Inter-Citic Minerals Inc. Reports Drill Results From New Gold Discoveries at Dachang

861 Zone reports multiple gold intercepts including 17.0 metres at 4.47 GPT gold. Drilling and trenching continues exploration for new open pit resources.

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 12/12/11 -- Inter-Citic Minerals Inc. (TSX: ICI) ('Inter-Citic' or 'the Company') President and CEO James Moore, is pleased to report on ongoing drill and trench results from the 2011 exploration season at the Company's Dachang Gold Project.

Drill holes reported in this release are from the 861 Zone ('861') of the property, which is a large fault structure approximately 8 km northwest of the Dachang Main Zone resource area and parallel to it in Central Dachang.


Drilling highlights of results received to date from the 861 Zone include:

- Drill hole CJV-1241 which reported an interval of 17.0 m with an average grade of 4.47 GPT gold.

- Drill hole CJV-1244 which reported multiple intercepts including an interval of 11.5 m with an average grade of 1.97 GPT gold.

- Drill hole CJV-1247 which reported an interval of 12.5 m with an average grade of 1.62 GPT gold.

- Drill hole CJV-1248 which reported multiple intercepts including an interval of 1.8 m with an average grade of 8.00 GPT gold.

- Drill hole CJV-1252 which reported multiple intercepts including an interval of 8.0 m with an average grade of 2.34 GPT gold.


With ongoing exploration Inter-Citic now believes that the 861 Zone is the western end of a larger fault structure. Additional drilling and trenching now indicates the 861 and XP Zone to the east are part of a single, well mineralized fault structure which can now be defined along a strike length of at least 2.8 km. The western-most section on the 861 Zone was also mineralized and it is apparent from the regional soil geochemistry that the fault also continues much farther west than originally interpreted. The program to evaluate the 861 and XP Zones has involved trenching over a strike length of 1,500 m at intervals of 20 to 40 m. Drilling on 40 m spaced fences has systematically tested the structure at depths of 40, 80 and in some cases 120 m.

While numerous results remain pending and further engineering analysis will be required at the end of the exploration season to determine the zone's suitability for open-pit mining, the results to date illustrate a well mineralized fault structure hosting sulfide bearing gold mineralization similar to the Dachang Main Zone. The 861/XP fault has now been defined over a total 2.8 km strike length and remains open along the strike. Based on results and observations in the field the Company has dedicated approximately 5,945 metres of drilling and 4,500 metres of trenching to evaluating the potential of this discovery. The Company's objective is to define new open pit resources which will be accretive to shareholder value given the potential impact upon the project's overall production profile and corresponding economic impact.


Drill results to date from 2011 exploration on the 861 Zone are set out in the table below.

                           TABLE OF DRILL RESULTS
                                         From        To    Length      Assay
DDH Hole No.         Dip    Bearing       (m)       (m)       (m)     GPT Au
CJV-1232             -50         14     35.00     39.00      4.00       1.30
CJV-1236A            -75         33     47.00     51.00      4.00       0.61
                                        53.50     54.20      0.70       2.98
CJV-1239             -53         22     71.30     72.30      1.00       0.56
CJV-1241             -69         22     66.00     83.00     17.00       4.47
CJV-1244             -52         22      9.80     14.00      4.20       0.51
                                        19.00     30.50     11.50       1.97
                                        39.00     40.00      1.00       0.74
                                        41.30     42.70      1.40       0.65
                                        62.00     64.40      2.40       1.90
CJV-1247             -62         22     31.00     43.50     12.50       1.62
                                        85.00     86.00      1.00       0.53
CJV-1248             -55         22     52.00     54.00      2.00       0.85
                                        59.20     61.00      1.80       8.00
                                        80.50     86.50      6.00       1.59
                                        89.50     92.50      3.00       1.81
CJV-1252             -74         22     66.00     67.00      1.00       1.78
                                        74.00     75.00      1.00       0.58
                                        78.00     86.00      8.00       2.34
CJV-1253             -69         22     65.00     67.00      2.00       2.93
                                       152.00    157.00      5.00       1.86

Assay cut-off for the above table was at 0.5 gpt Au, however, intervals were
determined by geological interpretation of consistent mineralized zones.
Broader intervals may include waste intervals of up to 2m. There was no
evidence of nugget effect in the above results and no results were topcut.
True widths for the intervals above have yet to be determined.


An area location map and a map showing the location of drill holes and trenches on the 861/XP Zone is available at: http://www.inter-citic.com/maps.php.


Trenching:

So far in 2011 the Company has completed approximately 4,500 metres of trenching in 85 trenches spaced 20 to 40 meters apart along the 861/XP fault structure. The trenching is defining on surface the location and extent of the fault structure and provides targets for exploration drilling.

Below are some significant gold intervals reported from trenches from the 861 Zone. Field observations correspond well to trench results, describing either good gossan, fault zones or both, directly correlating with the intervals. Inter-Citic believes they represent good potential drill targets for further exploration.

                            From        To     Length       Assay       Gram
Trench Number                (m)       (m)        (m)      GPT Au     Metres
T-4405                      7.00     11.00       4.00        3.30      13.20
T-4606                     10.00     13.00       3.00        7.28      21.84
T-6404                     36.00     41.00       5.00        2.52      12.60
T-6804                     11.50     16.50       5.00        3.45      17.25
T-7004                     19.00     26.00       7.00        2.45      17.15
T-7402                     21.50     40.50      19.00        1.53      29.07
T-7606                     66.00     78.00      12.00        1.23      14.76
T-7803                     22.00     32.00      10.00        1.34      13.40
T-8004                     19.00     27.00       8.00        3.08      24.64
T-8404                     20.00     32.50      12.50        1.55      19.38
T-50502                    16.00     23.00       7.00        3.08      21.56
T-54501                     7.00     17.00      10.00        1.33      13.30
T-84502                    51.00     55.00       4.00        2.91      11.64

Assay cut-off for the above trench results was at 0.5 gpt Au, however,
intervals were determined by geological interpretation of consistent
mineralized zones. Trench results in this release were further restricted to
those that returned values in excess of 10.0 gram metres (metres multiplied
by grams per tonne). None of the above results required topcutting as no
individual assay value exceeded 40 gpt Au. Broader intervals may include
waste intervals of up to 2m. True widths for the intervals above have yet to
be determined.


Trenching continues to be one of the most successful and cost-effective methods of gold exploration at Dachang due to the thin soil cover and near-surface mineralization observed throughout the property. A consistent spatial relationship has been observed between the gold in soil anomalies, trench values and underlying strongly altered and mineralized fault zones, and was what originally led to the discovery and expansion of the DMZ resource area.

Results continue to be received from exploration drill holes and trenches, and will be reported as they are received.


Sample Methodology:

Drill core samples were taken at geologically significant intervals, typically over one metre. Core recovery was approximately 90%. The designated sample intervals were cut with a diamond saw by qualified technicians. One half of the cut core was selected for assay with the remaining half being placed back into the core box. Care was taken to ensure that neither half of the core represents a bias with respect to the nature and mineral content of the sample. The sample interval and methodology are consistent with industry standards. Drill core samples were shipped to SGS Geochemical Laboratories ('SGS') located in Kunming and Tianjin, China for sample preparation and 50g fire assay with AA finish. SGS is the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. Analytical work is performed in accordance with recognized standards such as ASTM, ISO, JIS, and other accepted industry standards. Accuracy and precision of the results is tested through the systematic inclusion of reference samples and duplicate samples.

Trenching Samples: Trench chip-channel samples were taken at geologically established intervals consistent with the width of each mineralized area exposed in the trench. The sample interval was typically one meter. The individual samples collected over the designated intervals are representative of the material for the respective intervals. The sample interval and collection methodology are consistent with industry standards.

Each of the trenches listed above was excavated on lines spaced variably at a minimum of 20 m to a maximum of 120 m intervals. All trenches sampled in 2011 were excavated by backhoe and most uncovered broken bedrock at depths of 1.5 to 2.5 metres, which was typically altered and highly deformed sediments. All trenches are mapped in detail and channel samples are taken at one metre intervals across all mineralized zones. The gold bearing zones intersected coincided with areas of secondary sulphide enrichment in these Triassic sediments.

Samples were collected using 1.0 to 1.5 metre chip samples, each weighing approximately 3 to 5 kg. Qualified Chinese geologists and technicians under the direct field supervision of Mr. Garth Pierce, Inter-Citic's Vice President of Exploration, carry out the trench sampling.

Each sample is secured and transported to the Qinghai Institute of Rock and Mineral Testing and Application, located in Xining, Qinghai, PRC, or to the Research Center of Xi'an Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources located in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, PRC, both independent arm's length Chinese government laboratories. At each respective laboratory, each sample is dried, crushed and a portion ground to minus 200 mesh. The gold content of each sample was determined by analyzing a 20 gram sample of the minus 200 mesh material through an aqua regia acid digestion and then analyzed for gold using atomic absorption. Accuracy of the results is tested through the systematic inclusion of standards and replicate samples.

Security of Samples: All of the samples collected at Dachang are stored in a restricted secure storage area. Samples are shipped by truck to Golmud and delivered to Inter-Citic's courier agent in Golmud for shipment to the various laboratories for analysis. Inter-Citic's courier agents are present at all transshipment points between Golmud and the laboratories. Exploration at Dachang was conducted with the assistance of the numerous professionals from the Qinghai Geological Survey Institute (No. 5 Institute), working in co-operation with Inter-Citic's technical team on site and supervised by Mr. Garth Pierce, Vice-President of Exploration.

Mr. Michael W. Leahey, P.Geo., the Company's internal Qualified Person under the requirements of National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed a copy of this press release.

Mr. B. Terrence Hennessey, P.Geo., of Micon International Limited is a Qualified Person under the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed a copy of this press release.


On Behalf of the Board:

James J. Moore
President & CEO



ABOUT INTER-CITIC:

Toronto-based Inter-Citic Minerals Inc. is an exploration and development company advancing its Dachang Gold Project in the People's Republic of China. Inter-Citic is listed on the TSX under the symbol ICI. Inter-Citic's website is www.inter-citic.com.

Investors are encouraged to review 'Risk Factors' associated with the Dachang project as outlined in the Company's 2010 Financial Statements, MD&A and Annual Information Form, along with updates, available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. The statements herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements address future events and conditions and so involve inherent risks and uncertainties, as disclosed under the heading 'Risk Factors' in the company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Actual results could differ from those currently projected. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.



Contacts:

Inter-Citic Minerals Inc.
Stephen Lautens
Vice President, Corporate Communications
(905) 479-5072
ir@inter-citic.com<
www.inter-citic.com