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 Thu Oct 4, 2007
Bear Creek's Santa Ana Drilling Expands Silver Mineralization; High-Grade Structures Encountered; Positive Silver Recovery from Column Leach Testing
 
Vancouver, B.C. - Bear Creek Mining (TSX Venture: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results from seventeen additional diamond drill holes (3,602 meters). Drilling at Santa Ana now totals 12,802 meters in eighty-two drill holes. Santa Ana is located 200 kilometers south of the Company's world class Corani silver-base metal deposit in southeastern Peru. Highlights of this press release include:
  • Drill hole SA-39A intersects 120m @ 54 g/t Ag, including 10m @ 325 g/t Ag + 3.1% Zn; indicating higher temperatures and potential source to the south where mineralization remains open

  • Drill hole SA-35 intersects 244m @ 30 g/t Ag, including 24m @ 85 g/t Ag.

  • Drill hole SA-35A intersects 40m @ 182 g/t Ag, including 4m @ 1532 g/t Ag.

  • Drill hole SA-37A intersects 152m @ 46 g/t Ag, including 8m @ 141 g/t Ag, 24m @ 114 g/t Ag and 4m @ 96 g/t Ag.

  • Drill hole SA-38A intersects 182m @ 30 g/t Ag, including 8m @ 165 g/t Ag.

  • Drilling under thin soil cover continues to intersect mineralization, including higher-grade structures

  • Mineralized footprint extends 1.3 km by 750 meters and remains open to the north, south and west where both soil and rock sampling grids are being expanded.
Andrew Swarthout, President and CEO of Bear Creek, states "We are extremely pleased that drilling in "blind" covered areas where the deposit remains open continues to return strongly mineralized intercepts. The long silver intercepts containing higher-grade structures bode well for a low-cost heap leach approach. The source for the mineralization has yet to be identified indicating strong potential for discovering higher grades as the deposit size is increased laterally and at depth. Santa Ana is on track to evolve into a large, low-cost, pure silver deposit."

Drilling results are as follow. All intercepts are down-hole lengths and true widths have not been calculated.

Drill Hole
# 		Azimuth
(degrees)		 Inclination
(degrees) 		Total Depth (m) From (m) To
(m) 		Interval (m)
DTH 		Silver
(grams per tonne) 		Lead
(%)		 Zinc
(%)
SA-33 285 -50 235.3 80 102 22 34.8 0.3 0.6
        126 140 14 34.6 0.2 0.5
        214 228 14 29.1 0.2 0.2
SA-33A 105 -50 252.8 96 136 40 17.4 0.1 0.2
SA-33B 105 -80 130.0 48 60 12 16.0 0.2 0.6
SA-34 100 -60 197.0 0 186 186 27.1 0.3 0.5
SA-35 270 -60 257.2 0 244 244 29.5 0.3 0.5
includes       82 94 12 122.5 1.0 0.9
and       116 140 24 84.9 0.6 1.0
and       188 192 4 90.0 0.1 0.1
SA-35A 90 -60 257.0 44 50 6 35.3 0.2 0.3
        58 68 10 30.8 0.2 0.4
        98 100 2 78.0 0.6 0.6
        130 162 32 36.4 0.2 0.3
        180 220 40 182.1 0.4 0.4
includes       204 208 4 1532.0 2.4 2.4
SA-35B 180 -60 242.0 0 100 100 18.8 0.2 0.5
        138 210 72 37.8 0.2 0.3
includes       184 208 24 65.0 0.3 0.3
SA-36 300 -60 204.9 14 34 20 46.0 0.2 0.3
        52 66 14 39.7 0.5 0.9
        138 188 50 34.2 0.2 0.3
includes       146 158 12 61.5 0.1 0.2
SA 36A 120 -60 210.0 10 190 180 17.6 0.1 0.3
includes       116 130 14 101.6 0.3 0.3
SA-36B 180  -60 194.0 6 186 180 20.3 0.2 0.3
includes       70 124 54 29.4 0.1 0.3
and       154 160 6 144.0 1.3 1.3
SA-37 270 -60 210.5 46 48 2 100.0 0.6 1.5
        66 110 44 32.0 0.2 0.4
includes       100 108 8 72.8 0.3 0.6
SA-37A 90 -70 215.2 42 194 152 45.9 0.4 0.8
includes       56 64 8 140.8 1.3 2.0
and       130 154 24 114.2 0.6 1.3
and       178 182 4 96.0 1.0 1.4
SA 38 270  -60 161.0 60 126 66 51.8 0.3 0.5
includes       78 90 12 138.0 0.6 0.7
SA 38A  90 -60 224.0 34 216 182 30.3 0.3 0.5
includes       180 188 8 164.5 1.3 1.5
SA 38B 135 -60 200 54 78 24 53.8 0.7 1.1
        90 106 16 53.4 1.0 1.8
        114 144 30 90.0 0.9 1.7
SA 39  300 -60 223.0 0 14 14 12.6 0.3 0.3
and       104 164 60 14.0 0.1 0.1
and       196 214 18 17.5 0.1 0.3
SA 39A 120 -60 190 0 120 120 53.4 0.7 1.1
includes       66 72 6 325.0 1.2 3.1
        140 154 14 51.9 0.5 0.3

(Full drill results can be found at www.bearcreekmining.com. To access the silver drill hole map directly please refer to http://www.bearcreekmining.com/i/pdf/Santa_Ana_dh_map.pdf)

These new drill results demonstrate that blind, high-grade structures within large halos of lower grade heap-leach material continue to be intersected at Santa Ana (SA-35 and 37A). Given the intersection of these blind structures under areas of soil cover with no outcrops, grid drilling is now proceeding with 2 rigs simultaneously testing to the north and south of the main silver anomaly.

Data is being assembled that will allow for a resource estimation anticipated by year-end '07. Rock chip and soil grids are being extended to the north (1km) and west (250m) and results will be followed up by drilling as warranted.

Santa Ana Metallurgy

Three column heap leach tests in progress at McClelland labs confirm that the mineralized material responds very well to conventional leaching techniques. Ultimate recoveries of silver on a heap leach are projected to be at least 60% for the conventional crushed heap leaching method and at least 70% for the pulp agglomeration method based on preliminary results that indicate that after 75 days of column leach testing, recoveries are 55% to 58% of the silver from ¾-inch crushed material and 68% using a pulp agglomeration method. The tests are still continuing and silver is still being leached at satisfactory rates. Column leaching will continue until 90 days, or effluent levels decrease to below 1 g/t silver, at which time the columns will be unloaded, screened and assayed, and final recoveries will be determined.

Importantly, several diagnostic shaker leach tests have been performed on samples from the new expanded areas recently discovered by drilling and these mineralized extensions respond similarly to the material used in the column tests; indicating the silver will be leachable throughout the current deposit footprint.

The Company will be initiating a third phase of column testing later in the year to evaluate the new discovery zones and examine optimal crushing versus leach recoveries.

Santa Ana Resource and Engineering

The Company is now preparing an independent resource estimate which will include all the holes drilled to date. The resource estimate is being prepared by Independent Mining Consultants of Tucson, Arizona. The intent is to use this resource estimate to prepare a Preliminary Economic Assessment of the deposit and help guide the Company forward on development plans. At this time the Company will look at a bulk tonnage open pit feeding either a conventional heap leach or a pulp agglomeration heap leach silver mine.

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

- End -

Andrew Swarthout - President and CEO,
or
Patrick De Witt - Investor Relations
Phone: 604-685-6269 Direct: 604-628-1111
E-mail: info@bearcreekmining.com

For further information, please visit the Company's website (www.bearcreekmining.com)

Regulatory footnotes:

All of Bear Creek's exploration programs and pertinent disclosure of a technical or scientific nature are prepared by or prepared under the direct supervision of David Volkert, P.Geo., Bear Creek's Vice President of Exploration and/or Marc Leduc, P. Eng., Vice President of Technical Services and the President and CEO, Andrew Swarthout, P.Geo., who serve as the Qualified Persons under the definitions of NI 43-101. All diamond drilling has been performed using HQ diameter core with recoveries averaging greater than 95%. Core is logged and split on site under the supervision of Bear Creek geologists. Sampling is done on two-meter intervals and samples are transported by Company staff to Juliaca, Peru for direct shipping to ALS Chemex, Laboratories in Lima, Peru. ALS Chemex is an ISO 9001:2000-registered laboratory and is preparing for ISO 17025 certification. Silver, lead, and zinc assays utilize a multi-acid digestion with atomic absorption ("ore-grade assay method"). The QC/QA program includes the insertion every 20th sample of known standards prepared by SGS Laboratories, Lima. A section in Bear Creek's website is dedicated to sampling, assay and quality control procedures.

Certain disclosure in this release, including management's assessment of Bear Creek's plans and projects, constitutes forward-looking statements that are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to Bear Creek's operation as a mineral exploration company that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. *Any reference to the potential quantity & grade of mineralization at Corani is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource on the property and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in discovery of a mineral resource on the property. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Bear Creek expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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