• Significant drill results; including:

  • 5.45% zinc, 1.81% lead, 0.51 gpt gold and 65.7 gpt silver over 103.1 metres in MB-2011-39

  • 4.65% zinc, 1.71% lead, 0.36 gpt gold and 56.5 gpt silver over 100.5 metres in MB-2011-48

  • 3.85% zinc, 1.40% lead, 0.63 gpt gold and 56.1 gpt silver over 146.0 metres in MB-2011-49
     

• NI43-101 resource calculation slated for first quarter of 2012

• The deposit remains open and there is good potential to increase grade with additional denser drilling

• $2.5 million budgeted in 2012 for drilling measured resources at the Murray Brook deposit

• $500,000 for exploration of the Murray Brook Property

• Preliminary metallurgical studies slated for 2012

January 16, 2012, Vancouver, Canada. -- El Ni�o Ventures Inc. ("ELN" and the "Company") (TSX.V: ELN; OTCX:ELNOF Frankfurt: E7Q) is pleased to announce significant diamond drill results of the 2011 drill program on the Murray Brook massive-sulfide deposit located in the Bathurst Mining Camp in New Brunswick, Canada. Votorantim Metals Canada Inc (VM Canada) is the operator of the program.

The entire 2011 program consisted of 60, vertical drill holes, totalling 10,327.5 m. Results of 18 drill holes were announced on November 24, 2011 (please see Press Release dated November 24th 2011) and the results of 15 holes are included in this announcement. Table 1 below illustrates significant drill results from the spring-summer drilling program. All drill holes included in this announcement intersected massive sulfides.

The 2011 drill program was successful in defining the deposit in areas of low drill-density, confirming higher-grade intercepts in historic drilling, and delineating the margins of the massive sulfide body. Data from the 2011 drilling program has been provided to to P&E Mining Consultants Inc. (Brampton) who will complete a NI 43-101 mineral resource update within the first quarter of 2012.

Discussion:

The 2011 drill program was designed to start on the south, near-surface, portion of the deposit where thick, massive sulfide intercepts of high-grade zinc were recorded in historic drilling. The drill program then moved to the north, to systematically test deeper portions of the massive sulfide body. Figure 2 below shows the location of the completed drill holes.

On the basis of work completed to date, several important observations and conclusions can be made:
 

1. The program was successful in confirming the strike and dip of the massive sulfide mineralization and associated stratigraphy at the Murray Brook deposit;

2. Results of the 2011 drilling program have been successful in confirming the nature of the mineralization, with the majority of holes returning higher than anticipated metal grades; and

3. The deposit remains open to the northwest and there is good potential to add additional resources with continued drilling.

Table-1 Composited drill intercepts

**The composite assays provided are of massive sulfide intersections only employing a 0% Zn cutoff

QA/QC Program:

The sample process follows these procedures. Mineralized samples are selected for assay from the NQ core and sawed with a diamond blade rock saw. The samples are bagged in a plastic sample bag with the sample number and sealed with a plastic locking tie. Six or seven rock samples are placed in a rice bag and sealed with a Bag Guard Seal with a 7-digit number. The rice bag is sealed in a plastic bucket container and numbered. Shipments of approximately 20 buckets are sent by Day and Ross via their secure shipping facilities to TSL in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. TSL would report to VM Canada if there was any evidence of tampering of which no reports have been received to date. Quality control is monitored by submitting a field blank, a standard and a duplicate sample with each 30 sample batch sent to the laboratory for analysis. The field blank is barren coarse-quartz sand. The field duplicate is a sawn, quarter split of a core sample selected from the same batch. Two types of standards, ME-6 low grade and ME-7 medium grade, were purchased from Canadian Resource Laboratories, Langley, British Columbia. The OREAS_38, high-grade standard was purchased from Analytical Solutions Ltd, Toronto, Ontario. The quality control sample results are monitored for any assay problems as the data is received from the laboratory. Assay values returned for blanks are at or below the detection limit. Variability of assay values returned for standards are within plus or minus 5% which is considered to be within an acceptable range of analytical error.

Figure 1- Land tenure map showing the location of the Murray Brook Project in the Bathurst Mining Camp.

Figure 2- Collar location map of Murray Brook diamond drill holes.

Qualified Person Statement

This news release has been reviewed and approved for technical content by Ali-Hassanalizadeh MSc., MBA, P.Geo, a qualified person under the provisions of National Instrument 43-101.

About El Ni�o Ventures Inc. Bathurst Projects

1. Bathurst Mining Camp Project: (TriParty Agreement)

Consists of an initial 4,712 claims in the tri-party agreement with Xstrata & VM Canada whereby VM Canada may incur exploration expenditures of $10 million over a period of 5 years to earn a 50% interest. VM Canada may further increase its interest to 70% by spending an additional $10 million over 2 years.

In February 2011, ELN announced that a $5,000,000 exploration program on the Bathurst Mining Camp Base Metals Project has begun consisting of airborne and ground geophysics and will include a 10,000 metre drill program which is currently underway. (See press release dated February 23, 2011).
Airborne geophysics is completed and survey results are pending.

2. Murray Brook Project:

Under Votorantim's Option and Joint Venture Agreement with Murray Brook Minerals and Murray Brook Resources, both privately held companies, Votorantim can earn a 50% interest in the properties by funding $2,250,000 in exploration expenditures and making payments totalling $300,000 over a three year period commencing November 1 2010. Votorantim can earn an additional 20% interest in the Properties by funding an additional $2,250,000 in exploration expenditures over an additional two year period. ELN has elected to enter into a participation agreement wherein it can earn 50% of Votorantim's interest by paying 50% of the costs incurred by Votorantim in the Option and Joint Venture Agreement.

About Murray Brook Deposit:

The Murray Brook deposit is a polymetallic, volcanic hosted massive-sulfide deposit and is the fifth largest in the Bathurst Mining Camp. The property is located approximately 60 km west of Bathurst New Brunswick, in Restigouche County, within the Bathurst Mining Camp. An existing gravel road accesses the property from a paved highway. An electricity grid is nearby, as are communities with goods, services and skilled labor. The gossan zone was removed during the open-pit mining operations carried out by Novagold Resources Inc. during the early 1990s. The hanging wall is moderately chloritic and is locally intensely deformed. The foot wall consists of fine grained, felsic tuff and tuffaceous sediments with moderate to strong chlorite and sericite alteration. Sulfides are mainly fine grained, massive, vaguely laminated pyrite with disseminated and banded sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena. Removal of the gossan also removed any evidence of previous drilling within the shallow pit area. Consequently, VM Canada's due diligence process to acquire the Murray Brook deposit required the confirmation of several historically, reported drill results, in addition to compilation of previous work. Significant drill results from the due diligence, drill twin-hole program included massive sulfide intersections that were similar in width, position and positively confirmed the grades for copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver reported from the three previously drilled holes.

In January 2011, ELN announced that it has provided notice to Votorantim Metals Canada Inc. (Votorantim) to enter into a Participation Agreement on the Murray Brook Massive Sulfide Polymetallic deposit situated in the Bathurst Mining Camp in New Brunswick, Canada. (See press release dated January 20th, 2011).

The first phase of the 2011 drill program was completed in spring/summer 2011 and significant intersections of zinc, copper, lead, gold and silver were reported. The second phase of the drilling program was initiated in September 2011 and results are expected before year end. (See press release dated August 30, 2011).

The Murray Brook 2012 Exploration program budget is currently set at $2,500,000. This program will consist of a multi phase drill program and a NI43-101 resource estimate with preliminary tonnage and grade calculations to be completed in Q1-Q2 2012.

Votorantim Metals Canada Statement:

Technical details in this news release were provided by VM Canada whose professional geologists conduct operations consistent with mineral industry best practices. VM Canada accepts no responsibility for this news release or any inferences made from the technical details provided herein.

About VM Canada (Votorantim Metals Canada Inc.)

Votorantim Metals Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of Votorantim Metals; a company that is part of the Votorantim Group that was founded in Brazil in 1918 operates in twenty countries and has over forty thousand employees. Votorantim Metals is the largest electrolytic-nickel producer in Latin America and one of the world's leaders in the production of zinc, aluminium and nickel.

About El Ni�o Ventures Inc.

El Ni�o Ventures Inc. is an international exploration company, focused on exploring for lead, zinc, copper, gold and silver in New Brunswick, Canada and copper in the Democratic Republic of Congo ("DRC").

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Harry Barr"

Harry Barr, Chairman and CEO

For further information, please contact Investor Relations at Toll Free 1.800.667.1870 or by email at
info@elninoventures.com

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Note:  this release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.  These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results and are based on current expectations or beliefs.  For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements.  In addition, forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses words such as "continue", "efforts", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "confident", "intend", "strategy", "plan", "will", "estimate", "project", "goal", "target", "prospects", "optimistic" or similar expressions.  These statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others, the Company's ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make available adequate current public information, additional or different regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed, and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.  The Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts' expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.  Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.