Mariana Resources Ltd. Issues Shares on Exercise of Options

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/21/11 -- Members of the Mariana Resources Ltd. (TSX: MRY)(AIM: MARL) employee option plan have exercised 57,000 options over shares in the company. The shares were issued at a price of 6 pence per share.

The exercise prices were set at the time the options were issued.

Mariana Resources Ltd. has made an application for the shares' admission to trading on AIM and the shares are expected to be admitted to trading on 21 October 2011. The shares have been approved for trading on TSX.

As a result of the above issue, the capital of the Company is now 181,559,930 ordinary shares.

J R Horsburgh, Chairman

For further information please visit website at www.marianaresources.com.

About Mariana Resources

Mariana Resources Ltd. is an AIM and TSX quoted exploration and development company with an extensive portfolio of gold, silver and copper projects in Argentina and Chile. In southern Argentina, in addition to the Las Calandrias gold-silver discovery, the Company has the Sierra Blanca silver-gold prospect (70%); the Los Amigos joint venture (49%) with Hochschild Mining and a 160,000 Ha land package (100%) in the country. All of these projects are located in the Deseado Massif epithermal gold-silver district in mining-friendly Santa Cruz province of southern Argentina, which hosts four mines and several advanced projects. In Chile, Mariana has a joint venture with US based international mining and natural resources company Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., to explore for iron oxide-copper-gold deposits ('IOCG') in a 92,000 sq.km. area ('SCM Mariana Area') in north-central Chile along the highly prospective Atacama Fault Zone. The SCM Mariana Area includes the 44 sq.km. Buenaventura and 46 sq.km. Perro Chico IOCG projects. Mariana is also evaluating a number of gold-silver and copper-gold opportunities away from the Cliffs JV area, as part of a new initiative.

Incorporated in Guernsey registered number 44276.

Neither the 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:

Mariana Resources Ltd. - In Australia

John Horsburgh

Chairman

61 2 94374588


Mariana Resources Ltd. - In Australia

Glen Parsons

CFO

61 2 94374588


RFC Corporate Finance Limited (Nomad) - In Australia

Rob Adamson

61 2 9250 0041


RFC Corporate Finance Limited (Nomad) - In Australia

Will Souter

61 2 9250 0050


FinnCap (Broker) - In U.K.

Matthew Robinson

44 20 7600 1658


Fox Davies Capital - In U.K.

Jonathan Evans

44 20 3463 5000


St Brides Media and Finance Ltd. (PR) - In U.K.

Felicity Edwards

44 20 7236 1177


Mariana Resources Ltd. (Vancouver Office) - In Canada

Kathryn Witter

1 604 669 9336
www.marianaresources.com


Renmark Financial Communications (PR) - In Canada

Arash Shahi

1 514 939 3989


Renmark Financial Communications (PR) - In Canada

Maurice Dagenais

1 416 644 2020