El Niño Ventures Inc. Announces New Independent Director

VANCOUVER, April 20, 2012 /CNW/ - El Niño Ventures Inc. ("ELN" and the "Company") (TSX.V: ELN) (Frankfurt: E7Q) (OTCQX: ELNOF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Michael Neumann P. Eng. to its Board of Directors.

Mr. Neumann brings significant experience in the mining arena and has been Proprietor of Neumann Engineering and Mining Services, Inc. since 1993 providing international engineering services focusing primarily on underground hard rock engineering facets such as mine design, productivity improvements, rock mechanics, second opinions, peer reviews and other types of studies.

Mr. Neumann is a graduate of Haileybury School of Mines and Michigan Technological University (Mining Engineering Degree) a member of the Canadian Institute of Mining, the International Society of Rock Mechanics and the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario. Concurrent with his current position, from 2003 to 2006, Mr. Neumann was Director and Chief Operating Officer of Silver Eagle Mines Inc., (now Excellon Resources Inc.) a TSX listed Canadian-based silver exploration and development company focused on acquiring, exploring and developing high grade silver deposits among the silver mines of the Mexican mineral belt. Prior to this Mr. Neumann was Co- Founder and Director of the Engineering Seismology Group Inc. based in Kingston, Ontario. His early industry experience includes positions of Chief Engineer at Campbell Red Lake Mines and Underground Superintendent at Barrick's Holt McDermott Mine.

Mr. Harry Barr, Chairman and CEO of El Nino Ventures states, "We are pleased to welcome Michael Neumann to our Company's Board. His experience in the mining industry will further enhance the strength of our Board of Directors."


About El Niño Ventures Inc. Bathurst Projects

1. Bathurst Mining Camp Project: (Tri-Party Agreement)
Consists of an initial 4,712 claims in the Tri‐Party Agreement with Xstrata & VM Canada whereby VM Canada may incur exploration expenditures of $10 million over a period of 5 years to earn a 50% interest. VM Canada may further increase its interest to 70% by spending an additional $10 million over 2 years.

In February 2011, ELN announced that a $5,000,000 exploration program on the Bathurst Mining Camp Base Metals Project has begun consisting of airborne and ground geophysics and will include a 10,000 metre drill program which is currently underway. (See news release dated February 23, 2011). Airborne geophysics survey has been completed and survey results are pending.

2. Murray Brook Project: Under Votorantimʹs Option and Joint Venture Agreement with Murray Brook Minerals and Murray Brook Resources, both privately held companies, Votorantim can earn a 50% interest in the properties by funding $2,250,000 in exploration expenditures and making payments totalling $300,000 over a three year period that commenced November 1, 2010. Votorantim can earn an additional 20% interest in the properties by funding an additional $2,250,000 in exploration expenditures over an additional two year period. ELN has elected to enter into a participation agreement wherein it can earn 50% of Votorantim's interest by paying 50% of the costs incurred by Votorantim in the Option and Joint Venture Agreement.


The Murray Brook Deposit

Figure 1 - Land tenure map showing the location of the Murray Brook Project in the Bathurst Mining Camp

The Murray Brook deposit is a polymetallic, volcanic hosted massive‐sulfide deposit in the Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick. The property is located approximately 60 km west of the town of Bathurst. A gravel road links the property to a paved highway. An electricity grid is nearby, as are communities with goods, services and skilled labor. The Gossan Zone overlying the massive sulfide deposit was mined for gold and silver during the open‐pit mining operations carried out by Novagold Resources Inc. during the early 1990s. The hanging wall is moderately chloritic and is locally intensely deformed. The foot wall consists of fine grained, felsic tuff and tuffaceous sediments with moderate to strong chlorite and sericite alteration. Sulfides are mainly fine grained, massive, weakly laminated pyrite with disseminated and banded sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena.

The first phase of the 2011 drill program was completed in spring/summer 2011 and significant intersections of zinc, copper, lead, gold and silver were reported. The second phase of the drilling program was initiated in September 2011 and the results announced (please see news releases dated August 30, 2011, November 28, 2011, January 16th and January 23, 2012).


About VM Canada (Votorantim Metals Canada Inc.)

Votorantim Metals Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of Votorantim Metals, a company that is part of the Votorantim Group that was founded in Brazil in 1918, operates in twenty countries and has over forty thousand employees. Votorantim Metals is the largest electrolytic‐nickel producer in Latin America and one of the world's leaders in the production of zinc, aluminum and nickel.


About El Niño Ventures Inc.

El Niño Ventures Inc. is an international exploration company, focused on exploring for lead, zinc, copper, gold and silver in New Brunswick, Canada and copper in the Democratic Republic of Congo ("DRC").


On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Harry Barr, Chairman & CEO
El Niño Ventures Inc.



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.

Note: this release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results and are based on current expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses words such as "continue", "efforts", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "confident", "intend", "strategy", "plan", "will", "estimate", "project", "goal", "target", "prospects", "optimistic" or similar expressions. These statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others, the Company's ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make available adequate current public information, additional or different regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed, and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts' expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.



For further information:

Tel: +1 604 685 1870 Fax: +1 604 685 8045
Email: info@elninoventures.com
or visit www.elninoventures.com
650-555 West 12th Avenue, City
Square, West Tower, Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada, V5Z 3X7