Northern Securities Inc. Initiates Coverage of Excelsior Mining Corp.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Dec. 20, 2011) - Excelsior Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE:MIN)(OTCQX:EXMGF)(PINKSHEETS:EXMGF)(FRANKFURT:3XS) ("Excelsior") announces that Northern Securities Inc. ("Northern Securities") has initiated equity research coverage of Excelsior.

Northern Securities' equity research is posted on their corporate website at www.northernsi.com and can be accessed by users upon registration or by contacting Mr. Kwong-Mun Achong Low, MBA, at Northern Securities, via email at kachonglow@northernsi.com.

All reports on Excelsior prepared by analysts represent the views of such analysts and are not necessarily those of Excelsior. Excelsior is not responsible for the content, accuracy or timelines of any analyst's website.

About Excelsior

Excelsior is an exploration and development company with a copper project located within the copper porphyry belt of Arizona. The Gunnison Copper Project is located close to the required infrastructure and its oxide resource has the potential to be mined using in-situ recovery methods. The Excelsior team consists of experienced professionals with proven track records of advancing projects towards production.

Further details about Excelsior can be found at: http://www.excelsiormining.com. Further information about the Gunnison Copper Project can be found in the technical report filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com entitled: Gunnison Copper Project, Cochise County, Arizona, USA, Mineral Resource of the North Star Deposit dated August 31, 2011, as revised October 25, 2011.

ON BEHALF OF THE EXCELSIOR BOARD

Mark Morabito, Chairman of the Board

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation; statements about future exploration on and the development of the Gunnison Project and the ability to mine Gunnison using in-situ recovery mining techniques are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following risks: the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mineral exploration; fluctuations in commodity prices; title matters; environmental liability claims and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain officers, directors or promoters with certain other projects; the absence of dividends; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume and the additional risks identified in the management discussion and analysis section of our interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings with the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.