ACQUISITION: Teck to expand oil sands interests with takeover of SilverBirch

VANCOUVER and CALGARY - Teck Resources of Vancouver has made an offer for Calgary-based SilverBirch Energy Corp. SilverBirch shareholders are to receive $8.50 in cash plus one share of a new company to be called SilverWillow Energy for each SilverBirch share held. The deal is worth $435 million and will provide SilverWillow with $25 million in net working capital.

Excluded from the deal are SilverBirch's interests in the Frontier and Equinox oil sands projects. The Equinox project is the proposed fourth phase of the Frontier project located across the Athabasca River from the Fort Hills development project in which Teck holds a 20% interest. The Equinox project is also adjacent to the leases held for expansion of the Horizon oil sands project (Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.) and the proposed Pierre River project (Shell Canada).

SilverBirch has a 100% working interest in two other oil sands leases known as the Audet lands 110 km north east of Fort McMurray, AB. The 51-101 resource estimate put the in situ bitumen content of those leases at 1.69 billion bbl. SilverBirch and Teck also share equal interests in numerous other oil sands leases.

More details about Teck's offer are available at both www.SilverBirchEnergy.com and www.Teck.com.