Strongbox Exploration Provides Update on South Crofty Tin Project

Nov 18 2016

Strongbow Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: SBW) is pleased to provide the following update on its 100% owned South Crofty Tin Project:

Highlights:

Water treatment trials have now commenced at the South Crofty mine
All surface planning pre-commencement conditions satisfied on time
Application has been made to Cornwall Council for a Certificate of Lawfulness of Proposed Use or Development - this is expected to be granted before year end

Water Treatment Trials

Water treatment trials have commenced at South Crofty. The purpose of the testing is to demonstrate that suspended solids and metals in solution, principally iron oxide, in the historical South Crofty mine water can be successfully treated, reducing metal content to allow safe discharge of the water into the nearby Red River. Untreated mine water is presently discharging continuously into the Red River, so the proposal to treat the water during the dewatering phase represents a significant improvement over the current conditions of the Red River environment.

The large scale trial will treat 18 cubic metres per hour of mine water. This trial will utilise Siltbuster Processing Solutions' High Density Sludge process (HDS). This will provide performance data for both the design of the full-scale plant and to support the Company's Discharge Consent permit application. The trial is expected to last two to three months and will allow the permit application process to begin in Q1 2017. After completion of the tests the Company intends to apply for a permit to treat and discharge up to 25,000 cubic metres of mine water per day. This will allow the mine to be dewatered over an 18 - 24 month period.

Similar treatment facilities are already in place at the nearby former Wheal Jane tin mine, and have been operating successfully since 2000.

Surface Planning Permissions / Conditions Satisfied

The South Crofty mine benefits from having full Conditional Planning Permission to build new surface infrastructure and processing facilities in order to support future underground mining operations. The Planning Permission was granted in November 2011. There were seven pre-commencement conditions that needed to be satisfied and discharged before the permission could be implemented. All seven pre-conditions were satisfied by the Company and discharged by Cornwall Council on 14th October 2016. Construction work required to implement the planning permission was commenced and completed prior to the deadline of 3rd November 2016. The Company has now applied to Cornwall Council for a Certificate of Lawfulness of Proposed Use or Development and expects it to be granted before year end.

Richard Williams, the Company's CEO, stated:

"We continue to make good progress de-risking South Crofty and are hopeful we can get to the point where we are in a position to make a production decision. Implementing the Planning Permission was a critical step and we are very pleased to have completed this requirement on time. The next steps for us are the completion of the water treatment test work and related application to treat and discharge the mine water as well as publication of the Preliminary Economic Assessment. These are both scheduled for Q1, 2017."

About South Crofty

The South Crofty tin project comprises an Underground Mine Permission area that covers 1,490 Hectares, an area which includes twenty six (26) former producing mines. Production records go back to 1592, but full-scale mining activities commenced in the mid-17th century. The mine closed in 1998 as a result of the tin price collapse of 1985 and impending changes to mining laws and liabilities in the late 1990s.

A new Mine Permit was granted in 2013, and is valid until 2071.

Strongbow acquired the project from administration (receivership) in July 2016 (see news release dated July 12, 2016), following the publication of a new NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate (see news releases dated April 19, June 1, and July 20, 2016).

The NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate comprises two zones:

1. A Lower Mine tin-only resource;