Oriental Minerals Amends Acquisition of Sangdong; Arranges Interim Loan Financing

Oriental Minerals Inc. is pleased to announce it has amended payment terms for the acquisition of the Sangdong tungsten-molybdenum project in South Korea. The Company has also secured a $3 million interim loan financing from Longview Capital Partners, its largest shareholder.

Payment terms for the current installment due for the Sangdong acquisition have been amended to payments of $1.2 million on July 31, 2008 and November 30, 2008. The original terms called for a $2.4 million payment on July 24, 2008.

The $3 million interim loan financing will become due on January 31, 2009 and accrue interest at prime plus 2%. A corporate finance fee of 20% of the principal amount is payable, in shares of the Company, subject to TSX approval. Proceeds from the loan will be used for the current acquisition payment for the Sangdong project, as amended above and will also help fund the timely completion of the Preliminary Economic Assessment report on Sangdong, currently underway and expected to be completed by September 30, 2008.

Readers are referred to the Company’s press release of March 17, 2008, announcing an updated inferred resource of 67.7 million tonnes of 0.29% WO3, and 0.05% MoS2, and an updated indicated resource of 12.7 million tonnes of 0.32% WO3 and 0.06% MoS2 for the Sangdong tungsten-molybdenum deposit in South Korea. The NI 43-101 compliant estimate was completed by Wardrop Engineering Inc. and represents a 123% increase in tonnes in the indicated category and a 34% increase in inferred tonnes over the initial resource estimate of January 29, 2008.

Ian Fodie, Oriental Minerals’ President and CEO, said, “We are grateful for the cooperation of the Korean mineral license vendor, Mr. Sim, which allows us time to complete the Sangdong Preliminary Economic Assessment and better demonstrate what we believe are very attractive parameters for further investment in the Company. We are also pleased with the support from Longview Capital Partners, as this bridge facility allows us to delay major equity financing until we have completed the PEA. Given recent conditions in the capital markets, we see this arrangement with our largest shareholder as benefiting all shareholders at this time.”

Oriental Minerals is focused on developing world-class mining projects in South Korea. Its flagship Sangdong tungsten-molybdenum project is undergoing a Preliminary Economic Assessment as a further step to revitalizing what was formerly one of the largest tungsten mines in the world.

For more information, contact:

Ian Fodie President & CEO or Spiro Kletas Investor Relations 1(604) 681-5755

http://www.orientalminerals.com

Source: Oriental Minerals Inc.