Mawson commences drilling at Rompas-Rajapalot, Finland

VANCOUVER, Dec. 4, 2012 /CNW/ - Mawson Resources Limited ("Mawson") (TSX:MAW) (Frankfurt:MXR) (OTCPK:MWSNF) is pleased to announce that a 6,000 metre diamond drilling program has commenced at the Rompas-Rajapalot project in Finland.

The drill program forms the major part of a C$3.2M company-wide 2013 winter exploration program through to the end of June 2013, which consists of:

• 6,000 metres of diamond drilling at North Rompas, South Rompas and Rajapalot project areas;
  
  
• 827 line kilometre airborne geophysical VTEM Survey at Rajapalot;
  
  
• 30 line kilometres of electro-magnetic and 48 line kilometres of magnetic ground based geophysical measurements at Rajapalot.

Mr Hudson states, "We are extremely pleased to finally have the drills turning at Rompas and Rajapalot.    As this is the first ever drilling in many of the project areas, our team has planned a rigorous winter exploration program, with the major aim to understand the style and continuity of bonanza grade gold mineralization.  As the selected drill areas represent only a small fraction of the known surface mineralized area at Rompas-Rajapalot, we envisage this to be the first of many extensive drill campaigns to be completed at the project.    First results from this program should be available from early February 2013."

Initial drilling at North Rompas will focus on the main geochemical anomalies defined by Mawson's hand-dug trenching programs where channel sample results included 1.40 m at 2,529 g/t Au and 5.1 % U3O8.  The 30 metre wide and 120 metre long area to be drill tested represents only a small fraction of the North Rompas project, which geochemical sampling and geophysics suggests may be up to 3.5 kilometres long.  Twenty-one angled HQ-size drill holes for 1,800 metres have been designed to be drilled on 20 metre-spaced cross sections, at 20 metre vertical spacing, down to a nominal 60 metre maximum vertical depth.  The initial aim of this drill program is learn about gold mineralization style and continuity.  Broader spaced targets at North Rompas will be tested later in the winter drilling campaign.

A second drill rig will be mobilized to the South Rompas project, located 5.2 kilometres south of North Rompas, in February 2013.  The aim of the South Rompas program will be to determine the continuity of the high grade gold mineralization around the better results discovered during the May 2012 drill program, which included 6 metres at 617 g/t gold from 7 metres depth, including 1 metre at 3,540 g/t gold in drill hole ROM0011.  Thirty-five angled HQ-size drill holes for 1,975 metres have been designed to test a panel 70m long and 50m deep, mostly at 10 metre by 10 metre centres.

The third area to be drill tested this winter is the Rajapalot project, located 8 kilometres to the east of South Rompas.   Ground geophysical programs, which will commence in December 2012, will aid in defining the 1,500 drill metres planned for this area.

About Mawson Resources Limited (TSX:MAW, FRANKFURT:MXR, PINKSHEETS:MWSNF)

Mawson Resources Limited is a resource acquisition and development company. The Company has distinguished itself as a leading Scandinavian exploration company with a focus on the flagship Rompas gold project in Finland.

On behalf of the Board,

"Michael Hudson" 
Michael Hudson, President & CEO

Technical Background

Samples were transported by Mawson personnel from site to ALS Chemex Ltd's laboratory in Pitea, Sweden where the samples were prepared and sent to ALS Chemex Ltd's laboratory in Vancouver, Canada to be analyzed by Au-ICP21, GRA-21, ME-MS41u, PGM-ICP27 and ME-MS61u techniques. The QA/QC program of Mawson consists of the systematic insertion of certified standards of known gold content, with blanks at the beginning of each batch.  In addition, ALS Chemex inserts a number of blanks and standards into the analytical process.  Three NORM samples were analyzed at SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories, Saskatchewan, Canada, by ICP1 Partial Digestion except for gold which was analyzed by Fire Assay.  The qualified person for Mawson's Finnish projects, Mr Terry Lees, VP Exploration for Mawson and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists has reviewed and verified the contents of this release.

Forward Looking Statement

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 Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Mawson Resources Ltd.