Island Arc Exploration Corp. ("Island Arc") announces that the first phase of exploration consisting of multi-stage Rotary Air Blast (RAB) and Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling has been completed on the Nassile Gold Project located in the Republic of Niger, West Africa. All results should be received from the lab soon and readied for release in early March, 2010. Cassidy Gold Corp., the project operator, is earning up to a 70% interest in Nassile from Island Arc.

The Nassile permit covers 576.7 square kilometres of the Sirba greenstone belt in the lower Proterozoic Birimian volcano-sedimentary series adjacent to the Burkina Faso border 100 kilometres southwest of Niamey, the capital of Niger. The Nassile project lies 35 kilometres south of the Samira Hill gold mine and 200 kilometres southeast of IAMGold's Essakane Project.

During the 2008 and 2009 field programs, Island Arc geologists identified a number of prospects hosting significant gold mineralization along at least 20 kilometres of the regional, northeast-trending Tampena shear zone. These targets include gold-quartz veins, potential sheeted veins, and quartz stockwork vein systems in a variety of host rocks, representing both high-grade and bulk tonnage targets.

For additional information, please contact:

James T. Gillis, President & CEO
Telephone: (250) 828-8728

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Island Arc Exploration Corp. believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or realities may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Island Arc Exploration Corp.'s management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, Island Arc Exploration Corp. undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

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 news release.

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http://www.islandarcexploration.com/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=385481