February 9th, 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.



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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.