accessible using logging roads, and are located at latitude 49 degrees 31' N and longitude 75 degrees 22' W, placing it within the boundaries of the land covered by the Quebec government's Plan Nord, the southern limit of which is latitude 49 degrees. The project comprises 91 mineral titles totalling 4,686.23 ha in NTS map sheet 32G11, in the south-central part of Guercheville Township, some 47 km southwest of the Municipality of Chapais, 61 km east of the operational mill at the Bachelor mine, and 100 km east-northeast of the operational mill at the Gonzague-Langlois mine (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Location map of Fenton Project claims

About SOQUEM and Investissement Quebec

SOQUEM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Investissement Quebec. Investissement Quebec's mission is to promote growth and investment in Quebec, thereby contributing to economic development and job creation in all regions of the province. The Corporation offers businesses a full range of financial solutions, including loans, loan guarantees, and equity investments to provide support at every stage of their development. It also administers tax measures and oversees prospecting for foreign investment.

About Cartier

The Company's objective is to set up a dynamic process which will allow it to develop and maintain a balanced portfolio of mining projects ranging from exploration to resource definition, development and production. Its vision is to develop the company's current and future assets into near to medium term mineral production with a schedule consistent with its human and financial resources and respecting sustainable development practices.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

The scientific and/or technical information presented in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Philippe Berthelot, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration for Cartier. Mr. Berthelot is a qualified person as defined by Regulation 43-101.

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.