Gulfside Secures Port Snettisham Magnetite Iron Ore Property

TSX.V – GMG

Highlights:

        --  Gulfside and Pacific Rim agreement for option to acquire 100%
            interest in Port Snettisham Magnetite Iron Ore Deposit, Alaska
        --  Aggregate consideration for 100% interest is $3,770,000 plus
            2.5% NSR royalty
        --  Significant exploration including geophysics and 11 hole drill
            program, metallurgy and benefication work completed by previous
            explorers
        --  64.5% Fe pellet feed fines produced with 0.01% S and 0.04% P
        --  Deposit appears suitable for fines, pellet feed or iron ore
            pellet production

VANCOUVER, Feb. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Robert L. Card, President of Gulfside
Minerals Ltd. (“Gulfside” or the “Company”), is pleased to report that on October 19,
2011, the TSX Venture Exchange accepted for filing an option agreement
(the “Port Snettisham Agreement”) between Gulfside and Pacific Rim
Mineral, LLC (the “Vendor”) pursuant to which the Company has the
option to acquire up to a 100% interest in 49 contiguous claims 
covering 1,012 acres that comprise the Port Snettisham property,
located about 30 miles (50 km) southeast of Juneau, Alaska.

The aggregate consideration payable by the Company over a seven year
period ending October 31, 2018 is $3,770,000 cash ($120,000 cash
payable in the first year).  In addition, the Company must incur
aggregate exploration expenditures on the property of $3,300,000 by
October 31, 2018 ($150,000 to be incurred in the first year).  The
Vendor is entitled to a 2.5% NSR on the property with the Company
having the right to reduce the NSR to 1.5% by paying $1,500,000 cash. 
A finder’s fee of $22,000 cash was paid.

This project is a titaniferous (Ilmenite) magnetite deposit on the
Snettisham Peninsula, however, there has been no Fe(2)TiO(4) discovered so far,(1) which is less commercially viable than Ilmenite occurring with
Magnetite.  Ilmenite is the predominate TiO(2) oxide present as needles in the Hornblendite.  Ore has been subjected
to several programs of beneficiation test work and reports indicate
that the ore is amenable to magnetic separation.  It is possible to
produce iron ore fines or pellet feed containing in excess of 64% Fe
(Magnetic).(2) The concentrate can then be smelted using an oxygenated furnace (KOBM
process)(3) to produce pig iron and a slag containing high TiO(2) values.

The first major effort to explore the iron potential of the deposit was
conducted in the 1950′s by the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of
Mines,(4) who drilled 11 holes, conducted a geophysical survey over the body, and
had beneficiation tests done on the ore samples.  A section of 1900
feet of the deposit was explored to a depth of 1000 feet, totaling
6,546 linear feet of drill holes.  This program reported good results
with assays of 11%-48% Fe total, with a composite from one of the cores
showing 18.9 Fe%, 2.6% TiO(2), 0.29% S, 0.32%P, and 0.05%V. Benefication of the iron ore samples
involved crushing to 150 mesh and with dry magnetic separation.  The
analysis reported 61-64% Fe total, 3.5% TiO(2), 0.4% S, and 0.01% P.

Tenements Under Option

The magnetite-bearing diorite-hornblendite-pyroxenite intrusive occupies
a land area of approximately 390 acres along the northeast shore of the
Snettisham Peninsula. It appears the magnetite formed during a
pegmatite alteration phase.

Isomagnetic lines at 2,000 Gamma intervals depicting areas of high
magnetism and diamond drill holes from the work done by Thorne and
Wells.

A high magnetic anomaly occurs near Sentinel Point and the intensity
reduces to the east.   Further work is planned to determine the extent
of the magnetite mineralization and whether the magnetite
mineralization is evenly distributed through the hornblendite-diorite
and the large magnetite intrusions up to 1.5 metres wide identified by
the USGS in the early 1920′s.

Tailings from the Friday Gold Mine located nearby also showed
significant magnetite mineralization implying that the intrusion maybe
be part of an IOCG (Iron Ore Copper Gold) system well known for massive
magnetite mineralization.  A high magnetic anomaly extends for over a
four square mile area (1036.4 hectares).(Thorne and Wells, 1956)

Tests on eight samples conducted by the University of California(5) using a Davis Tube Test to determine the extent of recovery of magnetic
iron yielded between 85% and 95% recovery indicated a high degree of
magnetic recovery ideal for dry separation processing.  Some of the
titanium oxide Ilmenite crystals were liberated during the crushing
process, which was crushed to a size of 5-100 mesh.  Mineralogical work
also identified the Ilmenite crystals forming discretely in the diorite
containing the magnetite.

In 1953, the USGS Mines Department Territory Office in Juneau, conducted
a drilling program planned around a magnetic survey that had been
conducted previously which showed the typical lensoidal occurrence of
magnetite intrusions in diorite.  The drill hole put down at 30%
inclination intercepted 350 feet (106 metres) of magnetic magnetite
mineralization.  A grab sample program of glacial detritus, rock chip
outcrop samples showed soluble Fe from 19% to 48% Fe (the magnetic
content was not determined and insoluble Fe was 3.5%).

The Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company, in 1950, analysed 5 samples from
the area and determined Fe total to be between 38.5% and 54.2% Fe. 
Significantly the phosphorous was 0.07%.  The Alaskan Department of
Mines Assay Office did a similar analysis and the average of the
samples was 46.30% Fe, 0.69% P(2)O(5) and S 0.69%.  The titanium values ranged from 5.04% to 8.06%.  Silica
and alkali values were also considered acceptable for commercial iron
ore concentrate.  The analysis was obtained from a finely crushed
concentrate of the samples.  The Office concluded the ore was suited to
magnetic concentration.

The US Bureau of Mines in 1964 (Holmes and Banning) took 3.5 tonnes of
magnetite concentrate from Snettisam and successfully produced
concentrates using wet and dry magnetic separation techniques.  The
maximum iron liberation occurred at a crush size of 100 mesh (a range
from 20 to 325 mesh was tested).  An electric furnace was used to
produce pig iron from the ores and good quality pig iron was produced
with 95.6% Fe from the sample.

In 1969, Marcona Corporation optioned the iron ore deposit and carried
out extensive exploration including diamond drilling and metallurgical
tests. It was reported in the Toyko Press (Nihon Keizai April 14, 1969)
that Marcona Corporation and the Marubeni Company of Japan, had
developed plans to pellitize two to four million tons of iron ore
annually. In 1970, Marcona completed a feasibility study on the deposit
and announced plans to put the deposit into production at a rate of 5
million tons of concentrate per year over a 50 year mine life. (State
of Alaska, Mines Bulletin, February 1970.)  The plan failed when iron
ore prices declined.

Gulfside is currently preparing an exploration plan which will include:

        --  Reconnaissance of the historical data and grid soil and rock
            chip sampling with an XRF gun and magnetic susceptibility
            meter.
        --  An outcrop and trenching sampling study using a magnometer to
            correlate Fe with magnetic susceptibility.  Mineralogy and
            petrology studies will also be conducted to analyse the
            presence of the titanium and vanadium mineralization in the
            magnetite and the extent of silica, sulphur, phosphorous and
            alkalis.
        --  A ground based IP magnetic and gravity study to identify key
            changes in mineralogy and the extent of mineralization.  No
            gravity surveys have been completed to date and this will be
            completed prior to a drilling phase.
        --  A diamond drilling program directed by the results of the above
            two studies that will allow suitable targets to be identified
            so that a Resource Estimate can be produced followed by a
            Feasibility Study.
        --  A benefication study using samples to ensure the results are
            statistically significant and the proposed benefication process
            design is proven at pilot plant size.  Given the high cost of
            crushing to 100 mesh this stage is particularly important to
            the success of the project.
        --  The tenement is conveniently located on the Pacific Coast,
            close to the capital of Alaska, Juneau and a major bulk
            commodity port Skagway. There is a major shipping route to
            Japan, Korea and China and the distance is 7,870 km compared to
            Brazil to China being 11,000 km.

As at February 2, 2012, the Metal Bulletin CFR Price Index for 62% Fe
iron ore is $143.06 per tonne.

The information contained in this release has been obtained from
previous exploration reports and government records and have not been
verified.

Phillip Thomas, BSc., MBM, MAIG, Vice President and a consultant to the
Company, the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101,
has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

Gulfside Minerals Ltd.

“Robert L. Card”

Robert L. Card

President

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: This document includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning GMG’s
planned exploration programs and other statements that are not
historical facts. When used in this document, the words such as
“could,” “plan,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “potential,”
“should,” and similar expressions are forward-looking statements.
Although GMG believes that its expectations reflected in these forward
looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and
uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be
consistent with these forward-looking statements. Important factors
that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking
statements are disclosed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere
in the corporation’s periodic filings with Canadian securities
regulators.

(1) Dahlin, D.C. 1951-  Benefication of potential platinum resources from
south eastern Alaska.  (report of investigations/United States
Department of Interior, Bureau of Mines;8553, electron microprobe
analysis

(2) Holmes, Wesley T, Electric smelting of titaniferous iron ores from
Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming, by Wesley T Holmes II and Llyod H 
Banning (Washington) US Department of Interior Bureau of Mines  1964

(3) Freislich, Michiel, Sunil, Kumar Dr,  Towards energy efficient iron and
steel making – the greenhouse carbon abatement process (G-Cap) July
2009

(4) Thorne R L, Wells R. R. Studies of the Snettisham Magnetite Deposit,
South Eastern Alaska United States Department of Interior February 1956

(5) Mitchell D. W. University of California, Berkeley 4, California USA
Letter to Guy F Atkinson Company setting out assay results of samples
submitted

SOURCE Gulfside Minerals Ltd.

PDF with caption: “Gulfside Secures Port Snettisham Magnetite Iron Ore Property “. PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2012/02/07/20120207_C2301_DOC_EN_9800.pdf