Gold Aura (GOA) advises that BacTech Mining Corporation (BacTech) has announced the status of its progress on the Fergusson Island Gold Project JV entered into with GOA.  A copy of the announcement is provided below.

GOA is encouraged by this announcement as it indicates;

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Toronto, Canada, January 21, 2009 - BacTech Mining Corporation ("BacTech" or the "Company", TSX.V: BM)  today announced that it has received conditional approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) for the proposed acquisition of a 33% interest in two gold deposits in Papua New Guinea from Yamana Gold Inc. ("Yamana").  BacTech will issue to Yamana 15M shares for their interest, resulting in Yamana holding 19.97% of BacTech's common shares. The balance of ownership in the projects (67%), is held by the current operator, Gold Aura Limited ("Gold Aura", ASX: GOA), of Brisbane, Australia (see news release dated June 18, 2008 for additional details).
 
The conditions applied by the TSX-V are as follows:
 
- BacTech is to seek shareholder approval within 30 days supporting  the transaction. This can be accomplished by obtaining written  consent from at least 50.1% of its shareholders. Any shareholder wishing to vote on this matter should contact the Company at numbers provided below.
 
- BacTech must prove that it has the capital to carry out a work program  on the projects in 2009.
 
- BacTech satisfies its first year payment to Gold Aura. It is  anticipated that this will be done through the issuance of common  shares to Gold Aura. Once completed, BacTech's stake in the projects  will rise to 38%.
 
The Papua New Guinea ("PNG") assets are made up of 2 separate gold deposits, Wapula and Gameta, located on the north shore of Fergusson Island. Yamana has been involved with the project since the early 1990s, and is divesting its interest to focus on assets in North and South America.
Recently, BacTech completed a technical report on the assets at the request of the TSX-V which highlighted the need for additional drilling to confirm historical results generated by Yamana and Gold Aura (and its predecessors). The technical report is posted on SEDAR and also on the Company's web site.  
 
In discussions between BacTech and Gold Aura, it was decided that BacTech should begin its initial work commitment by focusing on bioleach amenability work prior to any additional drilling taking place.  The value of the assets could be enhanced through successful bioleach test work, thereby removing any potential metallurgical issues that exist.
 
Shareholders wishing to vote in favour of the proposed transaction are asked to contact the Company at info@bactech.com to obtain the requisite forms.
 
BACTECH PROFILE
BacTech owns patented bacterial oxidation technology for the treatment of refractory ores and concentrates to enhance the recovery of gold, silver and base metals. The Company's focus is the acquisition of equity positions in projects amenable to bioleaching. In June 2008, the Company signed an agreement to acquire Yamana Gold Inc.'s 33% interest in two refractory gold deposits in Papua New Guinea. In July 2008, BacTech signed an MOU to investigate the use of bioleaching to reprocess arsenic-laden tailings in Cobalt, Ontario. This is the Company's first foray into the cleantech industry. BacTech is continuing to evaluate additional remediation projects.
 
For further information contact:
Ross Orr, President & CEO,                416-813-0303         ext 222
Investor Relations:
Pierre Anglos                1-800-436-2027         Email: capitalgainsco@shaw.ca
Shares outstanding 60,107,206
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept any responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
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Copyright (c) 2009 BACTECH MINING CORPORATION (BM)  All rights
reserved.  For more information visit our website at
http://www.bactech.com/ or send mailto:info@bactech.com
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Gold Aura�s principal activity is the global exploration for world class mineral resources. Its current focus is evaluation of the vein style polymetallic (zinc-tin-copper-silver dominant) mineralisation discovered at Croydon, the BacTech funded gold exploration program at Fergusson Island in PNG and the commencement of exploration at the high grade gold Sao Chico property in Brazil.

 For further information please contact:

Ken Chapple                                 or                       Greg Starr
Managing Director                                                   Chairman
Mb 0418 758 301                                                     Mb 0414 906 611

Or visit the GOA website www.goldaura.com.au