SOLITARIO REDUCES ROYALTY AND OPTIONS SIGNIFICANT GOLD AND MOLYBDENUM DEPOSIT ON ITS MT. HAMILTON PROJECT, NEVADA

Denver, Colorado: Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp. (NYSE Amex: XPL; TSX: SLR) and Ely Gold & Minerals Inc. ("Ely" - including Ely Gold's 100%-owned US subsidiary DHI US; TSX.V: ELY) are pleased to announce that their joint venture, Mt. Hamilton LLC ("MH LLC"), has bought-down an existing 2.0% NSR royalty obligation on gold and silver production on the Mt. Hamilton gold project and has completed an initial evaluation of the Shell gold-molybdenum property optioned in the first quarter of 2011.  The Shell property comprises eight strategically located mining claims on the south side of the Mt. Hamilton project area.  Completion of the royalty buy-down along with the new potential on the Shell property significantly enhances overall project economics and exploration potential. Mt. Hamilton is situated at the southern end of the prolific Battle Mountain gold trend in eastern Nevada where Solitario is currently managing feasibility work.

Terms of the Royalty Reduction Purchase

MH LLC purchased the 2.0% NSR royalty for $2.52 million, consisting of $1.52 million in cash and $1.0 million by the delivery of 344,116 shares of Solitario.  Solitario contributed the entire purchase price and loaned Ely Gold its 20% proportionate share.  The loan to Ely Gold will bear interest at 6% per annum and will be repaid from Ely Gold's future production proceeds.   With the completion of the 2.0% NSR royalty reduction purchase, the royalty rate on gold and silver mineralization on the Mt. Hamilton gold project will be reduced to 1.0%, assuming MH LLC fully exercises its current option to further reduce the royalty from 6.0% to 1.0% for cash payments totaling $5.0 million to underlying royalty holders.  The $5.0 million NSR royalty reduction option is exercisable at any time prior to commercial production.  Closing of the royalty purchase, including the issuance of Solitario's common shares, is subject to customary approvals including required regulatory approval by the NYSE Amex Equities exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Shell Property

The Shell property contains significant deposits of both high-grade gold and molybdenum that were partially defined by drilling conducted 30 to 40 years ago, principally by Union Carbide.  Confirmatory drilling was subsequently conducted in 2006 and 2007.  Of the 40 holes drilled on the property, 23 contain significant intercepts of gold and/or molybdenum.  The Shell property, situated less than a mile from Mt. Hamilton's Centennial deposit, is subject to two leases previously controlled solely by Ely Gold.   

Shell Mineralization

The ten best pre-1983 drill hole intercepts are presented in Table 1 (gold) and Table 3 (molybdenum) and are historical in nature, requiring additional infill drilling before resources for the Shell gold deposit can be measured in a NI 43-101 compliant estimate.  Drill hole data presented in Table 2 (gold) and Table 4 (molybdenum) are from a 2006/2007 drill hole assay verification program conducted prior to Solitario's participation in the project.  The results of the verification program substantially confirm previous drilling.

The gold and molybdenum deposits are spatially associated, with a gently dipping tabular gold deposit situated coincident with, and more commonly, immediately below molybdenum mineralization.  Geologically, gold mineralization on the Shell property occurs along an unconformity between two rock formations associated with a paleo-surface and karst (cave) features.  Molybdenum mineralization is controlled by low angle fault structures in skarn rock. 

Chris Herald, President and CEO of Solitario commented, "The reduction in the NSR royalty rate at Mt. Hamilton adds significant economic value by reducing future total cash operating costs by nearly $30 per ounce at today's gold prices.  With the Shell property acquisition,  considerable upside for future high-grade resource expansion has been added to the project.  The gold mineralization at Shell is a natural fit with the Mt. Hamilton-Centennial gold deposit that we plan to take through feasibility.  The molybdenum mineralization also complements other known molybdenum-tungsten occurrences on the Mt. Hamilton property.  Both the gold and molybdenum grades for the Shell deposits are impressive and potentially underground mineable.  We anticipate additional exploration work to further define and expand resources on the property based on further analysis of the historical data."

"These developments point directly to Solitario's commitment to moving the Mt. Hamilton assets into production", according to Trey Wasser, Ely Gold's President & CEO. "The royalty reduction adds significantly to the already robust economics of the project and the Shell properties could allow for additional resource growth beyond what has been outlined in the current reports."

Cautionary Note:  Drill hole assay results presented in this news release are historical in nature and the accuracy of the data have not been independently verified by a Solitario qualified person.  However, based upon the quality of the data package and the companies that conducted the drilling and supervised the assaying procedures, Solitario believes the data to be substantially accurate.

Terms of the Shell Leases

The Shell property was acquired from Ely Gold by MH LLC, after amending some of the terms of its two underlying leases.  Solitario and Ely Gold equally contributed the $160,000 advanced royalty payments due the underlying owners.  In the future, MH LLC will be responsible for making advanced royalty payments of $160,000 per year to the lease holders for the next five years and conducting annual exploration work on the property ranging from $5,000 for the first year to $75,000 for year five and beyond.  Both Shell leases are subject to a 4.5% NSR royalty that can be reduced to 0.5% by making a $3.0 million cash payment to each royalty owner prior to commercial production.  MH LLC has the right to terminate the Shell leases at any time.

Terms of the Mt. Hamilton Joint Venture

Solitario and Ely Gold formed MH LLC, a limited liability company which now holds 100% of the Mt. Hamilton project assets under an Operating Agreement ("MH-Agreement").   Per the terms of the MH-Agreement, DHI-US, Ely Gold's wholly owned US subsidiary, currently has a 90% initial interest in MH LLC and Solitario has a 10% initial interest.  Solitario can earn up to an 80% interest in MH LLC by completing a feasibility study, arranging project financing, and making future property and advanced royalty payments.

For more information at Solitario, contact:

For more information at Ely Gold, contact:

The information contained in this release has been reviewed by Walter Hunt, Chief Operating Officer for Solitario, who is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Whereas the drilling programs were not directly supervised by Solitario, based upon the review, the information is believed to be substantially accurate.