Orinoco Gold Limited is pleased to advise that the latest drilling results from the flagship Cascavel Target at its 70 per cent-owned Curral de Pedra Project in Brazil have confirmed the presence of an additional two zones of mineralisation, taking the total number to four. Curral de Pedra is located in the central Brazilian state of Goiás, the second largest gold producing state in Brazil. The Cascavel Target is the first target on the Curral de Pedra tenement package to be evaluated by the Company.

Recent drilling has intersected a third mineralised zone (carbonaceous schist) above the two previously-discovered zones and a further new zone of stacked quartz veins beneath the two known zones. This deepest zone is ~25m thick and contains stacked quartz carbonate quartz veins of very similar geology to the two previously identified zones. The zone appears to be geologically similar to (although considerably thicker than) the first and second mineralised zones, with intense hydrothermal alteration and a mineral assemblage of sulphides consistent with the other gold bearing zones at the Cascavel target.

The shallow zone is a thick unit (~8m) of carbonaceous schist that also contains highly anomalous coarse gold values (up to 2.7gpt). Surface mapping and sampling of this zone will be undertaken by Orinoco in order to better understand its potential. The existence of the additional mineralised zones at Cascavel is further evidence of the large hydrothermal event/s that have mineralised the Curral de Pedra project area. Follow-up mapping and surface sampling of the outcropping first and second mineralised zones will also attempt to determine if the third mineralised zone outcrops at surface.

Results from drilling to date continue to confirm that the mineralised zones carry coarse gold throughout the known strike and plunge of the Cascavel target. However, as stated in previous announcements, while drilling has been invaluable in proving the global geological continuity of the Cascavel target, it is proving ineffective as a tool to estimate grade. Assays received to date confirm that 95% of the gold at Cascavel is coarse (+150#) and that coarse gold is present throughout the system. The coarse clustered nature of the gold at Cascavel leads to a low statistical probability that gold grains will be intercepted in wide spaced drilling. The closely spaced surface drilling that would be required to estimate the grade of the Cascavel target is not a cost effective method of resource or grade estimation.

Channel sampling and drilling have shown that grade continuity is clearly less consistent than global geological continuity and therefore underground development and bulk sampling along with targeted close-spaced drilling will be the only reliable way to estimate grade and its distribution at the Cascavel target for JORC purposes.
 In November 2012, Orinoco lodged an application for a licence that will allow it to remove and process up to 50,000 tonnes of ore from the Cascavel target. An exploration decline is being planned for the second half of this calendar year that will enable Orinoco to effectively conduct a small-scale mining operation commencing with the ore that will be removed, sampled and stockpiled as part of the bulk sample program.

The current program of diamond drilling at the Cascavel target is expected to conclude next week with a total of 21 holes for 5,500m. The program has successfully achieved its stated aim of defining the geological continuity of a large gold-bearing shear zone hosted quartz carbonate vein system over 620m down-dip and 1.6km along strike. An Induced Polarisation (IP) survey is currently underway at Cascavel to test the responsiveness of the gold mineralisation and associated sulphides to IP. Additionally, Snowden and the Centre for Exploration Targeting have been engaged to provide technical services with regard to the Curral de Pedra project.