Eagle Plains/Swift Resources Complete Drill Program at Iron Range Property, South-eastern British Columbia

Cranbrook, B.C., 22 December, 2009: Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (EPL:TSX-V) and Swift Resources Inc. (TSX-V:SWR) are pleased to announce the completion of a diamond drilling program at Eagle Plains’ 100% owned Iron Range project located in the Goat River area 15km NE of Creston, B.C. The drilling program was funded by Swift who have entered into an agreement on the Iron Range (NR 01/12/09). Under the terms of the agreement, Swift may earn a 60% interest in the property by completing $3,000,000 in exploration expenditures, making $500,000 in cash payments and issuing 750,000 shares to EPL over 5 years. Upon Swift exercising its option, a 60/40 Joint Venture between Swift and Eagle Plains will be established. 

A total of 580 meters in 7 diamond drill holes was completed using NQ2 sized core. Core recoveries were excellent overall. The diamond drill program was designed to follow up drilling completed on the project by Eagle Plains in 2008. Highlights from 2008 drilling included hole IR08006, which returned 7.0m grading 51.52 g/t (1.50 oz/ton) gold from 20.0m to 27.0m, including 3.0m grading 118.45 g/t (3.46 oz/ton) gold from 20.0m to 23.0m. F.B. Drilling of Cranbrook B.C. provided drilling services, and the program was carried out under the supervision of C.C. Downie, P.Geo.

The property consists of 22,000 ha owned 100% by Eagle Plains and has no underlying royalties or encumbrances. The claims are well-situated with respect to infrastructure. A high-pressure gas pipeline, high-voltage hydroelectric line, railway and major highway are located within property boundaries. The Iron Mountain structure has been mapped with widths of up to 150m and a strike length of over 50km. Claims held by Eagle Plains cover over 25km of the structure, with significant iron-oxide mineralization occurring over 15km. Copper and gold mineralization have been discovered along the structure during exploration, highlighting the potential for Iron Oxide Copper Gold (“IOCG”) mineralized systems associated with the structure.

A map outlining pertinent details of the property may be found here: 

Property History

The Iron Range deposits were originally staked in 1897 and were covered by Crown Grants held by Cominco Ltd. and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Past work on the Iron Range deposits by Cominco focused on the considerable iron oxide resource with trenching and very shallow (20m depth) diamond drilling along the Iron Range Mountain ridge. Eagle Plains staked the current claims immediately after the Crown Grants reverted in 2000. Eagle Plains has been working on the property since acquiring the claims. Exploration work including geological mapping, geochemical surveys and a 690 line-km airborne geophysical survey were used to define targets for drill testing. 

About Eagle Plains Resources 

Eagle Plains continues to conduct research, acquire and explore metal projects in western Canada. In addition to holding mining royalties on various projects, the Company controls over 35 gold, base-metal and uranium projects, several with third parties including Prize Mining Corp. (TSX-V:PRZ), Waterloo Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:WAT.P), Touchdown Capital Inc. (TSX-V: TDW), 99 Capital Corp. (TSX-V:WDG) and XO Gold Resources Ltd. (a private B.C. company). In recent years, Eagle Plains has completed option agreements with Teck Limited (TSX:TCK.B), Alexco Resource Corp. (TSX-V:AXR), Billiton Metals, Rio Algom Exploration, NovaGold Resources, Kennecott Exploration and numerous other junior exploration companies, resulting in over 53,600m (163,370’) of drilling and over $28.3 million in exploration spending on its projects since 1998. 

Expenditures during 2008 and 2009 on Eagle Plains’ projects were approximately $7,300,000, funded by Eagle Plains and third party partners. This work resulted in approximately 6,900m of drilling and extensive ground-based exploration work and facilitated the advancement of numerous projects at various stages of development. 

This news release has been reviewed and approved by Chuck Downie, P.Geo, hereby designated as a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Signed,

“C. C. (Chuck ) Downie, P.Geo”
VP Exploration and Director

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.