VENTANA INCLUDED IN VAN ECK JUNIOR GOLD MINERS ETF

November 12, 2009

Ventana Gold Corp. is one of 38 junior mining and exploration companies included in the new Van Eck Market Vectors™ Junior Gold Miners exchange traded fund (ETF) which began trading yesterday on the NYSE Arca exchange under the symbol GDXJ.

GDXJ is the first ETF in the US to provide investors with concentrated access to “juniors”— defined as small- and mid-cap mining companies actively engaged in mineral exploration. The market cap of companies included in the GDXJ ranges from $190 million to $1.25 billion, with an average market cap of $560 million.

Van Eck Global has been managing gold-related investments since 1968, when the firm launched the nation’s first actively managed gold fund, the Van Eck International Investors Gold Fund (INIVX). The fund’s manager, Joe Foster, who currently allocates a portion of his portfolio to juniors, said “higher gold prices and new geologic models are helping bring new discoveries, many of which were made by junior-mining companies around the globe.”

“We believe the two key themes driving the gold market right now are gold as an alternative to paper currency and gold as a hedge against potential inflation,” said Foster. “While there have been no onerous levels of inflation so far in this gold cycle, firming commodities prices and the liquidity being created by current monetary policies could eventually bring much higher levels of inflation.”

About Ventana
Ventana is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration and development company with mineral rights to 4,573 hectares of exploration property in northeastern Colombia. Ventana is currently drilling at the La Bodega project with a focus on expanding the high-grade La Mascota zone. The Company’s shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VEN.

For additional information please visit http://www.ventanagold.com/or contact:
Meghan Brown, Investor Relations Manager
tel (604) 638 2002
email mbrown@ventanagold.com