Merc Staking Program Expands NWT Land Package by 241%

TORONTO, April 26 /CNW/ -- 
TORONTO, April 26 /CNW/ - Merc International Minerals Inc. (TSXV: MRK) ("Merc")  announced today that it has successfully staked an additional 79
 mining claims (148,318 acres or 60,022 hectares), achieving another
 significant milestone in its consolidation of the prolific Indin Lake
 Gold Camp located in the Northwest Territories.  Merc now controls the
 majority of the prospective Indin Lake Greenstone belt in this historic
 gold camp with a total ground position now comprising 209,763 acres or
 84,888 hectares.  The newly staked ground consists of several new gold
 prospects incremental to Merc's previously reported acquisitions (see
 news releases January 10, 2011 and January 20, 2011), some of which lie
 contiguous to the former producing Colomac Gold Mine and host similar
 geological and deposit characteristics.  Merc's land position now
 includes the Diversified, North Inca, Lexindin, Treasure Island, Damoti
 Lake, Echo Indin, and Fishhook gold deposits as well as ten additional
 historic gold showings.  Merc is actively drilling the Diversified,
 North Inca, Lexindin and Treasure Island deposits, and as part of the
 on-going approximately 7,000 metre drill program, will expand
 activities to explore its additional deposits in the near future.


The newly staked ground has significantly expanded Merc's gold
 exploration targets within an area that lies along the West Bay - Indin
 Lake Fault Zone, a regional structure that extends over 200 km from the
 shores of Great Slave Lake to areas north of the Indin Lake Belt.  This
 fault zone contains both the Giant and Con gold mines (approximately 13
 million ounces of production) to the south and the Colomac Gold Mine
 (approximately 500,000 ounces production) within its northern extent. 
 Merc believes this structure has played a major role in the development
 and localization of Indin Lake gold mineralization;  much the same role
 as that of other large regional fault zones, such as the
 Destor-Porcupine Fault's influence on gold deposit formation within the
 Timmins Gold Camp. The Indin Lake Greenstone belt remains one of the
 few under-explored historic gold camps in Canada.


To view a map of the Indin Lake property, please go to http://files.newswire.ca/926/merc_0426.pdf


Property Highlights


Fishhook Property


The Fishook property is located 11 kilometres southwest of the Damoti
 Lake gold deposit. The geological setting is similar to that of the
 Damoti Lake deposit consisting of folded, sulphidized, banded iron
 formation within a sedimentary stratigraphy.  Gold is reported from
 twelve separate occurrences within the area, of which a number have
 been previously drilled.  The majority of the holes were laid out to
 test shallow (less than 100 meters) mineralization.  Drill intersection
 highlights include: 13.6 metres of 6.70 grams gold per tonne, 13.9
 metres of 5.02 grams gold per tonne, 6.3 metres of 8.07 grams gold per
 tonne, 3.0 metres of 13.93 grams gold per tonne, and 1.6 metres of
 19.78 grams gold per tonne.  Merc is planning a surface mapping and
 prospecting program this summer and drilling will be contingent upon
 the results of that work.


Andy Lake Property


The property is located northwest of Damoti Lake and just east of Indin
 Lake. Historic work was limited to surface sampling of quartz stockwork
 veins in shear zones between volcanic rocks and granite intrusions
 where assays up 8.05 grams gold per tonne were reported. No drilling
 has been conducted in this area.  Merc intends to prospect the showing
 as part of this summer's field program.


West Cass Property


Located at the west end of Indin Lake, the West Cass property lies
 within the mafic volcanic - sedimentary rock contact zone, a setting
 similar to the Diversified, North Inca, Lexindin, and Kim gold
 deposits. Historic surface sampling of quartz veins returned assays up
 to 5.96 grams gold per tonne, and surface grab samples up to 52.8 grams
 gold per tonne. Three short holes were previously drilled to test the
 vein structure with assays as high as 7.80 grams gold per tonne
 reported. Additional work is planned by Merc in 2011 prior to drilling.


Knob Lake Property


The Knob Lake property is located 5.0 kilometres northeast of the
 Diversified Mine within a prominent shear zone cutting sedimentary
 rocks; a setting similar to that described for the Diversified and
 North Inca gold deposits.  Historic sampling was limited to surface
 grab and channel samples taken from shear hosted quartz carbonate
 stockwork veins that returned values up to 8.35 grams gold per tonne. 
 Drilling will be contingent upon the results of the 2011 summer work
 program.


About Merc International Minerals Inc.


Merc is a Canadian-based exploration company focused on acquiring and
 developing gold mineral properties in the Northwest Territories. Its
 primary land position covers 209,763 acres or 84,888 hectares in the
 Indin Lake Gold Camp, located approximately 200 kilometres north of
 Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.


The technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved
 by Merc Director, Dr. Michael J. Byron, a Qualified Person under NI
 43-101.


Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
 that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
 accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.


Forward-Looking Statements


Certain information set forth in this news release may contain
 forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown
 risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject
 to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the
 control of Merc, including, but not limited to, the impact of general
 economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity
 prices, risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results
 and estimates, currency fluctuations, dependency upon regulatory
 approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing and
 exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in
 the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at
 the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue
 reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. This press
 release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to
 buy or sell securities in the United States.


To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2011/26/c6721.html



p bDavid Wiley, President and CEO/bbr/ Merc International Minerals Inc.br/ [phone]br/ [phone] (FAX)br/ Email: a href="mailto:[e-mail]"[e-mail]/u/a /p p align="justify" bMehdi Azodi, Vice President Investor Relations /bbr/ Merc International Minerals Inc.br/ [phone]br/ [phone] (FAX)br/ Email: a href="mailto:[e-mail]"[e-mail]/u/a /p 

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