February 9^th, 2012, VANCOUVER, B.C. – ASHBURTON VENTURES INC. (TSX:V-ABR), (FRANKFURT-ARB)  (“Ashburton” or the "Company”) is pleased to announce that Eurasian Minerals Inc. (NYSE Amex-EMXX, TSX:V-EMX) has agreed to grant, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Bronco Creek Exploration, Inc.,  an option to Ashburton on Bronco Creek’s Cathedral Well property.  The property is located about 60 km southwest of Ely, Nevada, and south of the historic White Pine Mining District and consists of 167 unpatented federal lode mining claims (1,237 ha) on lands administered by the National Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.  

Gold mineralization was discovered in the area in 1986 by USMX, which processed 1.1M tonnes of ore with an average grade of 2.1 g/t Au in a heap leach operation from 1988-1990 (Wilson et al., 1991, in Geology and Ore Deposits of the Great Basin, Geol. Soc. Nevada, Symposium Proceedings v.2, p. 687-700 ). The production is historical in nature and Ashburton has not verified the figures, and therefore it should not be relied upon. Mapping and sampling by Eurasian geologists indicate that alteration and gold mineralization extend beyond the historic workings, onto the western claims of the Cathedral Well property.

The bulk of identified gold mineralization and historical production in the area has been found in the Chainman Shale, near its contact with the underlying Joana Limestone. New mapping and sampling by Eurasian geologists led to the identification of additional targets in the lower Chainman formation host rocks across the property. A CSAMT survey on the western claims identified anomalies under cover, and several vertical holes drilled late in 2010 encountered favourable host rocks from roughly 40-300m depth before drilling was halted.

On the eastern claims, mapping combined with soil and stream sediment sampling has also identified gold anomalous areas with jasperoid development along the Joana-Chainman contact, several of which have currently permitted drill holes. Additional work in the 2012 field season is focused on identifying other targets for drilling later in the program. The Company will review geophysical and geochemical data, and new mapping around the currently permitted drill sites, to prioritize drill-ready targets for late 2012. 

Regionally, the Pilot Shale that underlies the Joana Limestone has also been found to host economic gold mineralization such as at Alligator Ridge (operated by Barrick Gold Corp.) and the Pan project (held by Midway Gold Corp.). Locally on ground adjacent to the property, the Pilot shale hosts mineralization in a deposit discovered, but not mined, by USMX. The Eurasian geologists found similar alteration in the Pilot shale on the property, leading to additional drill targets that have been permitted for initial drill testing.

Ashburton President Michael England states, “Cathedral Well possesses several gold-favourable lithologic domains with the potential to host significant new discoveries. We look forward to working with Eurasian Minerals on the property and anticipate great results.”

Subject to execution of a formal agreement, Ashburton may earn an initial 65% of Cathedral Well by paying Eurasian $40,163 on signing, incurring $5 million on exploration of the property, issuing Eurasian 1.45 million Ashburton shares over seven years and delivering a feasibility study, together with additional cash and share payments, in year seven of the agreement (all dollar amounts in USD).

The technical contents of this release were approved by Dr. Tom McCandless, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration for Ashburton and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Ashburton Ventures Inc. (TSX:V-ABR) is a Canadian-based junior exploration with active mineral programs in the Yukon, Canada and Nevada, USA.

Eurasian Minerals Inc. (NYSE Amex-EMXX, TSX:V-EMX) is a global gold and copper exploration company utilizing a partnership business model to explore the world's most promising and under-explored mineral belts. Eurasian currently has project interests in ten countries on four continents, and generates wealth via grassroots prospect generation, strategic acquisition, royalty growth and merchant banking.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Michael England, President

For further information contact:

Telephone: (604) 683-3995

Forward-Looking Statement:
Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information that involves inherent risk and uncertainty affecting the business of Ashburton Ventures Inc. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Neither the 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.