VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Feb. 8, 2010) - Strongbow Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SBW) is pleased to provide a summary and update of its wholly owned Snowbird nickel project, including the Nickel King deposit. The Snowbird project extends for over 200 km from northern Saskatchewan into the Northwest Territories.

Ken Armstrong, President and CEO of Strongbow stated "Our exploration efforts over the last three years have clearly confirmed the potential of this area of central Canada to host a new belt of nickel-copper sulphide deposits. We are well on our way to defining a large, bulk tonnage Ni-Cu-Co deposit at Nickel King with initial metallurgy demonstrating potential to produce a high grade concentrate that would be attractive to domestic and foreign consumers. Perhaps more importantly, 1.2 million acres of prospecting permits acquired in 2007 have, through diligent exploration, been narrowed down to approximately 78,000 acres focused on high priority exploration targets to the south of Nickel King. The discovery of nickel, copper and PGE mineralization in previously unknown mafic and ultramafic intrusions in the Opescal Lake, Heel and Dumas areas highlights the potential of the southern Snowbird tectonic zone to host a number of magmatic nickel copper sulphide deposits in addition to Nickel King. Strongbow is fully permitted to carry out the next phase of exploration, including drilling to test these priority exploration targets and expand the Nickel King deposit."

Data compilation, modelling and target evaluation is ongoing for the entire Snowbird project area. Important highlights for each of the Nickel King, Opescal Lake, Heel, and Dumas areas are provided below.

Nickel King

- Located in the Northwest Territories, 145 km northeast of Stony Rapids, Saskatchewan;

- Mineral claims have been converted to mining leases, ensuring long term, secure mineral tenure;

- The Nickel King Ni-Cu-Co deposit is hosted within two arcuate stacked, moderately south-dipping norite sills;

- Mineralization has been traced over a total strike length of approximately 2,600 m;

- Results of a final locked cycle metallurgical test projected the grade of the final concentrate to be 16.5% Ni, 4.2% Cu and 0.74% Co. Recoveries of Ni, Cu and Co are given as 78.4%, 89.1% and 63.5%, respectively (Strongbow news release #09-08 dated July 15, 2009);

- A NI 43-101 compliant geological resource model has yielded 11.1 Mt grading at 0.40% Ni, 0.10% Cu and 0.018% Co containing 44,500 t of Ni, 10,600 t of Cu and 2,200 t of Co in the indicated category. The total Inferred Resource is 33.1 Mt grading at 0.36% Ni, 0.09% Cu and 0.017% Co containing 119,300 t of Ni, 29,000 t of Cu and 5,600 t of Co. The reported base case resource was determined at a 0.2% Ni cut-off (Strongbow news release #09-03 dated February 25, 2009);

- Strongbow estimates that between 10 and 27 million tonnes (Mt) of 'potential resources' lie within areas of the geological resource model. These 'potential resources' occupy gaps within the NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate where there is insufficient drilling to classify an inferred resource. Modelled resource blocks falling within these gaps have instead been classified as 'potential resources'. Strongbow's estimate of the tonnage of these 'potential resources' has been determined by modelling the pierce points of 23 proposed drill holes, representing approximately 5,200 m of drilling, through the geological resource model. 'Potential resources' were estimated by adding together resource blocks that i) fall within a 75 m area of influence around each proposed drill hole, and ii) were classified as 'potential resources' at a 0.2% Ni cut-off within the geological resource model. The 27 Mt maximum 'potential resource' includes every resource block that satisfies the two criteria above. The lower 10 Mt 'potential resource' was determined by making a reasonable estimate of the minimum extent of mineralization expected within these areas of the deposit. The reader is cautioned that this estimate of 'potential resources' is conceptual in nature, that there has been insufficient exploration to define a resource in these areas of the Nickel King deposit and that it is uncertain whether additional exploration drilling will be successful in delineating a mineral resource in these areas;

- Significant potential to increase the size of the Nickel King deposit has also been identified outside of the current resource model. Ongoing geophysical and structural modelling suggests that Nickel King mineralization may extend a further 600-700 m along strike to the southwest of the current limit of drilling. The deposit also remains open up dip and along strike to the east, where geophysical surveys suggest mineralization could extend a further 250 m;

- Strongbow's drilling discoveries of the Koona (1.0% Ni, 0.2% Cu, 0.04% Co over 4.35 m) and South Ring (0.47% Ni, 0.27% Cu, 0.03% Co over 21.2 m) prospects within three km of the main Nickel King deposit confirm the potential of the immediate Nickel King area to host near surface satellite deposits;

- The property also hosts at least nine additional high priority geophysical targets and mineralized showings.

Opescal Lake

- Straddles the Saskatchewan/Northwest Territories border, approximately 30 km southwest of Nickel King;

- Exploration work included airborne geophysical surveys, limited bedrock mapping and geochemical surveys;

- Previously unrecognized mafic and ultramafic intrusions are extensive;

- Nickel-copper sulphide mineralization has been discovered in at least five areas;

- Fifteen priority electromagnetic geophysical targets have been identified including two parallel coincident magnetic-electromagnetic anomalies that represent the most compelling regional exploration targets identified to date. These overburden covered targets are each over 800 m in length, have geophysical responses similar to Nickel King and coincide with anomalous biogeochemical (spruce tree) survey results;

- Best mineralization has been discovered at the OPN target where five of six grab samples returned from 0.2% Ni to 1.17% Ni. Mineralization at OPN is coincident with a 770 m long, high priority (greater than 1,000 siemens) geophysical anomaly (Strongbow news release #09-11, September 16, 2009);

- Mineralization at the Skip showing returned 4.2 g/t Au, 0.8 g/t Pt and 0.8 g/t Pd, indicating potential for platinum group element mineralization.

Heel

- Located 70 km southwest of Nickel King and 70 km northeast of Stony Rapids, SK;

- Exploration work at Heel has included airborne geophysical surveys, limited bedrock mapping and geochemical surveys;

- Numerous mafic/ultramafic intrusions have been mapped in the area including two stacked northeast-dipping norite sills very similar in character to the norite sills hosting mineralization at Nickel King. The stacked sills are proximal to a 500 m long geophysical target that coincides with a soil geochemical and biogeochemical anomaly;

- Nickel sulphide mineralization has been identified in three areas, including the Laura showing, which has returned from background values up to 0.49% Ni and 0.27% Cu from relatively weak mineralization. The showing coincides with a high priority geophysical target;

- Mapping by the Saskatchewan Geological Survey in 2009 also identified a series of additional gabbro, norite and pyroxenite intrusions in and around the Heel area.

Dumas

- Located from 30 to 35 km north of Stony Rapids, SK;

- Three separate target areas have been defined where mafic/ultramafic intrusions coincide with multiple geophysical anomalies;

- Drilling in 2008 discovered magmatic sulphide mineralization in the Nickel Lake and Dumas Lake areas;

- The Nickel Lake discovery consists of a single drill hole returning 0.8 m grading 1.89% Ni, 0.96% Cu and 0.11% Co within a highly strained mafic intrusion. The discovery hole tested the centre of a 550 m long coincident magnetic and electromagnetic anomaly. Geochemical surveys suggest that disseminated sulphide mineralization could extend for several hundred metres beyond the geophysical anomaly.

The discovery of additional nickel copper sulphide deposits at the Opescal Lake, Heel or Dumas areas would assist the evaluation and potential development of the Nickel King deposit. Subject to financing requirements, Strongbow is planning a 2010 drilling program to test these regional exploration targets and to define the extent of mineralization at Nickel King. Strongbow's 2010 exploration programs are conducted under the supervision of David Gale, P.Geo.(BC/NT), Vice-President of Exploration for Strongbow and a qualified person under NI 43-101.

STRONGBOW EXPLORATION INC.

Kenneth A. Armstrong, President and CEO