Alturas signs Joint Venture with Minera IRL on Chapi-Chapi and doubles land position in Utupara District

Toronto, February 28, 2008 – Alturas Minerals Corp. (the “Company” or “Alturas”) (TSX-V: ALT) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter agreement with Minera IRL Limited, a Peruvian company listed on the London Stock Exchange (“IRL”), regarding its Chapi-Chapi copper-gold Property. The Chapi-Chapi property is adjacent to Alturas’ Utupara copper-gold Project, and effectively doubles the prospective land position subject to exploration in the Apurimac copper-gold skarn belt of south-eastern Peru.

Under the terms of the letter agreement IRL and Alturas have entered into a joint venture, with IRL at 20% and Alturas at 80%. In order to maintain its interest, Alturas must complete drilling of 20,000 meters on the combined Chapi-Chapi and Utupara properties, and conduct a scoping study, all at its expense, such that IRL is carried through this phase. Once Alturas completes its obligations, contributions will then be required by both parties in accordance with their percentage interests, subject to usual dilution. In addition, if IRL dilutes to 5% or less, it may convert its interest to a 2% NSR. Alturas will be operator of the exploration program, and under the joint venture.
Work on the Chapi-Chapi property will be part of the overall continuing exploration program of Alturas in this highly prospective copper-gold belt and will share operational synergies with Alturas’s Utupara project, where a 5,000 meter drilling program is currently nearing completion.

Miguel Cardozo, President of Alturas commented: “We are very happy to have concluded a successful deal with IRL, and the opportunity to bring together a significant land position in this emerging copper-gold belt. By acquiring this large property immediately adjacent to our Utupara project, Alturas will now access a number of high-grade copper-gold skarn targets that have previously been the subject of small scale surface mining. Alturas will immediately commence detailed surface exploration of the project prior to drilling in the second half of 2008.”

The transaction remains subject to Board and regulatory approvals of both parties, due diligence and formal legal documentation, with closing scheduled for March 31, 2008.

The 5,358 hectare Chapi-Chapi project hosts a large copper-gold-molybdenum exoskarn and endoskarn system hosted by Jurassic-Cretaceous limestones cut by dioritic to monzonitic stocks. The limestones are part of the same unit that hosts large skarn deposits such as the nearby Tintaya and Las Bambas copper-gold skarn projects of XStrata.
Previous small scale copper and gold mining of oxidized magnetite skarn bodies over an area of 3 x 2 kilometres indicates the presence of high-grade material close to surface. Between 2004 and 2005, IRL conducted reconnaissance exploration of the skarn with geological mapping, trench geochemical sampling and ground magnetics. The ground magnetics survey identified several large east-west magnetic anomalies up to two kilometres long that extend from the currently known mineralized zones into areas of poor outcrop, highlighting the potential to identify concealed extensions of the skarn zones. In addition, extensive alteration of the intrusive stocks indicates the potential to identify porphyry-style mineralization.
The Utupara Project of Alturas

The 5,276 hectare Utupara Project is 100% owned by Alturas and is located 130 kilometres southwest of the city of Cusco in southern Peru, in the emerging Eocene-Oligocene mineral belt that also hosts giant copper-gold deposits such as the Tintaya (XStrata), Las Bambas (XStrata) and Los Chancas (Southern Peru Copper). Copper-gold-silver mineralization styles of the porphyry, skarn, breccia, vein and sediment-hosted varieties occur over an area exceeding 4.0 kilometres by 4.0 kilometres in size. During 2007, after an intensive program of surface exploration that included geological mapping, geochemistry and geophysics, Alturas embarked on a phase one drilling program of key targets for a total of 5,000 meters, which will be completed shortly.

For maps showing Utupara and Chapi-Chapi exploration results, please refer to the Company’s website www.alturasminerals.com/utuparamaps.htm

IRL is a company dual listed on the London AIM Stock Exchange and the Lima Stock Exchange and dedicated to gold production and exploration in Peru. The company has begun mining and crushing operations at its flagship Corihuarmi gold property in central Peru and plans to produce more than 35,000 ounces from the mine this year, at cash costs of about $300/oz.

Alturas is a Canadian corporation, and is the parent of Alturas Minerals S.A. (“Alturas Peru”). Alturas Peru has been actively exploring various mineral projects in Peru since January 2004. The principal assets of Alturas are four mineral exploration projects located in southern Peru, being the Huilacollo Gold Project, the Baños del Indio Gold Project, the Utupara Copper-Gold Project and the Huajoto Gold-Silver-Zinc Project. In addition, Alturas Peru has interests in fourteen other exploration projects in Peru. Alturas’ exploration strategy is focused on the discovery of large epithermal gold mineralized deposits and copper-gold porphyry/skarn deposits. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.alturasminerals.com.

As required by the National Instrument 43-101, Alturas's designated Qualified Person for the supervision of exploration of the projects is Dr. Paul Pearson, F. AUSIMM, Vice President-Exploration of the Company, who has verified the technical information reported in this News Release.

For further information please contact:

Miguel Cardozo, President & Chief Executive Officer
Alturas Minerals Corp.
Suite 820, 330 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2S8
Phone: +1-416-366-5555 (Toronto)
+51-1-475-1700 (Peru)
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This press release may contain “forward-looking statements”, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Investors are cautioned that such statements are not guarantees of future performance and results. Risks and uncertainties about the Company’s business are more fully discussed in the Company’s disclosure documents filed from time to time with the Canadian securities authorities