Firestone Ventures Corporate Update and Exploration Plans

EDMONTON, ALBERTA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/19/11 -- Firestone Ventures Inc. ('Firestone' or the 'Company') (TSX VENTURE: FV)(FRANKFURT: F5V) is pleased announce the appointment of Jamila Abassi, M.A., of Klohn Crippen Berger Ltd. as lead Corporate Social Responsibility Advisor for all of Firestone's Guatemala projects.

Jamila Abassi is a cultural anthropologist with mineral industry experience in developing culturally appropriate stakeholder engagement programs and producing ISO 26000 aligned corporate social responsibility policies for both junior and senior mineral exploration companies. Jamila has led community relations and environment teams in North, Central and South America, Europe, and Australasia. She will manage the programs and processes to meet host-country and international benchmarks such as the Equator Principles and the IFC Performance Standards and will also provide guidance for stakeholder engagement and environmental management for Firestone's exploration activities. Jamila is currently Manager of Socio-Environment and Sustainability, Mining Environment Group at Klohn Crippen Berger Ltd. in Brisbane, Australia.

In other corporate news, John Cleary has resigned as Vice President Exploration. Firestone wishes to thank him for his contribution to the company and is pleased to announce that he will continue advancing the company's Nevada projects as a consultant.

Exploration Update - Nevada, U.S.A.

Black Mountain Zinc-Lead Property

Firestone recently announced the acquisition of the Black Mountain zinc-lead mineral claims, located 29 km northeast of Wells, Nevada, U.S.A. from Kinross Gold Corp. (see news release Dec. 1, 2010). Black Mountain is a road-accessible zinc-lead property hosted in carbonate rocks. The Black Mountain property is permitted for drilling and the company is in the process of planning a drill program to begin in spring, 2011.

Antelope Zinc-Lead-Silver Property

Firestone has defined a 4 km zinc-lead-silver corridor on the Company's road-accessible Antelope property located 75 km southwest of Eureka, Nevada U.S.A. (see news release Sept. 23, 2010). Firestone has started the permitting process for a drill program. Timing will depend on the rigorous permitting process required to drill in a National Forest. Stratabound zinc-lead-silver mineralization is hosted in lower Ordovician Hanson Creek Formation dolomite and is spatially related to a north-south fault. The mineralized horizon dips shallow to the west where it is covered by younger Tertiary volcanic ash flows.

Exploration Update - Guatemala, Central America

Geological field crews in Guatemala have been working throughout the last six months of 2010 on a comprehensive zinc regional exploration program focused on a 250 km belt of Cretaceous to Permian carbonate hostrocks with oxide and sulphide zinc potential. The first of several compelling zinc-lead-silver targets, the Quetzal property in central Guatemala, was drilled earlier in 2010 (see news release June 24, 2010) and Firestone is having reconnaissance exploration success in targeting prospective carbonate horizons favorable for hosting Mississippi-Valley Type (MVT) zinc-lead-silver mineralization.

Regional exploration has resumed after the holiday break. Fieldwork will focus on property scale exploration work at one of the most promising project areas where rock samples collected by field crews returned up to 40.78% zinc, 6.21% lead and 42 g/t silver. Fieldwork will also continue on a regional basis.

At the Company's Torlon Hill zinc-lead-silver deposit in western Guatemala, work is continuing on metallurgical testing, regional data compilation and community relations initiatives.

About the Torlon Hill Zinc-Lead-Silver Deposit

The 100% owned road-accessible Torlon Hill zinc-lead-silver deposit is 22 km from the Pan-American Highway in western Guatemala. Firestone was the first company to drill the property. Torlon Hill is an intensely oxidized zinc-lead (plus silver) deposit hosted in Permian dolostone breccia and limestone. The carbonate unit has been tectonically thrust over a serpentinized basement sequence at the boundary between the North American Tectonic Plate and the Caribbean Plate. The 'tectonic crush zone' is pervasively mineralized with thick zones returning in excess of 10% zinc and locally up to 40%. Smithsonite (ZnCO3) is the predominant ore mineral, occurring as a replacement to limestone. Throughout the deposit, silver-rich galena veinlets cross-cut the pervasive zinc-replacement mineralization.

To date, a total of 8,400 metres in 101 holes has been drilled at the Torlon Hill zinc-lead-silver deposit. The combined measured and indicated zinc-lead-silver oxide mineral resource totals 1,891,636 tonnes grading 7.32% zinc, 2.41% lead and 14.25 g/t silver (at a 3% zinc-equivalent cutoff). An additional 169,705 tonnes is classified as inferred resources grading 4.42% zinc, 1.96% lead and 12.53 g/t silver.

The Torlon deposit also contains a basal zone of unoxidized sulphide mineralization which is not yet well-defined by drilling. This basal zone includes a combined measured and indicated sulphide resource totalling 76,054 tonnes averaging 3.23% zinc, 2.6% lead and 12.50 g/t silver and a further 36,291 tonnes classified as inferred resources averaging 2.79% zinc, 2.03% lead and 10.47 g/t silver (see news release Nov. 18, 2008). The deposit is open to expansion and high-grade zinc mineralization defined by the mineral resource is on or near surface.

Rock samples from the regional zinc exploration program are sent to the BSI Inspectorate facility in Guatemala City for preparation and then sent by courier to the International Plasma Labs Ltd. ('IPL') facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for analysis using 30 element ICP and 30g FA/AAS. Over limit zinc and lead analyses were further analyzed by atomic absorption methods. The upper limit for zinc is 20%, and samples containing more than this threshold were re-analyzed using titration. Soil and stream sediment samples are analyzed using 30 element ICP and 30 g FA/AAS.

Lori Walton, P.Geol., Firestone's President, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

This news release may contain forward looking statements, being statements which are not historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization, exploration results, resource or reserve estimates, anticipated production or results, sales, revenues, costs, 'best-efforts' financings or discussions of future plans and objectives. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove accurate. Such statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those anticipated or projected. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are in Company documents filed from time to time with the TSX Venture Exchange and provincial securities regulators, most of which are available at www.sedar.com. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update such statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Firestone Ventures Inc.

Lori Walton, P.Geol.

President

Toll Free: 1-888-221-5588

(780) 428-3476 (FAX)
info@firestoneventures.com
www.firestoneventures.com