(Source: MARKET WIRE)Alexco Resource Corp. (TSX: AXR)(AMEX: AXU) ("Alexco" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a silver purchase agreement with Silver Wheaton Corp. (TSX: SLW)(NYSE: SLW) ("Silver Wheaton") under which Silver Wheaton will purchase 25% of the life of mine silver produced by Alexco from its Keno Hill Silver District in Canada's Yukon Territory. The agreement anticipates that the initial silver deliveries will come from the Bellekeno property at Keno Hill. Alexco is currently undertaking mine development work at the Bellekeno property, which is also the subject of a recent preliminary economic assessment report (see the Alexco news release dated July 9, 2008 entitled "Alexco Releases Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment on Bellekeno Deposit").

Alexco will receive an up-front deposit payment from Silver Wheaton of US$50 million, plus a further payment of the lesser of US $3.90 (increasing by 1% per annum after the third year of full production) and the prevailing market price for each ounce of silver delivered. US$15 million of the up-front payment will be made in two tranches within the next 30 to 90 days as certain conditions are completed. The US$15 million will fund ongoing underground development, definition drilling and continued exploration of the Bellekeno resource as well as other work required to refine and complete engineering studies. The remaining US$35 million will be paid on a monthly draw-down basis to build out the Bellekeno mine infrastructure and processing facility, commencing once Alexco has made a positive development decision and subject to certain other conditions including Alexco having sufficient committed funds available to complete construction and achieve production within specified time frames.

As announced in the July 9, 2008 news release, the recently-completed preliminary economic assessment of the Bellekeno deposit estimated the total capital required to achieve production, including initial working capital and a 25% contingency, to be CAD$61.2 million, including CAD$10 million of underground development work that Alexco has now already partially completed. The base case pre-tax assessment indicated a net present value of US$87 million at 8%, an internal rate of return of 55.5% and a pay-back period of 1.6 years, based on metal prices of US$11.69 per ounce for silver, US$1.24 per pound for zinc and US$0.81 per pound for lead. The assessment anticipates a project with average annual mine production of 3.3 million ounces of silver, 30.1 million pounds of lead and 24.5 million pounds of zinc over an initial 5 year mine life.