Solitario Announces Significant Resource Increase for Its Mt. Hamilton Gold Project, Nevada

Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp. ('Solitario;? NYSE MKT: XPL;
TSX: SLR) and Ely Gold & Minerals ('Ely Gold;? TSX.V: ELY)
are pleased to announce a significant resource increase on the Mt.
Hamilton gold project in eastern Nevada, U.S.A. A new NI-43-101
compliant resource estimate was completed on the Seligman gold and
silver deposit situated roughly 1,500 feet north of the Centennial
deposit which contains previously reported reserves and resources. The
study was prepared on behalf of Solitario by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc.
('SRK?) and serves to update the previously reported (February 22, 2012)
Mt. Hamilton Feasibility Study.

The Seligman resource estimate was constrained by an optimized pit using
a gold price of $1,500 per ounce of gold and $20.00 per ounce of silver.
At Seligman, SRK estimated an in-pit Indicated Resource containing
166,691 ounces of gold equivalent ('AuEq?), with an additional in-pit
Inferred Resource totaling 87,929 AuEq ounces. This represents nearly a
29% increase in previously reported in-pit Measured and Indicated
Resources for the Mt. Hamilton project and a 134% increase in Inferred
Resources. The table below provides greater detail to the recently
completed Seligman in-pit resource estimate.

• 
  Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have
  demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that any part
  of the Mineral Resources estimated will be converted into Mineral
  Reserves estimate;
  
• 
  Resources stated as contained within a potentially economically
  minable open pit;
  
• 
  Pit optimization was based on assumed gold and silver prices of
  US$1,500/oz and US$20.00/oz, respectively, effective heap leach
  recoveries of 70% for gold in skarn and 65% for gold in igneous, and
  35% for silver, an ore mining and a processing cost of US$6.45/t; and
  pit slopes of 50 ?.
  
• 
  Gold Equivalent (AuEq) was calculated using a Ag:Au ratio of 55:1
  ($1600/ozAu/$29/ozAg); and
  
• 
  Numbers in the table have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the
  estimate and may not add due to rounding.
  

The Seligman resource estimate was based on the pre-existing Mt Hamilton
database consisting of 531 drill holes. The data was verified/validated
by SRK in compliance with NI-43-101 requirements. The Seligman
mineralization was mined for several years in the mid-1990′s, but mining
ceased in 1997 due to low gold prices. Seligman mineralization, if
mined, would require significantly less pre-stripping of waste than the
Centennial ore body situated immediately to the south. This could
advance initial production by at least six months and reduce initial
capital costs by $5.0 to $7.0 million, compared to the Centennial
Feasibility Study mining plan that did not include Seligman
mineralization. Maps showing the proximity of Seligman mineralization to
the Centennial reserves and proposed mine infrastructure can be accessed
at http://www.solitarioxr.com/art/Seligman.pdf.
Additional project information is found at http://www.solitarioxr.com/hamilton.html.

Chris Herald, President and CEO of Solitario, stated, 'Solitario is now
well within sight of achieving its objective of growing the Mt. Hamilton
resource base to over a million ounces. We are designing a mine plan
that considers initially developing part of the Seligman deposit and
incorporating this into our soon to be filed Plan of Operations. We are
also in the process of completing a 70-hole drilling program that
focuses on converting Inferred Resources to Measured and Indicated
Resources and to further expand mineralization at both the Seligman and
Centennial deposits. The Seligman resource estimate reported in this
release does not include any results from the current drilling program.
We are also conducting metallurgical, environmental and geotechnical
drilling at Seligman as part of our economic evaluation of this deposit.?

Trey Wasser, Ely Gold′s President and CEO, stated, 'Seligman
mineralization is an important component of the emerging growth
potential at Mt. Hamilton. With the proceeds from the recent financings
with Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (TSX-V: 'SSL?) and RMB Australia
Holdings Limited, the Mt. Hamilton LLC is fully funded to upgrade and
potentially expand Seligman/Centennial resources and continue the
permitting process for mine development. In 2013 the joint venture is
also planning to test the Wheeler Ridge exploration area situated south
of the Centennial ore body.?

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors concerning estimates of Resources:
This news release uses the terms 'Measured, Indicated and Inferred
Resources.? The Company advises U.S. investors that while these terms
are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the SEC does not
recognize the terms.U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume
that any part or all of Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources will
ever be converted into Reserves.Inferred Resources have a great
amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to
their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or
any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a
higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral
Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility
studies, except in rare cases.U.S. investors are cautioned not
to assume that any part or all of a measured, indicated or
inferred resource exists, or is economically or legally minable.

Mt. Hamilton Feasibility Study

The Mt. Hamilton Feasibility Study completed earlier this year detailed
the development of an open pit mining operation with heap leach
processing and projected gold recoveries of 79%. The reserves are
contained within a well-defined ore body displaying excellent continuity
of mineralization that will be mined within a single open pit.
Processing is straight forward with two-stage crushing to minus  ?-inch,
no agglomeration and rapid gold leach rates, followed by conventional
ADR (adsorption-desorption-recovery) metal extraction.

The Feasibility Study estimated life-of-mine cash operating costs on a
gold equivalent basis (at a 55:1 silver to gold ratio) to be
approximately $575 per gold-equivalent ounce recovered (including the
costs of a 2.4% NSR sold after completion of the Feasibility Study). The
economic base case in the Feasibility Study assumes a $1,323
life-of-mine gold price and a $25.34 silver price, generating
approximately $226 million in cash flow (operating margin ? EBITDA) over
the mine′s anticipated eight-year mine life. Initial capital costs are
estimated at $71.9 million, including a contingency of $6.3 million.
Silver production contributes approximately 11% to the overall project
revenues. The average waste to ore stripping ratio is 2.4 to 1.

Mineral reserves were estimated from a pit design based on $1,200/oz.
gold and $20/oz. silver prices. The cutoff grade used to estimate
reserves was 0.006 oz/t gold equivalent (0.20 grams/tonne) and is the
internal cutoff grade. Multiple pit scenarios were evaluated using these
criteria under a range of gold prices to determine the most favorable
pit design for both optimal resource extraction and cash flow.

• 
  Mineral Resource Table above is inclusive of Mineral Reserve Statement
  estimate for Centennial.
  
• 
  Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have
  demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any
  part of the Mineral Resources estimated will be converted into Mineral
  Reserves estimate;
  
• 
  Resources stated as contained within a potentially economically
  minable open pit above a 0.006 oz/t AuEq CoG;
  
• 
  Pit optimization is based on assumed gold and silver prices of
  US$1,600/oz and US$40.00/oz, respectively, effective heap leach
  recoveries of 75% and 30% for gold and silver, respectively, a mining,
  processing and G&A cost of US$5.81/t; Net Smelter Return 1% and pit
  slopes of 50 ?.
  
• 
  Reported Au ounces are contained metal subject to process recovery
  which will result in a reduced number of payable ounces;
  
• 
  * Reported Ag ounces have already received a recovery discount during
  resource modeling; therefore, there will be minimal further reduction
  of payable Ag ounces after processing; and
  
• 
  Numbers in the table have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the
  estimate and may not add due to rounding.
  

The Feasibility Study and the Seligman NI-43-101 Seligman resource
estimate were prepared by SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc., an independent
and internationally recognized mining engineering firm. The Feasibility
Study provides mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates, and a
classification of resources and reserves in accordance with the Canadian
Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Standards on Mineral
Resources and Reserves: Definitions and Guidelines, November 27, 2010
(CIM). It also meets the standards of the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission Industry Guide 7 for estimating and reporting reserves. This
release has been reviewed for accuracy by Mr. J. B. Pennington of SRK
and for Solitario by Walter Hunt, Chief Operating Officer, both of whom
are 'qualified persons? as that term is defined in NI 43-101.

Terms of the Mt. Hamilton LLC Joint Venture

Solitario and Ely Gold formed Mt. Hamilton LLC ('MH-LLC?), a limited
liability company which now holds 100% of the Mt. Hamilton project
assets under an Operating Agreement ('MH-Agreement?). Solitario holds an
80% interest in MH-LLC, and DHI-US. Ely Gold′s wholly owned US
subsidiary, holds a 20% interest in MH-LLC. Further Solitario
obligations include arranging project financing, and making future
property and advanced royalty payments.

About Solitario

Solitario is a gold, silver, platinum-palladium, and base metal
exploration and royalty company actively exploring in Brazil, Mexico,
and Peru. Solitario has significant business relationships with
Votorantim Metais on its high-grade Bongará zinc project in Peru and
Anglo Platinum on its Pedra Branca platinum-palladium project in Brazil.
Solitario is traded on the NYSE MKT ('XPL?) and on the Toronto Stock
Exchange ('SLR?). Additional information about Solitario is available
online at www.solitarioxr.com.

About Ely Gold

Ely Gold is focused on the acquisition and development of gold resources
in North America. Ely Gold is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange
('ELY?). Additional information about Ely Gold is available online at www.elygoldandminerals.com

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.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and the U.S. Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, and as defined in the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (and the equivalent under
Canadian securities laws),that are intended to be covered by the
safe harbor created by such sections. Forward-looking statements are
statements that are not historical fact. They are based on the beliefs,
estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the
statements are made and address activities, events or developments that
Solitario expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, and
are based on current expectations and assumptions.Forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently,
there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be
accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially
from those anticipated in such statements. Such forward-looking
statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the
Company′s expectation of the projected timing and outcome of engineering
studies; expectations regarding the receipt of all necessary permits and
approvals to implement the mining plan at Mt. Hamilton; the potential
for confirming, upgrading and expanding oxide gold and silver
mineralized material at Mt. Hamilton; reserve and resource estimates;
operating cost estimates; estimates of gold and silver grades; estimates
of recovery rates; expectations regarding the cash flow generated by the
property; and other statements that are not historical facts.Although
Solitario management believes that its expectations are based on
reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that these expectations
will prove correct.Important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking
statements include, among others, risks relating to risks that
Solitario′s exploration and property advancement efforts will not be
successful; risks relating to fluctuations in the price of gold and
silver; the inherently hazardous nature of mining-related activities;
uncertainties concerning reserve and resource estimates; availability of
outside contractors in connection with Mt. Hamilton and other
activities; uncertainties relating to obtaining approvals and permits
from governmental regulatory authorities; the possibility that
environmental laws and regulations will change over time and become even
more restrictive; and availability and timing of capital for financing
the Company′s exploration and development activities, including
uncertainty of being able to raise capital on favorable terms or at all;
as well as those factors discussed in Solitario′s filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC?) including
Solitario′s latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and its other SEC filings
(and Canadian filings) including, without limitation, its latest
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. The Company does not intend to publicly
update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required
under applicable securities laws.

Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp.

Debbie Mino-Austin,
800-229-6827

Director ? Investor Relations

Christopher E.
Herald, 303-534-1030

President & CEO

or

Ely Gold

Steve
Kenwood, 604-488-1104

Director

Trey Wasser, 972-803-3087

President
& CEO