Strait Exercises Option to Acquire 100% of Alicia

Strait Minerals Inc. ("Strait" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE:SRD) is pleased to
report that it has exercised its option to earn a 100% interest in the Alicia
copper-gold property in Peru. The Company issued 400,000 common shares to Panoro
Minerals Ltd. (the "Vendor") as the final payment under the option agreement and
has expended in excess of US$1,250,000 ($2,945,152 actually expended to the end
of 2012) to earn its 100% interest under the option agreement.


Subsequent to entering into the option agreement with the Vendor, Strait granted
to Teck Peru S.A. ("Teck Peru"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Teck Resources
Limited ("Teck"), an option to earn up to a 75% interest in the property by,
among other things, spending $30 million on exploration or by spending $10
million on exploration and delivering a pre-feasibility study (news release
dated Dec. 9, 2011). Teck Peru's first $2-million of expenditures, or cash
payment in lieu of expenditures, is mandatory. To date Teck Peru has spent
approximately $1 million.


"With 100% ownership of Alicia, sufficient working capital and no expenditure
requirements, we are in a good position to wait for Teck to choose how it wishes
to proceed," said Strait President Jim Borland. "If Teck wants to continue
beyond 2013, it will exercise its three million warrants at $0.35 to net us just
over $1 million; if it fails to make the mandatory expenditure, it will pay us
in cash the balance of the mandatory expenditure."


Teck Peru plans to conduct a 6,000-metre drill program on the property in order
to incur its initial, mandatory exploration expenditure. A community agreement
for local employment, procurement and social benefits is in place as part of an
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that has been approved by the Ministry of
Mines for initial drilling. Drilling is set to commence upon receipt of a permit
to start from the Mines Ministry (news release dated Oct. 30, 2012).


Teck holds 3,000,000 share-purchase warrants giving it the right to acquire
3,000,000 common shares of the Company at $0.35 per share until December 31,
2013. Teck must exercise the warrants and Teck Peru must complete $4 million of
expenditures on the property in order to earn an initial 45% direct interest in
the property. Strait also receives a 10% administration fee for managing the
exploration program on Teck Peru's behalf.


Teck Peru conducted detailed mapping, sampling and geophysical surveys on the
property in 2012. Rock sampling defined a copper anomaly, with values greater
than 500 parts per million (ppm), over approximately 800 metres in a
northwest-southeast orientation associated with structural zones within the
porphyry intrusive. Soil sampling carried out to find extensions under cover
indicated an anomaly, defined by copper values greater than 1,000 ppm, that
extends for 3.4 kilometres in an east-west direction. This copper anomaly
correlates with a significant potassium-to-thorium ratio anomaly from a
radiometric survey suggesting the presence of coincident potassic alteration
under cover to the east and west. The 6,000-metre drill program has been
designed to test this porphyry potential.


A 2,000-metre drilling program at Alicia completed by the Company in 2011
intersected mineralized skarn material in all 15 holes drilled, generally on the
perimeter of the exposed porphyry (see news releases dated January 10 and March
29, 2011). Intersections of porphyry material from that program included: 129.5
metres (94.25 metres true width) grading 0.33% copper, 0.04 grams per tonne
(g/t) gold and 1.8 g/t silver in Hole ALC10-08; 134.0 metres grading 0.29%
copper, 0.03 g/t gold and 1.8 g/t silver in Hole ALC11-16 (true width not
applicable); and 198.5 metres grading 0.16% copper, 0.02 g/t gold and 1.7 g/t
silver in Hole ALC11-17 (true width not applicable).


Mapping and sampling also outlined a zone of polymetallic mineralization in
breccias and mantos in the previously unexplored southeast quadrant of the
property (see news release dated Dec. 10, 2012). Assay results of 73 chip
samples from this area, taken over sample widths of 0.5 to 6.0 metres, show high
values of lead (less than 0.01 to greater than 30%), zinc (0.01 to 15.12%) and
silver (0.3 to 989 grams per tonne) as well as significant values of gold (less
than 0.1 to 3.27 grams per tonne) and copper (less than 0.01 to 5.8%). 


The Company's 100% interest in Alicia is subject to a 2% net smelter return
royalty payable to the Vendor.


Quality Control and Quality Assurance 

All sampling at Alicia is supervised by Strait Minerals personnel. Samples are
placed in plastic sample bags that are closed with single use plastic ties.
Samples are securely stored in a locked room prior to transportation to Cusco by
Strait Minerals personnel. Samples are sent to AcmeLabs in Lima for preparation
before being couriered to the AcmeLabs in Santiago for assay. Acme's Santiago
facility is an ISO 9001:2000 registered laboratory. Samples are analyzed for
gold by fire assay followed by atomic absorption spectroscopic (AAS) finish and
by gravimetric finish for samples exceeding the upper limit of analysis (over
limit). Silver, copper, molybdenum, lead and zinc, together with 30 other
elements, were assayed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission
spectrometry (ICP-AES) following aqua regia dissolution. Samples with silver,
lead, zinc and copper assays above the upper limit for the ICP-AES technique
were re-assayed by atomic absorption (AA). Strait Minerals routinely carries out
a program of quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) that includes insertion
of blanks, standards and duplicates into the sample stream to verify results
prior to dissemination.


All of the Company's exploration programs are prepared by, or prepared under the
supervision of, Dr. Roger Moss, P.Geo., who serves as the Qualified Person as
defined by NI 43-101 and is a director of the Company. Dr. Moss has reviewed and
approved the technical content of this news release.


About Strait Minerals Inc.

Strait Minerals Inc. is a Canadian mineral exploration company active solely in
Peru since 2003 and listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. It holds a 100% interest
in the Alicia copper-gold property which lies within the Andahuaylas-Yauri
copper belt approximately 500 km southeast of Lima. Strait has granted Teck Peru
S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Teck Resources Limited, an option to earn up
to a 75% interest in the property by, among other things, spending $30 million
on exploration or by spending $10 million on exploration and delivering a
pre-feasibility study. The Company also holds an option to earn a 100% interest
in the Caribe copper-molybdenum property approximately 80 km west of Alicia and
holds a 100% interest in both the Letra Rumi South base metals property and the
Culebrilla precious metals property approximately 250 km north of Lima. The
Company continuously reviews exploration opportunities in Peru and is actively
seeking additional projects. Please visit our web site at
www.straitminerals.com.


Forward-Looking Statement: Some of the statements contained herein may be
forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties. Without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization
and resources, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of the
Company are forward looking statements that involve various risks. The following
are important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements:
changes in the world wide price of mineral commodities, general market
conditions, risks inherent in mineral exploration, risks associated with
development, construction and mining operations, the uncertainty of future
profitability and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. There can be
no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual
results and future events may differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. Strait undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking
statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change,
except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance
on such forward-looking statements.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: 
Strait Minerals Inc.
Jim Borland
President
416-223-9970
[e-mail]
www.straitminerals.com