VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Nov. 13, 2012) - Kent Exploration Inc. (News - Market indicators)(PINKSHEETS:KXPLF)(FRANKFURT:7KX) (the "Company" or "Kent") reports that it has applied for an Exploration Permit over a portion of its already permitted Lyell Gold Project that lies approximately 40 km north-east from the town of Westport in New Zealand's ("NZ") highly prolific West Coast, South Island, gold fields.

During the 2009 through 2011 work programs at Lyell, the Company essentially confirmed that the area, including the historic Red Queen Mine, the most profitable quartz gold mine in the area, is highly prospective for high-grade gold mineralization. Intermittent mining of the Red Queen Vein ("RQV") between 1885 and 1910 reportedly produced 3,104 ounces of gold from 2,243 tons of ore, at an average grade of approximately 43 g/t (1.4 opt). Intermittent mining also occurred in the mid 1930s to 1941. Since being closed in 1941, the Red Queen Mine has received only minimal attention from explorers. Historic mines in the area include the Red Queen, Red Chief, Southern Light, Andersons Creek Reef, Nile, Swanston, Swastika, South Pacific, Mokihinui, Lady Agnes and Halcyon Mines.

The historic Red Queen Mine has good potential to host significant gold mineralization. Historic production records from early mining suggest that the RQV may possess average grades as high as 42.86 g/t (1.4 opt) gold (Table 1).

Table 1

While production records for subsequent mining in the 1930s - 1940s are not available, assay results from sampling are. All available historic assay results for the RQV to-date are listed in Table 2. These assay results indicate bonanza grades of up to 171.48 g/t Au (5.48 opt Au) are present at the Red Queen Mine. Many of the 50 lb representative samples assayed in 1938, and filed with the now NZ Petroleum and Minerals, reportedly deliberately excluded vein material that was seen to contain visible gold and therefore the true gold grades, may be underestimated.

Table 2

The RQV is relatively extensive where it is exposed by the historic workings, and can been traced over approximately 200m along dip and 300m along strike. The RQV is structurally very simple; being planar, trending sub-parallel to the host-rock bedding/foliation (striking approximately north-south and dipping 70º-80º west), and featuring only minor amounts of offset along cross-cutting faults. Gold mineralization remains open both up-and down-dip and along strike to the north and south. The two accessible drives, Paynes and Lower Level, were driven approximately 5 - 10 m beside and parallel to the Red Queen vein and have been characterized as production drives.

Characteristics of the Red Queen Mine indicate an orogenic, Blackwater-type style of gold mineralization. (Blackwater, south of the town of Reefton and central to the Reefton Gold Field, was mined down to approximately 2,800 ft and reportedly produced approximately 730,000 ounces of gold before it was shut down after a shaft collapse. Historic reports indicate an approximately 300,000 ounce gold resource was identified at the time of the shut down).

The Company advises that the grades reported prior to 2009 are historic in nature, are not NI 43-101 compliant and should not be relied upon. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify historical estimates as a current mineral resource and the Company is not treating the historical estimates as a current mineral resource and any historical estimates should not be relied upon.

Kent Exploration Inc. is a junior exploration company with a 100% interest in all its major projects, and is planning on building shareholder value through establishing cash flow from its Flagstaff Mountain, WA, barite mine, and then from its now wholly owned bentonite property in Nevada. Any positive cash flow is intended to reduce dilution and fund exploration on its three major gold prospects (Alexander River, Paparoa and Lyell), in the highly prolific West Coast South Island gold fields of New Zealand. Additional shareholder value has been established through its approximately 18% interest in Archean Star Resources Inc, ("Archean") which is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ASP. 

The Company has an experienced management and technical team with extensive exploration expertise and offers investors the potential for a major gold discovery on its New Zealand gold projects.

This News Release has been prepared on behalf of the Kent Exploration Inc. Board of Directors, which accepts full responsibility for its contents. The contents of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Clay Conway, P. Geol., a Qualified Person as recognized by National Instrument NI-43-101 and a director of the Company.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Graeme O'Neill, President