Macarthur Minerals Commences 100,000 Metre Drill Programme for 2011

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES SERVICES OR FOR
DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES


Macarthur Minerals Limited (TSX VENTURE:MMS) ("the Company") is pleased to
advise that its 2011 field exploration programme has commenced with reverse
circulation ("RC") drilling at the company's Snark Hematite Project, located at
the northern end of the company's Lake Giles project.


The geological objectives of the 2011 field season are:



--  Increase the classification of its potential Direct Shipping Ore of
    Inferred Mineral Resource 18 million tonnes at 55.5% Fe to Indicated
    Mineral Resource classification. 
--  Drill out the remaining 15 DSO targets which are located over a 10km
    strike length within the company's key project areas of Snark, Central
    and Lost World-Banjo.  
--  Drill out the remaining five magnetite targets that are located over the
    60km strike length of the project. 
--  Diamond (HQ3) drill at Snark and Central for metallurgical and
    geotechnical purposes.  
--  Increase the classification of its Inferred Mineral Resources for the
    Lake Giles project of 1,316 Mt at 30.1% Fe to Indicated Mineral Resource
    classification. 
--  Increase the combined Mineral Resource Estimate to 1.5 Bt for the Lake
    Giles project. 
--  Drill out the remaining ten channel iron ("CID") targets. 



Drilling Program 2011

The company has a second RC drill rig and a diamond drill rig booked for March
to deliver this significant drilling program. The second RC drill rig will focus
on the Moonshine Magnetite deposit where an Inferred Mineral Resource of 710Mt
at 30.6% Fe has been reported. 


The company has planned a staged drilling programme of 100,000 metres during the
2011 program. This represents the most comprehensive and focused drilling
program undertaken by Macarthur Minerals and is designed to advance the
geological and metallurgical certainty of the Lake Giles magnetite and hematite
resources. This program will transform MMS from a pure exploration focus to a
development focused company. 


Snark DSO Project

The company has completed a total 46 holes for 1,967 metres since drilling
commenced with every hole drilled intersecting potential DSO hematite/goethite
(assay results pending). The company has planned a total of 150 RC holes at
Snark and believes there is considerable opportunity to increase the Mineral
Resource Estimate. 


The Snark Mineral Resource is held under a granted Mining lease.

Moonshine Magnetite Project

The company has planned a total of 100 RC drill holes for infill drilling and to
increase the tonnage of the current resource.


Metallurgy

Taking into consideration the tonnage potential at Snark, a total of 10 HQ
Diamond drill holes are planned for metallurgical purposes. The two diamond
holes completed last year at Moonshine (Magnetite) will be processed and used to
confirm the indicative metallurgy results in the scoping study.


Environmental

The environmental activities undertaken to date include baseline surveys
ensuring the acquisition of necessary environmental approvals for exploration
from the Department of Mines and Petroleum in consultation with Department of
Environment and Conservation. In addition, pre-clearance surveys, as required
under the Heritage Act, have been completed. Several baseline surveys are
scheduled for 2011 towards achieving environmental impact assessment and
environmental approvals for mining.


Prefeasibility Studies

The geological and metallurgical work conducted this year will be the basis for
the Company's Prefeasibility Study for its planned DSO operation and for the
Prefeasibility Study for its magnetite project.


Macarthur Minerals President, Mr Alan Phillips, stated, "The Company has planned
a significant geological programme this year. The initial focus is on our Snark
project and then drilling will progress south to the Central project area which
may allow an increased production profile if the Mineral Resources are
delineated."


QUALIFIED PERSON 

Mr. Andrew Spinks B.App.Sc, Grad.Dip (Mining), a member of AusIMM, and an
independent consultant geologist, is a Qualified Person as defined in National
Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"),
in charge of the exploration on the Lake Giles project.


Further information on Macarthur Minerals Limited and technical reports on the
Lake Giles project can be found on the company's website
www.macartherminerals.com or www.sedar.com. 


ABOUT MACARTHUR MINERALS LIMITED (TSX VENTURE:MMS) 

Macarthur Minerals Limited, is a Perth, Australia based resource development
company that is currently focused on developing its Lake Giles Iron Ore project,
located in the Yilgarn iron ore district in Western Australia. The Lake Giles
project is located 110Km from rail with direct access to the Port of Esperance,
Western Australia. The project has a resource of 1.3 billion tonnes of Magnetite
mineralization that has been reported in accordance with National Instrument
43-101, and 18 million tonnes of potential Direct Shipping Ore (DSO)
Goethite/Hematite at 55.5% Fe. 


On behalf of the Board of Directors,

MACARTHUR MINERALS LIMITED

Alan Phillips, President, Chairman & CEO