Aurora Gold Corp Announces Update of Activities on Sao Domingo

ZUG, SWITZERLAND -- (Marketwire) -- 12/05/12 -- Aurora Gold Corporation (the "Company," or "Aurora") (OTCQB: ARXG) (FRANKFURT: A4G) (XETRA: A4G) (BERLIN: A4G) (STUTTGART: A4G), is a mineral exploration company focusing on exploration and development in the Tapajos Gold Province, State of Para, Brazil.

The board of Aurora Gold Corporation is pleased to announce that the Geotechnical team has successfully set up the base camp and office facilities on the Companies Sao Domingo property. The current aims of the team are to delineate the areas for focused bulk sampling of oxide and elluvial material.

Previous exploration identified several large areas demonstrating potential economic mineralisation and the geologists will prioritise these for testing. Concurrently geophysics and geochemistry will be conducted over the 13 known primary gold occurrences to determine strike and width potential before testing the depth potential with drilling.

Work completed thus far during Q4 also included an optimization of exploration methods on the license based on the reprocessing of historical data.

Insitu, compositional comparison of the of soils, the weathering crust and bedrock showed the geomorphological conditions of bedrock laterisation are not accompanied by significant mobilisation of the economic components of the mineralisation. Hence the extensive areas of previous artisanal mining activities may have been carried out, in part, over areas of primary mineralisation.

This distinction between the identification of elluvial mineralisation as against the previously interpreted alluvial concentrations of economic gold has resulted in a priority change to the exploration plans for 2013.

The analysis of the spatial distribution of elements in the vertical cross-section of the Fofoca deposit showed that a number of specific elements are concentrated into halos, acting as pathfinders to associated potential economic mineralisation.

Based on the pathfinder approach to exploration around the known mineralisation of the Fofoca deposit, and a reanalysis of previous soil data, a new area was identified as exhibiting the same geochemical characteristics to the south west of the current Fofoca resource. This area, along with other geochem anomalies will be tested by auger drilling as part of the subsurface exploration plans for on Sao Domingo.

Aurora is also currently conducting a stream sediment sampling program over an area of 50 km2, focusing on the western flank of the license area. The area includes the Toucano gold occurrence and extensions of Fofoca. The survey area is in highly variable topographic relief with the associated network of water courses covering the entire area. A total of 64 permanent and seasonal water courses, totaling 67 km have been mapped within the targeted area. All of the water courses will be sampled as part of the current program and results tabulated and any anomalous mineralisation followed up with further exploration.

Aurora's common stock is also traded on the Stuttgart and the Berlin-Bremen Stock Exchanges in Germany under the symbols "(STUTTGART: A4G) (FRANKFURT: A4G) (XETRA: A4G) (BERLIN: A4G)."

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Lars Pearl, CEO and Director

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains statements that plan for or anticipate the future, called "forward-looking statements." In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of those terms and other comparable terminology.

These forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this press release and include, but are not limited to, statements about; our market opportunity; revenue generation; our strategies; competition; expected activities and expenditures as we pursue our business plan; the adequacy of our available cash resources; our ability to acquire properties on commercially viable terms; challenges to our title to our properties; operating or technical difficulties in connection with our exploration and development activities; currency fluctuations; fluctuating market prices for precious and base metals; the speculative nature of precious and base metals exploration and development activities; environmental risks and hazards; governmental regulations; and conduct of operations in politically and economically less developed areas of the world.

Many of these contingencies and uncertainties can affect our actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, us. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. Specific reference is made to our most recent annual report on Form 10KSB and other filings made by us with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for more detailed discussions of the contingencies and uncertainties enumerated above and the factors underlying the forward-looking statements. These reports and filings may be inspected and copied at the Public Reference Room maintained by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You can obtain information about operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov.

We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable laws.

This press release is for informational purposes only and is not and should not be construed as an offer to solicit, buy, or sell any security.

For further information, please contact Lars Pearl.

CUSIP No. 051642106

WKN: (Germany) 904846

Contacts:

Aurora Gold Corporation

Lars Pearl

President, CEO & Director

(+41) 7887 96966


Aurora Gold Corporation

C/- Coresco AG,

Level 3, Gotthardstrasse 20

6304 Zug, Switzerland
www.aurora-gold.com