OROCO ANNOUNCES CERRO PRIETO PHASE TWO DRILL RESULTS

VANCOUVER, British Columbia � (January 12, 2010) Oroco Resource Corp. (TSX-V: OCO) (�Oroco� or �the Company�) is pleased to report the following results from the 2009 Phase Two drill program at its Cerro Prieto Project in northern Sonora State, Mexico.

Highlights of the results from the infill drilling include:

1. 22.5 meters of 4.36 g/t Au in CP053 including 9.0 meters of 8.62 g/t Au.

2. 26.0 meters of 2.96 g/t Au in CP064 including 3.5 meters of 7.80 g/t Au.

3. 19.0 meters of 2.99 g/t Au in CP065 including 8.1 meters of 6.42 g/t Au.

In 2009, the Company completed a total of 8575.9 meters in 42 Diamond drill holes.  Fifteen holes tested the extension of the oxide zone that contains the resource calculated from the 2008 drill program, three holes tested the deeper sulphide mineralization, eight holes tested the Argonauta claim optioned from Yamana Gold Inc., the results of which have been previously reported, and, most significantly, sixteen holes were recently drilled to infill an area from which the Company anticipates the initial ore production at Cerro Prieto.

Commenting on the 2009 drill program, the Company's President, Craig Dalziel, noted that �Oroco is extremely pleased that the 2009 infill drilling results appear to have validated its plans to fast-track to production the higher grade gold-bearing oxide zone at Cerro Prieto.�   

Infill Drilling

Holes were drilled at the south end of the Cerro Prieto deposit to close the drill spacing to 50 meters in that area which is considered to have a higher than average grade and a low strip ratio. Results of the holes are presented in the following table. All holes are presented on an updated longitudinal section on the company's website at www.orocoresourcecorp.com.

      * - TT means true thickness

Holes CP051, CP052, CP054, CP056 and CP057 were drilled at the south end of the deposit where the base metals are more predominant than the precious metals because of a combination of vertical zoning and topography.  The remaining holes were drilled at the north end of the deposit where precious metals are more predominant.

Extension of Resource Area

Holes in this area were spaced at 100 meter intervals to expand the indicated resource calculated from drill results from the 2008 drill program. The Phase Two holes all intersected the mineralized zone.  The Company previously reported the drill results up to hole CP039, and highlights of the remaining holes are presented in the following table.

 
To the north of the above-noted drilling, being the area of the Argonauta concession, the extension drilling has identified a crosscutting structure which dropped the geological units between 150 and 200 meters after mineralization.  The near surface geology in this area consists of porous, coarse felsic pyroclastics that diffused the mineralization as it was deposited.  Although the structure continues through this area, the mineralizing fluids ascending the structure were not as constrained as to the south. The company has only drilled four widely spaced holes testing the 1.5 kilometer strike length of this exposed structure and will be testing this area in more detail in the future.

Drilling in Sulphide Zone

Three holes were drilled to test the sulphide zone identified in 2008 by CP011, which intersected 30 meters of 0.15 g/t Au, 13.3 g/t Ag, 0.14% Cu, 0.74%Pb and 2.02% Zn., including 8.5 meters of 0.19 g/t Au, 79.6 g/t Ag, 0.78% Cu, 3.71% Pb and 6.13% Zn.

CP041, drilled 100 meters below CP011, intersected a 12.0 meter thick mineralized zone with 0.08 g/t Au, 5.3 g/t Ag, 0.23% Cu, and minor amounts of lead and zinc. CP044, drilled 200 meters south of CP011 intersected a 36 meter mineralized zone including 9.0 meters averaging 0.50 g/t Au, 5.9 g/t Ag, 0.14% Cu, 0.25% Pb and 1.37% Zn. CP046, drilled 300 meters north of CP011 intersected a 59.0 meter mineralized zone with weak values of all metals other than a 0.5 meter section that assayed 0.30 g/t Au, 4.3 g/t Ag, 18.7% Cu, 1.29% Pb and 0.16% Zn. 

Although the high grade section intersected in CP011 was not intersected in the three follow-up holes, a significant strike length (over 16 kilometers) of the mineralized shear zone remains to be tested.

About Oroco

Oroco is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company with its primary focus on the accelerated development of the gold-bearing oxide zones of its Cerro Prieto project, a polymetallic (Au-Ag-Pb-Zn) project in northern Sonora State, Mexico.
   
The Cerro Prieto Project consists of the 100% owned, 2,723 ha, San Felix, San Francisco and Cerro Prieto concessions and 4,120 ha of the connecting Argonauta 5 Fraccion 1 concession to which the Company holds an option to purchase (see May 14, 2009 news release).  During the first field season in 2008, the Company drilled 5,975 meters of core and tabled a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate together with the results of a preliminary metallurgical study (See May 11, 2009 news release).

Qualified Person

Kenneth R. Thorsen, B.Sc., P. Geo., is a director of the company and is a 'qualified person' for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Properties of the Canadian Securities Administrators.  He has verified the data (including sampling, analytical and test data) and prepared or supervised the preparation of the information contained in this news release.

Quality Assurance & Control

The Company has implemented a quality assurance and control (QA/QC) program to ensure sampling and analysis of all exploration work is conducted in accordance with the best possible practices.  Split core is transported to the ALS Chemex laboratory in Hermosillo where it is crushed and pulverized, with pulps sent to the ALS Chemex laboratory in Vancouver, B.C. for assaying.  The other half of the core is retained for future assay verification.  The QA/QC policy includes the chain of custody monitoring, insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates in the initial samples submitted.  The laboratory provides an additional internal control program.

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Craig Dalziel, President and CEO
Oroco Resource Corp.
Tel: 604-688-6200
www.orocoresourcecorp.com

Neither 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 release.