Solitaire adds to Riou Lake Property landholdings in Athabasca basin

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

December 7, 2004: Solitaire Minerals Corp. (the Company) is pleased to announce it has increased its landholdings by an additional 22,450 acres south of Riou Lake in northern Saskatchewan.

Under the recommendation of Mr. Jim Kermeen, M.Sc., P.Eng, the Company’s uranium advisor, Solitaire has staked additional ground surrounding its existing Riou Lake Center Property located in the Athabasca basin in northern Saskatchewan. The Riou Lake Center Property is still awaiting a formal agreement from the vendor. The Riou Lake North and Riou Lake South Property 100% owned by Solitaire consists of three claims covering 22,450 acres.



The Riou Lake claims which total 25,440 acres encompass the western extension of the Riou Lake fault system. This part of the fault was the first staked claim in the area because of the surface expression of the fault. The escarpment is displaced 180 feet above the surface and extends for 8 kms above surface. This scarp is unique in the Athabascca basin even though it is known from work on uranium deposits that there are other faults within the sandstone likely the result of continued activity on faults within the basement.

The regional gravity survey shows a gravity low coinciding with the scarp. This gravity low may indicate an alteration zone within the sandstone and possibly also the basement. The airborne magnetic and VLF-EM surveys carried out over the Riou Lake Center property in 1996 indicate that the magnetic responses are deep and largely due to responses from metamorphic rocks. The VLF survey shows a weak response coincident with the east-southeasterly trending scarp in the sandstone (Newson, N.R., 1997).

The Athabasca basin hosts several major uranium deposits including Cigar Lake and McArthur River, two of the highestgrade uranium deposits in the world. It is the most productive uranium producing region globally, accounting for approximately one third of the world's supply in 2003 (Cameco 2003).

Mr. Jim Kermeen, M.Sc., P.Eng, will be the Qualified Person on our Riou Lake properties.

About Solitaire Minerals Corp. Solitaire Minerals Corp. is a diversified junior Canadian mineral exploration company with a specific focus on mineral properties in North America. The Company has assembled a portfolio of precious and base metal exploration prospects in Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Solitaire's Ontario properties in the Red Lake/Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt include the Baird, Heyson and Chukuni River Prospects, in which the Company has agreements to earn 100% in, but has not yet vested its interest. In addition, the Company has entered into an option agreement with another company, whereby that company may earn up to a 50% interest in the Baird Property. In British Columbia, the Company has an agreement to earn 100% interest in the Union Mine Property, but has not yet vested its interest. In Saskatchewan, the Company has signed a purchase agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Highrock Lake property and a 90% interest in the Riou Lake Center Property and owns 100% of the Riou Lake North and Riou Lake South Property located in the Athabasca Basin.

For additional information you can contact Solitaire Minerals Corp. or visit www.solitaireminerals.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors
SOLITAIRE MINERALS CORP.
"Charles Desjardins"
Charles Desjardins
President and Director

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Statements in this press release other than purely historical information, including statements relating to the Company’s future plans and objectives or expected results, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company’s business, including risks inherent in resource exploration and development. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.