VENTANA ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL LA BODEGA DRILL RESULTS

– 33.40 METRES OF 16.81 GRAMS PER TONNE GOLD –

Vancouver, B.C., December 22, 2008 – Ventana Gold Corp. (“Ventana” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide the second series of drill results from its ongoing gold exploration program in the California-Vetas gold mining district of northeast Colombia. Ventana controls a 3,895-hectare land position in the district. Ventana’s exploration activities and all drilling to date have been concentrated on its flagship 184.8–hectare La Bodega property. Ventana acquired the La Bodega property in 2006 and initiated diamond core drilling in August 2006. Prior to that time no modern exploration or drilling had been conducted on the property. Since then Ventana has drilled 101 holes totalling 25,100 metres.

Gold assay results with completed QA/QC verification have been compiled for the first 64 drill holes. Results of holes 1 through 42 were released earlier this year (refer to Ventana’s press release dated November 7, 2008). Select drill hole intercepts from holes 43 to 64 are reported below:

Drill intercepts are based on a 0.5 gram/tonne gold cut-off with no upper cut. Drill intercept lengths are down-hole lengths reflecting apparent widths of mineralization with true widths ranging between 60% -100% of the reported down-hole lengths.

A drill hole location map and a complete listing of drill intercepts from the first 64 holes are available at http://www.ventanagold.com/.

Gold mineralization at the La Bodega property is hosted within the same broad, northeast-trending fault zone as the adjoining Angostura gold deposit of Greystar Resources, which contains a National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) compliant measured and indicated resource of 11.5 million ounces as announced by Greystar in December 2008. Mineralization at La Bodega occurs as a series of north-northwest-dipping parallel-sheeted vein zones, breccias and mineralized faults situated within an envelope of pervasively phyllic altered and variably silicified gneiss and intrusive rocks.

Core drilling by Ventana initially tested two areas within an 850-metre strike length extending south-westerly from the property line shared with Greystar Resources. The first 300 metres comprises the La Bodega zone, hosting the historical artisanal La Bodega mine, and the second area is the La Mascota zone, where 300 metres of strike length was tested. Infill drilling at the La Bodega and La Mascota zones continues to confirm and expand upon previous high-grade drill results. The La Rosa zone, a 250-metre gap between these two areas, has only a few initial drill holes completed due to difficult drill access. The Las Mercedes zone is a new target area situated 400 metres to the south of the La Bodega zone.

La Bodega Zone

The La Bodega zone has been shown to contain appreciable intersections of potentially ore grade material over composite true widths of 60 to 150 metres. Mineralization in the La Bodega zone is essentially closed off to the northeast by the property line but remains open in all other directions. It has thus far been tested over a strike length of 350 metres and to depths of up to 300 metres. Hole DDH-07-LB-051 intercepted the new footwall high-grade zone between 167 and 218.6 metres, extending the zone an additional 50 metres down dip.

La Mascota Zone

The La Mascota zone has been shown to contain narrower, though generally higher-grade intersections of potentially ore grade material than that observed in the La Bodega zone, with estimated true composite widths ranging from 30 to 80 metres. Mineralization in the La Mascota zone has been tested over a strike length of 400 metres and to a depth of 100 metres and remains open along strike in both directions and at depth. Holes DDH-07-LB-047 and 048 have extended the strike length of the La Mascota zone an additional 100 metres to the southwest, exhibiting high grade intercepts which remain open for further expansion along strike and down dip.

La Rosa Zone

The 250 metre long La Rosa zone lies along strike between the La Bodega and La Mascota zones. La Rosa is an area of very steep topography with difficult drill access. Previously thought to be a fault-displaced block that offset mineralization, hole DDH-08-LB-064 was drilled from an accessible site. This intercept, which bottomed in mineralization, indicates that the mineralization of La Bodega and La Mascota may actually be continuous and not offset in this area.

Las Mercedes Zone

The Las Mercedes zone is comprised of a group of artisanal tunnels and crosscuts along a 300-metre length of an east-northeast trending, high angle zone of sheeted vein structures. Initial scout drilling cut through a series of vein structures, the geometry of which remain to be defined, which open up a completely new area for further expansion of resources.

Review by Qualified Person, Quality Control and Reports

The results of the company’s drilling program have been reviewed, verified and compiled by Jon Lehmann, L.P.G., a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Lehmann has over 25 years of mineral exploration experience, is a Licensed Professional Geologist in the State of Washington and a member in good standing of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Ventana utilizes a rigorous QA/QC program with respect to sampling procedures including chain-of-custody tracking of core until shipment to the analytical laboratory. Core is sawn in half with one half shipped to an independent prep lab and samples shipped for analysis to ACME Analytical Laboratories Ltd., an ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025 certified laboratory in Vancouver, B.C. The remainder of the core is stored in a secured storage facility for future assay verification. Blanks, duplicates and certified reference standards are inserted into the sample stream to monitor laboratory performance and mineralized intervals are re-assayed at Inspectorate America Corp. analytical laboratory in Sparks, Nevada.

Independent NI 43-101 Technical Reports have recently been prepared and updated by EurGeol Miller O’Prey, PGeo, for the La Bodega project and the nearby California-Vetas project to provide a current review of the exploration activities that have occurred on the projects. These reports, dated June 14, 2008, are posted on the Company’s website at http://www.ventanagold.com/.

Management Appointment

Ventana is also pleased to announce the appointment of Meghan Brown to the position of Manager, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, replacing Marlo Hamer-Jackson who is taking a one-year maternity leave. Meghan has more than 15 years experience in communications and investor relations in the mining and energy sectors, and has worked with a wide range of small to large cap companies including Suncor, TransCanada, Placer Dome, Southwestern Resources, Lake Shore Gold, and recently Zincore Metals. Meghan has a Bachelor of Arts from UBC and an MBA from Queen’s University.

About Ventana

Ventana currently holds 3,895 hectares of exploration property in the California-Vetas gold district in Colombia, of which 3,710 hectares are wholly owned with the remainder under option to acquire a 100% interest. The Company is currently drilling at La Bodega, a property lying adjacent to Greystar Resources’ Angostura gold-silver deposit. The Company plans to complete a 43-101 mineral resource estimate in 2009.

Forward-looking Statements

The statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements involving known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from targeted results. Such risks and uncertainties include those described from time to time in Ventana’s latest quarterly report and management discussion and analysis. Ventana assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For additional information please visit http://www.ventanagold.com/or contact:

Meghan Brown, Investor Relations Manager

Phone: (604) 687-1717

Fax: (604) 687-1715

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