Balmoral Confirms High-Grade Ni-Cu-PGE Mineralization Over 45.28 Metres on New Horizon; Grasset Property, Detour Trend, Quebec

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - May 20, 2014) -

• Intersects 45.28 metres grading 1.79% Nickel, 0.19% Copper, 0.42 g/t Platinum and 1.04 g/t Palladium
• Includes 17.60 metres grading 2.45% Ni, 0.31% Cu, 0.62 g/t Pt and 1.57 g/t Pd

Balmoral Resources Ltd. ("Balmoral" or the "Company") (TSX: BAR)(OTCQX: BALMF) today confirmed the discovery of high-grade nickel-copper-PGE mineralization associated with the previously highlighted (see NR14-09, April 30, 2014) net textured sulphide zone in hole GR-14-25. The net textured zone, one of four mineralized intervals in the hole, returned a near surface intercept of 1.79% nickel, 0.19% copper, 0.42 g/t platinum and 1.04 g/t palladium over 45.28 metres. This high-grade interval is capped by, and includes, 1.11 metres of massive to semi-massive sulphide which returned 10.60% Ni, 0.45% Cu, 2.04 g/t Pt and 5.23 g/t Pd, confirming the potential for very high grade nickel and PGE values within the system (see table below).

Hole GR-14-25 is the first hole on the property to intersect Horizon 3 of the Grasset Ultramafic Complex (see Figure 1 and Figure 2). This newly discovered, sulphide rich horizon is open in all directions and sits approximately 100 metres southwest of, and stratigraphically above, two other vertically oriented Ni-Cu-PGE mineralized horizons within the southern-most portion of this sparsely tested, up to 16 kilometre long, ultramafic sill complex.

The 45.28 metre net-textured interval in GR-14-25 exhibits excellent internal continuity and uniformly exhibits strong nickel and PGE grades (See Figure 3). Today's results also confirm the presence of nickel-copper-PGE mineralization for over 840 metres laterally, and 300 metres vertically, along Horizon 1; and for over 540 metres laterally and 240 metres vertically along Horizon 2. The first test of Horizon 3 was hole GR-14-25 which intersected the high-grade mineralized zone at less than 100 metres vertical depth. All three mineralized horizons remain open in all directions, save Horizon 1 which appears to be terminated by the Sunday Lake Deformation Zone to the south. Massive nickel-copper-PGE bearing sulphides have been intersected along both Horizon 1 and Horizon 3 in the limited (10 holes) drilling completed to date.

The host Grasset Ultramafic Complex is interpreted to stretch for 16 kilometres across Balmoral's wholly owned Grasset and Fenelon Properties. It has seen only limited drilling, focused primarily in an area 8.3 kilometres northwest of the current discovery. Similar nickel-copper-PGE sulphide mineralization is known to occur in this area, suggesting significant potential for additional discoveries along the length of the Complex. 

Recently received thin section analyses (see www.balmoralresources.com) indicate the presence of abundant pyrrhotite and pentlandite, with lesser chalcopyrite, magnetite (after chromite), pyrite and millerite (the latter a nickel sulphide with strong nickel tenure) within the high-grade, net textured zone. Pentlandite, which appears to host the bulk of the nickel mineralization, occurs as isolated mineral grains which the Company believes to be favourable from a metallurgical viewpoint.

The Company anticipates that drilling and geophysical work on the Grasset Property will resume, ground conditions permitting, in mid-June, followed shortly thereafter by the resumption of drilling on Balmoral's Martiniere high-grade gold property 40 kilometres to the west.

"The broad, high-grade nature of the Grasset Ni-Cu-PGE discovery provides Balmoral with a second exciting, near-term growth opportunity in Quebec" said Darin Wagner, President and CEO of Balmoral Resources. "With recent price increases demonstrating the sensitivity of the nickel market to political uncertainties in major producing regions, the lack of new nickel discoveries globally over the past several years, the strength of the grades, wide nature of the intercepts, significant PGE content and apparent scale of the mineralized system, the Grasset discovery would appear to position the Company to attract significant interest from investors in both the precious and base metal sectors." 

QP and Quality Control

Mr. Darin Wagner (P.Geo.), President and CEO of the Company, is the non-independent qualified person who has approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Wagner has supervised the work programs on the Grasset Property, visited the property on multiple occasions, has examined the drill core from the holes summarized in this release, reviewed the results with senior on-site geological staff and reviewed the available analytical and quality control results.

Balmoral employs a quality control program for all of its drill programs, to ensure best practice in the sampling and analysis of drill core. This includes the insertion of blind blanks, duplicates and certified standards into the sample stream. NQ-sized drill core is saw cut with half of the drill core sampled at intervals based on geological criteria including lithology, visual mineralization and alteration. The remaining half of the core is stored on-site at the Company's Fenelon field camp in Central Quebec. Drill core samples are transported in sealed bags to ALS Minerals Val d'Or, Quebec analytical facilities. Base metal analysis were initially obtained via ICP-AES with both Aqua Regia and 4 Acid digestion employed. The two digestion methods show good correlation. Nickel values in excess of 10,000 ppm are reanalyzed using a sodium peroxide fusion followed by ICP-AES finish. PGE values were obtained via industry standard fire assay with ICP-AES finish using 30 g aliquots. Following receipt of assays, visual analysis of mineralized intercepts is conducted and additional analysis may be requested. ALS Minerals is ISO 9001:2008 certified.

About Balmoral Resources Ltd. - www.balmoralresources.com

Balmoral is a Canadian-based discovery company focused on high-grade gold and nickel discoveries on its wholly owned, 700 square kilometre Detour Trend Project in Quebec, Canada. With a philosophy of creating value through the drill bit and a focus on proven productive precious/base metal belts, Balmoral is following an established formula with a goal of maximizing shareholder value through discovery and definition of high-grade, Canadian gold and base metal assets.

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, duration and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the timing of the receipt of assay results, the prospective nature of the Company's land holdings, the nature and style of the mineralization discussed, interest of investors in the results generated by the Company's exploration activities and business and financing plans and trends, are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions or are those which, by their nature, refer to future events. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.  The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include those related to weather, equipment and staff availability; performance of third parties; risks related to the exploration stage of the Company's projects; market fluctuations in prices for securities of exploration stage companies and in commodity prices; and uncertainties about the availability of additional financing; risks related to the Company's ability to identify one or more economic deposits on the properties, and variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located on the properties; risks related to the uncertain nature and interpretation of geophysical models, risks related to the Company's ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities on the properties; and risks related to the Company's ability to produce minerals from the properties successfully or profitably . Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.  All of the Company's public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

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.