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

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jul 23 (MARKET WIRE) --
Verena Minerals Corporation (TSX VENTURE: VML) ("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:
Verena Minerals Corporation
Ron W. Stewart
President and CEO
(416) 368-2998
Website: www.verena.com

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