Searchlight Minerals Corp. Clarkdale Project Update

HENDERSON, NV, Nov 02 (MARKET WIRE) --
Searchlight Minerals Corp. (OTCBB: SRCH) ("Searchlight" or the
"Company"), an exploration stage minerals company focused on precious
metals projects in the southwestern United States, today announced recent
developments at its Clarkdale Slag Project in north-central Arizona (the
"Project").

Background of the Project

The production module at the Clarkdale, Arizona site of the Project
consists of four primary process components:

1. Crushing/Grinding

2. Leaching/Filtration

3. Au/Ag Extraction = Ion Exchange Resins (IX)

4. Cu/Zn Extraction = Solvent Extraction Electrowinning (SXEW)

Since the Company's last update in August 2009, the Company has been
working to resolve the significant technical challenges facing the Project
relating to the crushing and grinding process of the production module in
an effort to optimize the efficiency of the circuit. The successful
"mechanical liberation" of the metals from their encapsulation within the
highly refractory and abrasive slag has been believed to be a key to the
success of the Project. The Company and its consulting engineers believe
that they have resolved the issues relating to the throughput rate of the
crushing and grinding circuit. Currently, the Company is capable of
operating the throughput in the crushing and grinding circuit on a
continuous basis.

"The most significant risk at Clarkdale has always involved proving that
the crushing and grinding circuit could liberate the precious metals from
the slag, and that the circuit could operate continuously. We are very
pleased to report success in solving the issues regarding the operation of
the crushing and grinding circuit, thereby allowing the crushing and
grinding circuit to operate continuously in a manner and at a capacity
that liberates metals at levels consistent with the range of management's
expectations. With the help of our vendors, we also have made significant
progress in extending the life of our crushing and grinding components,"
noted Ian McNeil, Chief Executive Officer of Searchlight Minerals Corp.

Work Project Going Forward

With the gold and silver ion exchange resin circuit being operational and
the solvent exchange electrowinning circuit being operational for copper
and approaching operational status for zinc, once the leach circuit has
been configured to run continuously at optimum productivity levels, the
Company believes it will be able to proceed with the operation of all
circuits within the production module. The Company's technical team is
currently focused on optimizing the leach circuit with the grind/leach
combination that will optimize metal extraction which can then be filtered
and run through the ion exchange resin extraction and solvent exchange
electrowinning circuits in order to extract precious and base metals in
marketable forms.

Management Team

The Company's Board of Directors has authorized the engagement of an
executive search firm to identify additional senior-level executives that
can strengthen the management team to assist the Company in its future
operations.

About Searchlight Minerals Corp.

Searchlight Minerals Corp. is a minerals exploration company focused on
the acquisition and development of projects in the southwestern United
States. The Company is currently involved in two projects: (1) the
Clarkdale Slag Project, located in Clarkdale, Arizona, is a reclamation
project to recover precious and base metals from the reprocessing of slag
produced from the smelting of copper ores mined at the United Verde
Copper Mine in Jerome, Arizona; and (2) the Searchlight Gold Project,
which involves exploration for precious metals on mining claims near
Searchlight, Nevada. The Project is the more advanced of two ongoing
projects that the Company is pursuing. The Searchlight Gold Project is an
early-stage gold exploration endeavor on 3,200 acres located
approximately 50 miles south of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Searchlight Minerals Corp. is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada, and its
common stock is listed on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "SRCH."
Additional information is available on the Company's website at
www.searchlightminerals.com and in the Company's filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release may contain, in addition to historical information,
forward-looking statements. Statements in this Press Release that are
forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties
concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors"
in the Company's periodic filings with the Commission. When used in this
Press Release in discussing the recent developments on the Project,
including, without limitation, the resolution of certain issues relating
to the operation of the production module, the words such as "believe,"
"could," "may," "expect" and similar expressions are forward-looking
statements. The risk factors that could cause actual results to differ
from these forward-looking statements include, but are not restricted to
technical issues on the Project that may affect the production module and
its primary process components, challenges in moving from pilot plant
scale to production scale, the risk that actual recoveries of base and
precious metals or other minerals re-processed from the slag material at
the Clarkdale site will not be economically feasible, uncertainty of
estimates of mineralized material, operational risk, the Company's
limited operating history, uncertainties about the availability of
additional financing, geological or mechanical difficulties affecting the
Company's planned mineral recovery programs, the risk that actual capital
costs, operating costs and economic returns may differ significantly from
the Company's estimates, uncertainty whether the results from the
Company's feasibility studies and the results from the operation of the
production module are not sufficiently positive for the Company to
proceed with the construction of its processing facility, operational
risk, the impact of governmental and environmental regulation, financial
risk, currency risk volatility in the prices of precious metals and other
statements that are not historical facts as disclosed under the heading
"Risk Factors" in the Company's periodic filings with securities
regulators in the United States. Consequently, risk factors including,
but not limited to the aforementioned, may result in significant delays
to the projected or anticipated production target dates.

Contact Information:
Carl Ager
Vice President
(702) 939-5247
Email Contact

or

RJ Falkner & Company, Inc.
Investor Relations Counsel
(800) 377-9893
Email Contact

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