December 9th,
2010, VANCOUVER, B.C.
– ASHBURTON VENTURES INC. (ABR-TSX:V)
(ARB-FRANKFURT)  (“Ashburton” or the
“Company”)
has
signed a letter agreement with Premier Gold Mines Ltd. (PG-TSX) whereby Premier
will participate in a private placement financing that will be completed by
Ashburton.  The majority of this
financing will fund further exploration at Ashburton’s Deep Creek gold property
located near Elko, Nevada.

Ashburton
has made several significant discoveries at Deep Creek including the Upper Vein
that has been traced over a strike length of over 640 meters with surface
sampling returning assays up to 1,180 g/t Au with width of up to over one meter
widths in some areas.  Additional
undiscovered gold-bearing veins are also indicated by a float sample of vein
material collected upslope of the Upper Vein, which assayed at 28.90 g/t gold.
The Upper Vein area represents only 10% of the Deep Creek property, much of
which has not been systematically explored since the early 1990’s.

“Ashburton is pleased to have Premier as a significant
shareholder” stated Michael England, President and CEO of the company.  “We look forward to continuing our exploration
at Deep Creek, now in collaboration with Premier’s experience and resources.  A well-funded comprehensive exploration
program is what the project deserves.”

“The
Deep Creek discovery shares similarities with the nearby Midas (Newmont) and
Hollister (Great Basin) gold mines, both being high-grade narrow vein
deposits,” stated Ewan Downie, President and CEO of Premier”.  “Our investment in Ashburton gives us a
foothold in this significantly undervalued Company and provides for Premier to
assist in implementing the next phase of exploration at Deep Creek”.

Premier will invest $600,000 in Ashburton through
the purchase of 7,500,000 units at $0.08.  The financing is to close on or about December
22, 2010.  Each unit consists of one
common share in the capital of the company and one-half a common share purchase
warrant.  Each full warrant entitles the
holder to purchase one additional share at a price of $0.13 cents per share for
a period of 18 months from the date of issuance.  An additional 2,500,000 units may be sold on a
non brokered basis with the same terms.

The
initial share purchase will result in Premier owning approximately 14 per cent
of Ashburton’s current outstanding shares.

This agreement and private
placement are subject to the acceptance for filing by the TSX Venture Exchange.

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

Ashburton
Ventures is a junior exploration company actively seeking mineral opportunities
for the benefit of all its stakeholders. For more information visit the
Company’s website located at www.ashburtonventures.com.

Premier
Gold Mines Ltd., is a North American-focused exploration and development
company with multiple gold projects located in the heart of proven mining
districts in North America.

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.