VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 06/26/2006 -- YANKEE HAT MINERALS LTD. (the "Company" or "Yankee Hat") (TSX VENTURE: KHT) announces that the exploration staff for the 2006 work program has now been mobilized to the Fran property project located 60 kilometres north of Fort St. James, 10 kilometres north of Inzana Lake. The claims are 30 kilometres southwest of Placer Dome's Mount Milligan deposit. Frontier Drilling has now mobilized its drill rig on site and drilling has commenced.

The first phase of work will involve a geophysical and geological survey, and excavator trenching. Phase I will also include approximately 2,000 Metres of core diamond drilling, the focus of which will be a 600 metre strike length on the North Contact Zone where 2005 trenching has produced significant high grade gold samples. Diamond drilling has commenced on the North Contact Zone utilizing a four man crew operating two shifts per day.

The 2005 trenching program on the north contact zone returned impressive results, including 63.5 g/t Au, 160 g/t Ag and 1.68 per cent Cu from a massive sulphide vein. Three trenches, over a 45-metre strike length, had four metre (true width) intercepts averaging between 4.7 g/t and 16 g/t Au with associated silver and copper values.

Some of these targets also received testing during 2005 diamond drilling and returned significant gold intercepts (Oct. 25, 2005, news in Stockwatch, DDH FR-047 (19.52 g/t Au, 31.47 g/t Ag and 0.98 per cent Cu over 1.55 metres), located under trench B and DDH FR-048 (6.25 g/t Au over 0.92 metre and 70.4 g/t (metallic) over 0.5 metre), located 40 metres to the east of trench G). The 2005 drill hole FR-047 tested beneath trench B and intersected a strong sulphide-quartz zone (40 metres vertical depth) averaging 19.52 g/t Au, 31.47 g/t Ag and 0.98 per cent Cu over 1.55 metres. The closest 2005 drill hole (FR-042) on the North Contact lies 550 metres to the east and intersected a similar sulphide-rich zone with quartz averaging 7.75 g/t Au over 3.34 metres.

These 2005 results indicate potential for continuous multigram gold zones in intrusive related settings. The Company will follow the trenching and geophysical survey with an extensive diamond drill program to obtain a more detailed analysis of the North Contact, Central and South Contact.

The Fran exploration program is managed and supervised by Ron Wells, PGeo, FGAC, the qualified person under National Instrument 43-101. A NI 43-101 compliant Geological report, by Ron Wells PGeo, FGAC, on the 2005 exploration program on the Fran property dated Mar 22 2006 has been filed on www.Sedar.com and is also available for viewing at www.yankeehatminerals.com.

Yankee Hat reports that further to its news release of May 4, 2006 announcing the closing of $1,000,000 private placement, the placement has been reduced by $50,000 resulting from the failure of two placees to provide their subscription funds on a timely basis.

About Yankee Hat Minerals Ltd.

The Company is actively exploring the Fran Property, a gold/base metals target near Placer Dome's Mt. Milligan deposit in central British Columbia; and the Shanghai Creek Project, a gold target within the Tintina Gold Belt - near Stratagold's Aurex and Dublin Gulch projects in the Yukon Territory. In addition, the Company has two uranium projects, the Thelon Basin Property located in Northern Saskatchewan, and the Lever Lake IOCG property in NWT.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Donald Gee C.A., President and Chief Executive Officer

This news release has been prepared by management. This document contains certain forward looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, delays, and uncertainties not under the Company's control which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements implied by these forward looking statements. We seek safe harbor.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.