February 22, 2012

TSX Venture Exchange

Trading Symbol: REX

This news release is also available on our website at http://www.orexminerals.com/s/NewsReleases.asp if you would prefer to read it online.

Orex Provides Results for the First Diamond Drill Hole at Barsele, Sweden

Vancouver, B.C. ? Orex Minerals Inc. ? (REX: TSX-V) (?Orex?) is pleased to announce the results from the first diamond drill hole of this first campaign, within the Central area of our Barsele Gold Project. The purpose of this initial drill hole is to confirm historic results in the Central Area of the project and to assess different analytical techniques that could yield higher gold recovery, as there is a potential ?nugget effect? due to visible gold occurring frequently in the core. Full Metallic Screen (FMS) Assay as well as Fire Assay (FA) techniques have been carried out with the following results.

Hole 11CNT001 was drilled as a twin of historic hole DH03002 (MinMet 2003).  Results over comparable intervals were 186.65 m @ 0.96 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) with FMS and 0.90 g/t Au with FA for the Orex hole, comparing favourably with 186.1 m @ 0.91 g/t Au for the historic hole (Table 1).  Furthermore, hole 11CNT001 drilled deeper than the historic hole yielded a total mineralized length of 275.55 m @ 0.87 g/t Au with FMS, and 0.81 g/t Au with FA, and includes a higher-grade section of 198.9 m @ 1.15 g/t Au with FMS, and 1.07 g/t Au with FA and including highlight intercepts of 19.3 m @ 2.53 g/t Au with FMS and 2.25 g/t Au with FA, plus 48.55 m @ 2.01 g/t Au with FMS and 1.87 g/t Au with FA (Table 2). This is a porphyry gold-style target and the ultimate limits of the mineralized body have yet to be determined. (See tables below and figure).

Table 1 ? Confirmation of Twinned Holes ? 11CNT001 and DH03002

(1) Au-SCR24 (Au Screen FA Double Minus ? 50g)

(2) Au-AA26 (Ore Grade Au 50g Fire Assay Atomic Absorption Finish)

(3) Au-AA (Ore Grade Fire Assay Atomic Absorption Finish)

Table 2 ? Drill Hole Intercepts for the Current Phase-1 Program

 Figure 1 ? Section 6575N

As of the date of this News Release, the ninth drill hole of this campaign is nearing completion. The Company also plans to drill test the Avan Zone, contiguous to the northwest of the Central Zone, as well as new gold and base metal targets outlined by the recent geophysical surveys within the Project.

Gary Cope, President of Orex, says, ?We are very happy with the assay results from the first hole and are encouraged to see that the Full Metallic Screening procedure yields a 7.5% improvement in grade.?

The Barsele Project is located approximately 40 kilometres southeast of the town of Storuman in V?sterbottens L?n, a regional district of Northern Sweden, approximately 600 km due north of Stockholm.

On February 28, 2011, Orex released a NI43-101 compliant resource estimate report for Barsele.  The Central-Avan-Skir?sen gold zones, at a 0.6 g/t Au cut-off, have an Indicated Resource of 9.97 million tonnes grading 1.19 g/t Au or 382,000 contained ounces of gold.  Also, the report has outlined an additional Inferred Resource of 21.04 million tonnes grading 0.96 g/t Au or 648,000 contained ounces of gold.

In addition, an estimate has also been prepared at the Norra volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit, at a 0.6 g/t Au cut-off, that has outlined an Indicated Resource of 110,000 tonnes grading 3.13 gold g/t, Au, 30.27 g/t Ag, 0.53% Cu and 0.72% Zn. The report has also provided an additional Inferred Resource of 310,000 tonnes grading 1.62 g/t Au, 12.69 g/t Ag, 0.26% Cu and 0.42% Zn.

Art Freeze, P.Geo., a Director of Orex, is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101 and takes responsibility for the technical disclosure in this news release.  Quality assurance and quality control procedures include the systematic insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates into the drill core sample stream.  Samples are placed in sealed bags and shipped directly to ALS Minerals Laboratory in Pite?, Sweden for preparation, and ultimately to ALS Minerals Laboratory in Vancouver, Canada, for gold and other element analysis.

About Orex Minerals Inc.

Orex Minerals Inc. is a junior mineral exploration company comprised of highly qualified mining professionals with a focus on the exploration of prospective gold and gold-silver properties in Sweden and Mexico.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Gary Cope

President

For further information, contact Orex Minerals Inc. at (604) 687-6310, email info@orexminerals.com or visit our website at www.orexminerals.com

 This News Release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, results, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements, and Orex undertakes no obligation to update such statements, except as required by law.

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.