El Nino Ventures Inc.

May 11, 2011, Vancouver, Canada. -- El Niño Ventures Inc. ("ELN" or "Company") (TSX.V: ELN; FSE: E7Q) is pleased to announce significant diamond drill results from the Murray Brook project in the Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick.

Under the terms of the original Tri-Party Agreement between El Niño, Xstrata Zinc Canada ("Xstrata Zinc") and VotorantimMetals Canada Inc. ("VM Canada") (May 2010). El Niño has the right to and has provided notice to VM Canada in January 2011 that it intends to enter into a second agreement with VM Canada whereby it could earn a 50% interest in VM Canada's position on the Murray Brook property. (This agreement remains subject to certain conditions and final acceptance from the TSX Venture Exchange).

Significant assay results from an initial, 595 metre, due diligence, drill program of three drillholes on the Murray Brook Project are listed in Table-1.

Table-1: Significant Drill Intervals (Composite Results)

The program was designed to confirm the grade and width of the massive-sulphide body, where intertsected, in three, historical, drill holes reported by previous operators.

Under the terms of the Agreement between El Niño and VM Canada, El Niño could earn a 50% interest in VM Canada's option interest of Murray Brook project. (This agreement remains subject to certain conditions and final acceptance from the TSX Venture Exchange.)

The Murray Brook deposit is a polymetallic, volcanic hosted, massive-sulphide deposit and is the fifth largest in the Bathurst Mining Camp. The property is located approximately 60 km west of Bathurst New Brunswick, in Restigouche County, within the Bathurst Mining Camp. An existing gravel road accesses the property from a paved highway. The electricity grid is nearby, as are communities with goods, services and skilled labor.

The gossan indicated on the section below was removed during the open-pit mining operations carried out by Novagold Resources Inc. during the early 1990s. The hanging wall is moderately chloritic and is locally intensely deformed. The foot wall consists of fine grained, felsic tuff and tuffaceous sediments with moderate to strong chlorite and sericite alteration. Sulphides are mainly fine grained, massive, vaguely laminated pyrite with disseminated and banded sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena.

Removal of the gossan also removed any evidence of previous drilling within the shallow pit area. Consequently, VM Canada's due diligence process to acquire the Murray Brook deposit required the confirmation of several historically, reported drill results, in addition to compilation of previous work. Three holes from previous drill campaigns on the Murray Brook deposit were redrilled (twinned). A total of 595 metres was drilled during the twin-hole program, including 40 metres on one abandoned drillhole. Significant drill results from the due diligence, drill twin-hole program included massive sulphide intersections that were similar in width, position and positively confirmed the grades for copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver reported from the three previously drilled holes. Based in part on these results, VM Canada entered into an option agreement with Murray Brook Minerals.

A vertical section through the twin-holes drilled in the program is presented in Figure-1 with composite grades calculated from the assay results.
 

Figure 1- Drill section showing three due diligence drill holes

Table-2, below, summarizes the assay-composite grades from the current twin-hole, drill program (MB-10-15, 16 & 17) compared to composite grades from assay results reported for the three, previously drilled holes (MB-98-13, CP-20, & R-3 respectively). The assay results for this twin-hole drill program have confirmed the presence of massive-sulfide mineralization and verified, with allowances for natural variation, the grades for copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), gold (Au) and silver (Ag) reported from the three, previous drillholes, as well as the apparent width of the massive sulphide intercepts.

Table-2 Composite Assay Comparison between Historical and VM Canada Diamond Drilling

VM Canada has recently completed a Phase I, 3,500 metre, drill program (16 holes). The Phase I, drilling program has tested specific portions of the Murray Brook deposit. Verification assays are pending. Approximately 50% of historical drill holes were not assayed for precious metal content. VM Canada routinely assays mineralized drill core for Cu, Pb, Zn, Au and Ag.

A planned 3,500 metre, Phase II, drill program is scheduled to commence on or about June 01, 2011. Phase II drilling will focus on areas with low drill density (as determined from historical drilling records), any higher-grade intervals intersected in the Phase I program as well as test the known margins and possible extensions of the deposit. In addition, any significant targets resolved by the recently completed HeliTEM survey and ongoing Falcon AGG (airborne gravity gradiometry) survey will be evaluated as an additional component of the Phase II drill program, if feasible.

VM Canada Statement:
Technical details in this news release were provided by VM Canada whose professional geologists conduct operations consistent with mineral industry best practices. VM Canada accepts no responsibility for this news release or any inferences made from the technical details provided herein.

Qualified Person:
John W. Londry is a Qualified Person (QP) who has reviewed and approves the information that is included in this press release

VM Canada has recently completed a Phase I, 3,500 metre, drill program (16 holes). The Phase I, drilling program has tested specific portions of the Murray Brook deposit. Verification assays are pending. Approximately 50% of historical drill holes were not assayed for precious metal content. VM Canada routinely assays mineralized drill core for Cu, Pb, Zn, Au and Ag.

A planned 3,500 metre, Phase II, drill program is scheduled to commence on or about June 01, 2011. Phase II drilling will focus on areas with low drill density (as determined from historical drilling records), any higher-grade intervals intersected in the Phase I program as well as test the known margins and possible extensions of the deposit. In addition, any significant targets resolved by the recently completed HeliTEM survey and ongoing Falcon AGG (airborne gravity gradiometry) survey will be evaluated as an additional component of the Phase II drill program, if feasible.

VM Canada Statement:
Technical details in this news release were provided by VM Canada whose professional geologists conduct operations consistent with mineral industry best practices. VM Canada accepts no responsibility for this news release or any inferences made from the technical details provided herein.

Qualified Person:
John W. Londry is a Qualified Person (QP) who has reviewed and approves the information that is included in this press release

About the Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC) Project
Upon execution of the tripartite agreement, the BMC project comprised: 1,805 claims owned 50% ELN, 50% Xstrata Zinc; 2,907 claims owned 100% by Xstrata Zinc; together with an Area of Interest in which ELN and Xstrata Zinc hold equal interest. Earlier drilling campaigns delineated several historical deposits of lead, zinc and copper mineralization within the 1,805 claims in which ELN currently holds 50% interest (see June 4, 2008 press release).

In February 2010, ELN announced that a planned $5 million, exploration program, to consist of airborne and ground geophysics, had begun as well as a 10,000 metre drill program slated to commence in the spring of 2011. (See press release dated February 23, 2011).

About the Murray Brook and Camel Back Properties
The 505 hectare, Murray Brook mining lease (ML252) contains the Murray Brook deposit, discovered in 1956 and mined by Novagold Resources from 1989 to 1992. Total production was 1,384 kg of gold and 9,829 kg of silver from 2.7 Mt of oxide ore (Gossan). A sulphide resource was defined below the open pit (Gossan), prior to the implementation of NI 43-101 standards of disclosure, historically reported by NovaGold in 1988 to be 20.2 Mt grading 1.4% Zn, 0.3% Cu, 0.6% Pb, 25 g/t Ag and 0.3 g/t Au. A copper-rich zone within this deposit contains an estimated 2.087 Mt grading 2.0% Cu, 1.1% Zn, 0.4% Pb, 46 g/t Ag and 0.3 g/t Au. Under the provisions of NI 43-101, insufficient work has been carried out to classify any of the historic occurrences as current mineral resources and the historical estimates should not be relied upon.

The Camel Back claim block consists of 215 claims covering 4,100 hectares situated between the Murray Brook mining lease and the Caribou mining lease (ML246). The Caribou, Murray Brook and Restigouche deposits are all hosted within the California Lake Group. The Caribou deposit is within volcano-sedimentary rocks of the Spruce Lake Formation while the Murray Brook and Restigouche deposits are within sedimentary rocks of the Mount Britain Formation. According to geological and geophysical data, the presence of favourable stratigraphy and some untested EM anomalies shows that the Camel Back block still merits further exploration for discovering new deposits.

About VM Canada (Votorantim Metals Canada Inc.)
Votorantim Metals Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of Votorantim Metais, a company that is part of the Votorantim Group, that was founded in Brazil in 1918 and now operates in twenty countries and has over sixty-five thousand employees. Votorantim Metais is the largest electrolytic-nickel producer in Latin America and one of the world's leaders in the production of zinc, aluminium and steel.

About El Niño Ventures Inc.
El Niño Ventures Inc. is a mineral exploration company focused on base-metal exploration and development internationally. Currently the company is focused on developing its Canadain and African projects:

1. Murray Brook Project: Under Votoratim's Option and Joint Venture Agreement with Murray Brook Minerals and Murray Brook Resources, Votorantim can earn a 50% interst in the Properties, by funding $2,250,000 in exploration expenditures and making payments totalling $300,000 over a three year priod commencing November 1, 2010. Votorantim can earn an additional 20% interest in the Properties by funding an additional $2,250,000 in exploration expenditures over an additional two year period.

2. Bathurst Mining Camp Project: Consists of an initial 4,712 claims in tri-party agreement with Xstrata & VM Canada whereby VM Canada may incur exploration expenditures of $10 million over a period of 5 years to earn a 50% interest. VM Canada may further increase its interest to 70% by spending an additional $10 million over 2 years.

3. Kasala Project, DRC: El Niño Ventures is also focused on a copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Kasala discovery is the first green-fields copper find in the last 10 years in the Central African Copper Belt.

The company is also aggressively negotiating to acquire new projects to add to its current portfolio.

"Harry Barr"
Harry Barr, Chairman and Acting CEO
 

For further information:

Corporate: Jay Oness -- jay@elninoventures.com
Investor Relations: Toll free 1.800.667.1870
2303 West 41^st Avenue, Vancouve, B.C. V6M 2A3
Email: info@elninoventures.com

TSX Venture Exchange or 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.

Note:  this release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.  These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results and are based on current expectations or beliefs.  For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements.  In addition, forward-looking statements include statements in which the Company uses words such as "continue", "efforts", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "confident", "intend", "strategy", "plan", "will", "estimate", "project", "goal", "target", "prospects", "optimistic" or similar expressions.  These statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others, the Company's ability and continuation of efforts to timely and completely make available adequate current public information, additional or different regulatory and legal requirements and restrictions that may be imposed, and other factors as may be discussed in the documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com), including the most recent reports that identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.  The Company does not undertake any obligation to review or confirm analysts' expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.  Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.