Eagle Plains Acquires Exclusive Exploration Rights to NWT Base-Metals District

Cranbrook, B.C. 04 March, 2005: Eagle Plains Resources Ltd (“EPL”) has been granted the exclusive exploration rights to over 4300 sq. km of land east of the Yukon/NWT territorial border, considered to be highly prospective for the presence of large carbonate-hosted silver-lead zinc deposits. These rights occur in the form of NWT Government-granted “prospecting permits” which enable the holder to complete exploration activity over entire individual map sheets for a period of three years, with the exclusive right to acquire formal title within these selected areas.

History

The area now controlled 100% by EPL was once subject to extensive exploration during the 1970s and early 1980s and was the site of numerous drilling programs, dozens of grassroots examinations, and thousands of individual claims held by various junior and major exploration companies such as RTZ, Placer Dome Inc., Bethlehem Copper, Cominco, Noranda, Amax, Serem and others. The area has lain dormant to mineral exploration over most of the past two decades, and Eagle Plains has secured the entire area of past activity, complete with all public data associated with millions of dollars of exploration work. Recent announcements regarding the proposed MacKenzie Valley pipeline and forecast high base metal prices suggest that the entire area must now be looked on in an entirely new economic framework. Exploration technology and the understanding of the occurrence and genesis of carbonate-hosted deposits have also been advanced during this time, increasing the potential for new discoveries based on these updated models.

Location and Access

The southern boundary of the permit area is located along the North Canol Road, built in the 1940s to supply oil to the south during WW2. The lower project area stretches 65km northward along the MacKenzie Mountains, and encompasses at least 8 drilled prospects and 1 advanced exploration project. The central permit area is located 180km from Norman Wells, NWT while the most northerly permit area is located 190km from Norman Wells, NWT or 240 km from Mayo, Yukon.

Geology

The prospecting permits held by Eagle Plains overlie a series of folded and thrusted Proterozoic to Devonian carbonates and shales. These rocks were deposited on a shelf margin near the hinge point between a platform and a shale basin. They are timeequivalent to giant base-metal deposits such as Howard’s Pass (indicated resource of 113 million tonnes grading 5.4% zinc and 2.1% lead with >15 g/t silver plus an additional reported inferred resource in excess of 360 million tones), the Tom (9.283 Mt @ 69.4 g/t Ag, 7.55 Pb and 6.2% Zn using a 7% combined Pb-Zn cutoff) and Jason deposits (14.1 million tonnes grading 7.09% Pb, 6.57% Zn and 79.9 g/t Ag, using a cutoff grade of 8% Pb-Zn).

Dozens of high-grade base metal occurrences exist in EPL’s permit area, highlighted by the following projects:

Gayna River- 27,000m of diamond drilling completed by RTZ in the late 1970s, with drill-holes grading up to 20% combined lead-zinc over 6.0m.

Ice - 9: 8.2% Pb, 12.5% Zn over 9.1m in a representative sample;

Art-Ekwi:
              Drill results: 10.1% combined Pb-Zn over 50.0’ (15.2m) true-thickness
                                    43.0% Zn over 11.5’ (3.5m)
              Trench results: 22’ (6.9m) grading 9.0% Pb and 39.1% Zn
                                    26’ (7.9m) returned 5.48% Pb and 31.4% Zn.

Tap: 27.5% Zn, 3.7% Pb from grab samples taken of 60 x 760m breccia zone;

Keg: 25% combined Pb-Zn in float samples. Best of 3 drill-holes intersected 4.23% Pb-Zn over 20.4m;

Bear/Twit: 24 drill-holes completed, with 4.9% Pb-Zn reported over 13’ (4.0m), 5.1% Pb-Zn over 20’(6m), resource estimate published of 7.3-9.1 MT grading 8% Pb- Zn and 17g/t Ag;

AB-Main: 3 drill-holes (866’) completed in 1974. Surface samples assayed up to 41% zinc, 79.3% lead.

Over 59 additional individual mineralized showing areas have been reported in the project area.

Eagle Plains plans to complete field inspections and geological mapping of all known mineral occurrences during the 2005 field season. Extensive data compilation is currently underway, and a comprehensive GIS database is being prepared. Specific areas of interest will be targeted for staking and advanced exploration work. Robert Sharp, M.Sc., P.Geol. will be supervising the program. Mr. Sharp has extensive experience with sedimenthosted massive sulphide deposits in the Canadian north, having worked as Chief Geologist at Cominco’s Polaris Zn-Pb Mine in Nunavut from 1988 to 2002.

Eagle Plains Resources continues to conduct research, acquisition and exploration projects in western Canada. The Company controls over 30 gold and base-metal projects, many of which are currently optioned to or joint-ventured with third parties including NovaGold Inc., Amarc Resources Ltd. (a Hunter-Dickinson Company), Northern Continental Resources Inc., Shoshone Silver Mining Co., and Golden Cariboo Resources Inc. These agreements expose Eagle Plains to over $18 million in exploration expenditures by its partners over the next five years. In recent years, Eagle Plains has completed option agreements with Billiton Metals, Rio Algom Exploration, Kennecott Exploration, Viceroy Resource Corp. and numerous other junior exploration companies, resulting in over 18,000m (60,000 ft) of drilling and over $6,000,000 in exploration spending on its projects since 1998. Over $3.5 million in exploration spending is expected on the company’s properties during 2005.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Signed

“Tim J. Termuende”
President and CEO

For further information on EPL, please contact Mike Labach at 1 866 HUNT ORE (486 8673)
Email: mgl@eagleplains.com or visit our website at http://www.eagleplains.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the 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. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.