**EXHIBIT      31.1**

**CERTIFICATION      OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER**

|   | (a)                Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such                disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision,                to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including                its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within                those                entities, particularly during the period in which this report is                being                prepared;                   |
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|   | (b)                Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused                such                internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our                supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability                of                financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for                external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting                principles;                          |
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|   | (c)                Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and                procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the                effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the                end of                the period covered by this report based on such evaluation;                and                                                                                                                                      |
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|   | (d)                Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control                over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent                fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an                annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely                to                materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial                reporting; and |

|   | (a)                All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design                or                operation of internal control over financial reporting which are                reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record,                process, summarize and report financial information;                and |
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|   | (b)                Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other                employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control                over financial reporting.                                                                                                                                             |

|                                                    | SEARCHLIGHT                MINERALS CORP. |
|---------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
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| Date:   November                10, 2008 |                                      | By: | /s/                IAN R. MCNEIL |
|                                                    |                                      |   | Ian                R. McNeil |
|                                                    |                                      |   | Chief                Executive Officer |

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