CAU Canyon Resources Corp

GOLDEN, Colo., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Canyon Resources Corporation (AMEX:CAU), a Colorado-based mining company, is today filing a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court in the case of Seven Up Pete Venture et al. v The State of Montana. This petition is being filed to meet the November 4 statutory deadline for filing such petition. This case was initiated after the passage of the 1998 I-137 ballot initiative in the State of Montana. Passage of this initiative resulted in a law that was narrowly crafted to specifically outlaw the use of cyanide to recover gold from ores mined by open pit methods. This was the first of its kind in the US. By the time the initiative passed, the Seven Up Pete Venture, currently wholly owned by Canyon Resources and its subsidiaries, had spent over $70 million drilling, permitting and engineering on its properties in Montana, including the 10.6 million ounce McDonald gold project. The passage of this initiative rendered the property worthless as no other gold recovery process technology has been proven to be economically viable for these ores. On June 8, 2005, the Montana Supreme Court upheld the I-137 initiative and denied that a takings had occurred. On July 19, 2005, the Venture filed its Motion to reinstate its reserved Federal claim in the US District Court for the District of Montana in Helena, Montana. The District Court has not yet ruled on whether the Federal claims should be reinstated and heard on the merits. The pertinent questions presented in The Venture's United States Supreme Court petition are: "1) whether real property and mineral leases, which included an opportunity for a mining permit, are "property" protected under the Takings Clause; and 2) whether the heightened constitutional scrutiny required under the Contracts Clause where a State law impairs a State's own contracts may be avoided if the State denies that the impairment was in its financial self interest." "We believe that these questions highlight the basic issues that are at the heart of our claims and that these questions of law deserve due consideration and clarification by the Court. The Venture has sustained a grievous loss with the taking of value from its properties. Clarification of the points of law stated above in our favor may allow resolution of our claims," stated James Hesketh, President and CEO of Canyon Resources Corporation. Canyon Resources Corporation, based in Golden, Colorado, was formed in 1979. The Company has a history of precious metals exploration success and can claim a number of significant discoveries. Canyon currently owns the Briggs Mine in California and is currently evaluating the re-start of that operation. Canyon is also evaluating the potential development of the Reward Gold Project in Nevada. This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Actual results may differ materially from any forward-looking statement whether expressed or implied in this news release. The following risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to vary include, but are not limited to, the speculative nature of mineral exploration, precious metals prices, production and reserve estimates, production costs, cash flows, environmental and governmental regulations, availability of financing, judicial proceedings and force majeure events and other risk factors as described from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Most of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: James Hesketh, President and CEO (303) 278-8464 Valerie Kimball, Investor Relations (303) 278-8464 http://www.canyonresources.com/ DATASOURCE: Canyon Resources Corporation CONTACT: James Hesketh, President and CEO, +1-303-278-8464, or Investors, Valerie Kimball, +1-303-278-8464, both of Canyon Resources Corporation Web site: http://www.canyonresources.com/

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