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January 07, 2010
NI43-101 Technical Report for Almaden Gold Project, Idaho

Western Standard Metals Ltd. (the "Company" or "WSM") announces that it has received an independent National Instrument 43-101 technical report from Mine Development Associates ("MDA") for the 100% owned Almaden Gold Project.

The MDA report presents measured, indicated and inferred resources at gold cutoffs of 0.008 ounces per ton for the oxidized material at the Almaden Project, 0.012 ounces per ton for the mixed (partially oxidized) material, and 0.023 ounces per ton for the sulfide (unoxidized) material. Converted into metric units, the MDA report outlines a measured resource of 239,000 ounces of gold (9,810,000 tonnes grading 0.754 grams per tonne), an indicated resource of 625,000 ounces of gold (29,250,000 tonnes grading 0.651 grams per ton), and an inferred resource of 84,000 ounces of gold (4,780,000 tonnes grading 0.549 grams per tonne), at the cutoff grades of 0.274 grams per tonne, 0.411 grams per tonne, and 0.789 grams per tonne for the oxide, mixed, and sulfide mineralization, respectively.

Almaden Gold Reported Resource Summary

Type	MEASURED
	Cutoff	Tons	Grade	Ounces
	(oz Au/ton)		(oz Au/ton)	Au
Oxide	0.008	5,340,000	0.02	108,000
Mixed	0.012	4,950,000	0.023	113,000
Sulfide	0.023	520,000	0.036	18,000
Total		10,810,000	0.022	239,000

INDICATED
Tons	Grade	Ounces
	(oz Au/ton)	Au
20,740,000	0.018	378,000
10,740,000	0.02	220,000
760,000	0.036	27,000
32,240,000	0.019	625,000

MEASURED & INDICATED
Tons	Grade	Ounces
	(oz Au/ton)	Au
26,080,000	0.019	486,000
15,690,000	0.021	333,000
1,280,000	0.035	45,000
43,050,000	0.02	864,000

Type	INFERRED
	Cutoff	Tons	Grade	Ounces
	(oz Au/ton)		(oz Au/ton)	Au
Oxide	0.008	4,330,000	0.016	69,000
Mixed	0.012	940,000	0.016	15,000
Sulfide	0.023	2,000	0.028	100
Total		5,270,000	0.016	84,000

* Apparent discrepancies are due to rounding

In a NI 43-101 compliant report dated March 13, 2006 by C.J. Freeman P.Geo. and Don Graham P.Eng., the authors calculated that based on a gold cutoff grade of 0.011 ounce per ton, the Almaden deposit contained a total indicated resource of 24,778,000 tons grading 0.021 ounces per ton, and a total inferred resource of 19,989,000 tons grading 0.018 ounces per ton. A subsequent drilling program undertaken by Freegold Ventures in 2006 and 2007, consisting of 145 drill holes (52,986 feet) has up-graded the resource to the measured and indicated categories totaling 43,050,000 tons grading 0.020 ounces per ton at gold cutoffs of 0.008, 0.012, and 0.023 ounces per ton for the three oxidation types as presented in the current MDA report.

The following table summarizes the gold resources as calculated by MDA. The table also summarizes the Almaden mineralization at various cutoffs in order to provide grade-distribution information, as well as to provide for economic conditions other than those envisioned by the cutoffs used for reporting purposes.

MEASURED & INDICATED GOLD RESOURCES
	Oxide			Mixed			Sulfide			Total
*Cutoff	**Tons	*Grade	Ounces Au	**Tons	*Grade	Ounces Au	**Tons	*Grade	Ounces Au	**Tons	*Grade	Ounces Au
(oz Au/ton)		(oz Au/ton)			(oz Au/ton)			(oz Au/ton)			(oz Au/ton)
0.005	31,770,000	0.016	521,000	42,420,000	0.012	526,000	13,660,000	0.011	149,000	87,850,000	0.014	1,196,000
0.008	26,080,000	0.019	486,000	26,060,000	0.016	429,000	6,410,000	0.017	106,000	58,550,000	0.017	1,021,000
0.010	22,910,000	0.020	459,000	19,860,000	0.019	376,000	4,540,000	0.020	90,000	47,310,000	0.020	925,000
0.012	19,640,000	0.022	425,000	15,690,000	0.021	333,000	3,480,000	0.023	79,000	38,810,000	0.022	837,000
0.015	14,450,000	0.025	358,000	10,810,000	0.025	270,000	2,400,000	0.027	65,000	27,660,000	0.025	693,000
0.020	7,830,000	0.032	247,000	6,030,000	0.032	191,000	1,520,000	0.034	51,000	15,380,000	0.032	489,000
0.023	6,060,000	0.035	210,000	4,660,000	0.035	163,000	1,280,000	0.035	45,000	12,000,000	0.035	418,000
0.030	3,530,000	0.041	145,000	2,810,000	0.041	114,000	890,000	0.039	35,000	7,230,000	0.041	294,000
0.040	1,530,000	0.051	78,000	1,230,000	0.049	60,000	390,000	0.049	19,000	3,150,000	0.050	157,000
0.050	610,000	0.061	37,000	450,000	0.058	26,000	110,000	0.055	6,000	1,170,000	0.059	69,000

INFERRED GOLD RESOURCES
	Oxide			Mixed			Sulfide			Total
*Cutoff	**Tons	*Grade	Ounces Au	**Tons	*Grade	Ounces Au	**Tons	*Grade	Ounces Au	**Tons	*Grade	Ounces Au
(oz Au/ton)		(oz Au/ton)			(oz Au/ton)			(oz Au/ton)			(oz Au/ton)
0.005	5,440,000	0.014	76,000	9,400,000	0.008	71,000	3,900,000	0.007	26,000	18,740,000	0.009	173,000
0.008	4,330,000	0.016	69,000	3,030,000	0.011	34,000	730,000	0.010	7,000	8,090,000	0.014	110,000
0.010	3,750,000	0.017	64,000	1,630,000	0.013	22,000	260,000	0.013	3,000	5,640,000	0.016	89,000
0.012	3,140,000	0.019	58,000	940,000	0.016	15,000	140,000	0.014	2,000	4,220,000	0.018	75,000
0.015	2,150,000	0.021	45,000	470,000	0.019	9,000	60,000	0.017	1,000	2,680,000	0.021	55,000
0.020	860,000	0.027	23,000	100,000	0.026	3,000	10,000	0.024	100	970,000	0.027	26,000
0.023	460,000	0.033	15,000	70,000	0.029	2,000	2,000	0.028	100	530,000	0.032	17,000
0.030	170,000	0.045	8,000	20,000	0.034	1,000	1,000	0.034	-	190,000	0.047	9,000
0.040	80,000	0.058	5,000	1,000	0.052	100	-	0.000	-	80,000	0.063	5,000
0.050	50,000	0.068	3,000	1,000	0.052	100	-	0.000	-	50,000	0.060	3,000

* Multiply oz Au/ton by 34.2857 to get gms/tonne. ** Multiply tons by 0.9072 to get tonnes.

The MDA report recommends a work program totaling $3,170,000 including drill testing along strike for extensions to the known ore body and testing for high grade gold zones at depth. A comprehensive review of all metallurgical data by experts is recommended to determine if further testing is required to assess gold recoveries. An economic assessment based on MDA's resource model and an environmental review are also recommended.

The Almaden Project is located in rural southwestern Idaho with excellent access and nearby hydroelectric power lines. The project is host to a low-sulphidation, epithermal gold deposit drilled extensively from 1978 to 2007 by a number of companies, including Homestake, Amax Gold and Freegold. Freegold optioned the property in 1995 and commissioned Watts, Griffis and McOuat ("WGM") to complete an economic study based on the drilling and metallurgical test work completed by Freegold. WGM completed a "feasibility study" in 1997, which pre-dates NI 43-101 reporting requirements and is not known to be NI 43-101 compliant, that envisioned gold production of approximately 100,000 ounces per year over a five-year mine life by open pit mining and heap leach extraction.

The relatively flat lying, strata-bound, near-surface, disseminated gold zone is hosted in silicified arkosic sandstone and is interpreted as forming in a hot-spring environment in the upper levels of an epithermal system. A total of 886 drill holes, including RC, rotary, and core (approximately 62,000 meters) have outlined a deposit that is approximately 1,500 meters long, 500 meters wide and up to 150 meters thick. Many of the Almaden drill holes are short and vertical, and the Company notes that 246 holes were stopped in mineralization. The deposit is open along strike and at depth where there is potential to discover high-grade feeder veins to the overlying lower-grade disseminated mineralization. This style of mineralization at the Ken Snyder mine (Newmont Mining Corp.) in northern Nevada locally contains ore grades greater than 3,430 grams per tonne and a resource of several million ounces.

The Company has completed a geophysical survey with the objective of identifying a feeder zone to the currently known gold mineralization. The induced polarization survey was contracted to P.E. Walcott and Associates. The survey included collection of resistivity and chargeability data as well as a magnetometer survey. Additionally, 1262 soil samples were collected along the established geophysical grid. The Company is awaiting results for both the geophysical and soil surveys.

Walter Melnyk, P.Eng., president of Western Standard is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed the technical disclosure contained in the news release.

WESTERN STANDARD METALS LTD.

s/"Walter Melnyk"

President

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