Verena Signs Binding Letter of Intent to Increase Ownership in the Conceicao Project

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 23, 2008) - Verena Minerals Corporation (TSX VENTURE: VML.V) ("Verena" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") dated July 22, 2008 with GKM Mineracao Ltda ("GKM" or the "Vendor") of Brazil, pursuant to which Verena has the option to increase its interest in the Conceicao gold project (the "Project") to 90 percent (90%). The Project is currently held by Mineracao Rio Tocantins Ltda. ("MRT") which, in turn, is jointly owned by GKM (66 2/3%) and Verena (33 1/3%). GKM is a private Brazilian registered company and has been the operator and manager of MRT since its formation in 1991.

Under the terms of the agreement, Verena can acquire an 80% interest in the Property by making payments and completing expenditure commitments over a 4 year period, as follows:

Year 1: Pay GKM Euro ("EUR") 45,000 on signing and an additional EUR 45,000 on the transfer of the title to Verena and will invest EUR 250,000 in exploration expenditures;

Year 2: Pay GKM EUR 90,000 (of which Verena can elect to pay 50% in shares, subject to regulatory approval) and will invest an additional EUR 400,000 in exploration expenditures;

Year 3 & 4: Pay GKM EUR 90,000 in each year (of which Verena can elect to pay 50% in shares, subject to regulatory approval), and invest an additional EUR 1 million in exploration expenditures.

On fulfillment of the terms outlined above, Verena will have at its sole discretion, the option to increase its ownership to 90% by advancing the Project through a feasibility study by arranging financing to develop a commercial operation. Verena can elect to accelerate the earn-in as it deems appropriate and retains the right to withdraw at any time, during the four year period.

The Conceicao Project includes four concessions covering 30,249 hectares located 6 kilometres north of the city of Conceicao in Tocantins State, central Brazil. Access to the Property is excellent with paved roads connecting the town of Conceicao to Porto Nacional (270 km) and to the capital of the state, Palmas (320 km).

The Property was previously held by Compania Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), who identified a number of strong gold and copper geochemical anomalies based on district stream sediment sampling. In 1998, Teck Cominco Limited completed a campaign including district sampling, geologic mapping, and established and sampled detailed soil grids and complete ground magnetic surveys over three promising prospects. At Japones, located in the north-eastern quadrant of the property (see map attached), a linear stretch of gaimperio pits and shafts stretch about 1,200 metres north-south, following a gold bearing massive sulphide unit. Limited grab samples from the pits at Japones, collected by Verena in late 2007 returned impressive results including: 45.92 g/t, 113.59 g/t, and 23.39 g/t Au.

The Santo Amaro target, located near the north central border of the property, is defined by a narrow elongated ridge of meta-sedimentary rocks with dimensions of 500 metres x 30 metres. Here, artisanal miners exploited a 2 to 2.5 metre wide gold bearing quartz vein positioned between a sericite schist unit in the hanging wall and banded iron formation footwall. Grab samples on this target returned 24.79 g/t Au from the iron formation and 5.64 g/t and 2.20 g/t Au from the quartz vein.

The strongest pan concentrate anomaly occurs on the Corrego Fundo target, located in the central portion of the Property. Work by Teck, including 1,790 soil samples, returned values to a maximum of 2,638 ppb Au. The geochemical anomaly appears spatially associated with a north northeast trending magnetic banded iron formation.

Following Teck's evaluation of the Property, Verena completed a 2,000 line kilometer airborne magnetic survey covering the entire Property. GKM and Verena were unable to agree on suitable terms to continue the work, so activity was suspended. No work has been completed on the Property since that time, due to the GKM's lack of access to funds.

"It is particularly satisfying to finally agree on suitable terms to advance Conceicao. We have seen considerable third party interest in this Project and have long believed that it represents a quality exploration opportunity based on the evidence at hand," said Ron Stewart, President and CEO of Verena. "Conceicao fits with our strategic plan to realize the full value of our portfolio of projects." Verena intends to initiate a 1,500 metre drill program to test the three well defined prospects on the Property - Japones, Santo Amaro and Corrego Fundo.

Elsewhere, Verena will continue to advance its flagship Volta Grande project by completing the current 5,000 metre in-fill drill campaign, which commenced in May. Currently, eight holes have been completed and submitted for assay results. Metallurgical samples have been collected and are currently being analyzed at SGS Lakefield Research Limited, Ontario. Verena plans on completing a preliminary economic evaluation of Volta Grande by the end of 2008 to be used as a guideline to advance the project to commercial production.

About Verena

Verena Minerals Corporation is a Canadian based mineral exploration company with an outstanding portfolio of properties including gold, diamonds and gemstones in Brazil. Verena's prime focus is on advancing and expanding its 100% owned Volta Grande Project, located in Para State. Verena has a strategic alliance with Kinross Gold Corporation, which holds 7.0% of the common shares of Verena and is earning an interest in the Monte do Carmo and Patrocinio gold projects. Verena also operates the Lavrinha gold project and controls a portfolio of diamond and gem properties. Verena trades on the TSX Venture Exchange and has approximately 97.3 million common shares issued and outstanding.

Cautionary Statement on Forward Looking Information

This press release may include forward looking statements within the meaning of securities laws. Forward looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is currently expected. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors, refer to Verena's filings with the Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com or the Company's website at www.verena.com.

To view the map associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Verenamap723.pdf

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts

Ron W. Stewart
Verena Minerals Corporation
President and CEO
(416) 368-2998
Website: www.verena.com