DEV: TSX-V

January 15, 2008

Delta Exploration Inc. (“Delta”) (DEV-TSX.V) is pleased to announce results from RC (reverse circulation) drilling on Delta’s 100%-owned Manalo Gold Project in south-western Mali, West Africa.  The first of two new gold discoveries was made at the Dialafara Prospect, where the initial two holes intersected 9.57 g/t Au over 9.0m and 29.07 g/t Au over 6.0m at the end of the hole, respectively.  A second discovery was made at Mansaya, where two holes intersected 1.96 g/t Au over 5.0m and 0.69 g/t Au over 31.0m, including 1.01 g/t Au over 12.0m, respectively.  Also, 14 of 20 holes drilled on the Manalo Nord Est structure returned significant gold values (see Table 3), extending the zone to the northwest and southeast.

RC drilling totalled 5033 metres of reverse circulation drilling in 51 holes. The drilling focused on 4 high priority targets identified by soil geochemical and regolith mapping completed last April, and airborne electromagnetics (AEM), magnetics, and radiometrics completed last May.  Priority targets include Manalo Nord Est, Sirabada, Mansaya and Dialafara.

Dialafara Prospect

At Dialafara, strong gold-in-soils anomalies and coincident EM conductors are often associated with areas of artisanal mining.  Thirteen holes totalling 1,412 metres were completed with 7 holes returning significant gold assays.  Some of the highest assays encountered to date on the property occur in drill holes DL-07-01 and DL-07-02, both of which were drilled under the main artisanal workings.  Gold is associated with quartz veins hosted in clay-altered Birimian metasediments (siltstones and fine-grained sandstones).

Table 1    RC Drill Results – Dialafara Prospect

The Dialafara artisanal site sits in the centre of the permit, at the south end of a large north-trending, anomalous gold-in-soils trend.  The seasonal digging site measures 108 metres x 70 metres striking north-south.  A quartz-rich grab sample from the workings assayed 29.7 g/t Au, while a sample from a waste pile ran 0.38 g/t Au.  Strongly anomalous soil samples include 656 ppb Au, 318 ppb, and 93850 ppb, 1.0 kilometre, 2.6 kilometres, and 4.6 kilometres north of the workings, respectively.  More tightly spaced soil geochemical and ground geophysical surveys are underway.

Mansaya Prospect

At Mansaya, several targets based on anomalous gold in soils and airborne geophysical responses indicative of shear zones, were tested with 6 holes totalling 552 metres. Several new zones of vein quartz float were identified and significant intercepts of gold were associated with fractured and silicified carbonaceous Birimian metasediments in one such zone.
Table 2    RC Drill Results – Mansaya Prospect

The Mansaya anomaly covers an area approximately 1000 metres x 1000 metres overlapping a small artisanal site 80 metres x 60 metres.  The anomaly is less intense than other targets with a maximum of 59 ppb Au in soils.  

Manalo Nord Est Prospect

1,876 metres were drilled in 20 holes along the Manalo Nord Est structure, where previous drilling had intersected 18.48 g/t Au over 11.0 metres in a north-northwest striking, steep-dipping, quartz-filled shear in Birimian siltstones and sandstones.  Highlights from the latest phase of drilling include 12.06 g/t Au over 6.0 metres in MN-07-12 and 3.16 g/t Au over 8.0 metres in MN-07-01.  Significant gold was intersected in 14 of the 20 holes drilled, extending the strike length of the mineralization to over 500 metres.

Table 3    RC Drill Results – Manalo Nord Est Prospect

Manalo Nord Est is an old artisanal site associated with a limited soil geochemical anomaly that has been the focus of Delta’s early exploration at Manalo.  On July 25, 2006 Delta announced that aircore drilling on Manalo had “encountered high-grade, near-surface gold mineralization associated with significant zones of quartz veining and alteration.  MN-29 intersected 18.48 g/t Au over 11.0 metres near the bottom of hole. Down dip of MN-29, MN-33 ended in 2.02 g/t Au over 2.0 metres.  Approximately 50 metres to the south, MN-31 intersected 3.79 g/t Au over 8.0 metres.  To the north 50 metres, MN-27 intersected 5.11 g/t Au over 2.0 metres and MN-32 hit 2.21 g/t Au over 8.0 metres.  Another 50 metres to the north, MN-19 intersected 4.33 g/t Au over 3.0 metres at the bottom of the hole and MN-18 hit 0.82 g/t Au over 8.0 metres.”

Sirabada Prospect

At Sirabada, a total of 1193 metres were drilled in 12 holes.  Sirabada consists of an intensely clay-altered zone in northerly striking, steep-dipping Birimian metasediments.  Artisanal mining is active at the site, Two grab samples of quartz vein material in greywacke collected from “ore” dumps ran 32.76 g/t Au and 3.64 g/t Au, respectively.  Another two grab samples collected from waste dumps assayed 1.16 g/t Au and 0.51 g/t Au, respectively.  A coincident 1600 metre x 800 metre gold-in-soils anomaly is oriented to the north-northwest.  Examination of the artisanal workings suggests that gold is associated with quartz veins in the intensely altered metasediments.  Intervals of anomalous gold mineralization were found in several drill holes.

2008 Program

A program of detailed in-fill geochemical soil sampling and Induced Polarization (IP) has commenced. Soil geochemistry will focus on the Dialafara, Dialafara Nord, Mansaya, Sirabada, and Manalo Sud-Est Prospects.  Gradient IP surveys will be run across the Dialafara and Sirabada sites and several lines of high-resolution IP (HiRIP) will traverse the Mansaya and Manalo Sud Est structural trends.  The next phase of drilling, to include both RC and core, will follow.

The Manalo Project comprises the Manalo and Balandougou permits totalling 225 square kilometres, located 100 kilometres southwest of Bamako, the capital city of Mali. 

Christopher J. Wild, P.Eng, V.P. Exploration for Delta Exploration Inc., is Delta’s Qualified Person.

On behalf of the Board of Directors
Delta Exploration Inc.

James T. Gillis                                      
James T. Gillis, President & CEO                      

For further information please contact:
James Gillis, President & CEO – Phone: 250-828-2878
Andrew Mugridge, Progressive IR – Phone:  604-689-2881

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and at SEDAR.COM

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