Rio Novo Announces Hiring of Senior Vice-President, Exploration and Corporate Development

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 27, 2011) - Rio Novo Gold Inc. (TSX:RN)(TSX:RN.WT) ("Rio Novo" or the "Company") is delighted to announce the hiring of Brian Arkell as Senior Vice-President, Exploration and Corporate Development. Mr. Arkell is a 23-year veteran of Newmont Mining Corporation, and he has worked in the mining industry for a total of 28 years. His extensive experience in planning and executing exploration and mine development programs establishes him as a valuable addition to the Rio Novo team.

Mr. Arkell most recently held the position of Director of Geology for the Newmont-owned Hope Bay Mining Co., where he led a successful effort to triple exploration activities at the Hope Bay Project, an Archean greenstone-type property. Prior to this, he held a variety of senior geologic positions at Newmont, including:

• Director of Geology and Exploration, South America, where he managed a team of over 70 mining professionals and 200 support staff;

• Geology Manager at the Waihi Gold Project in New Zealand, where his team helped to increase the resource base by about 2 million oz. and extend the project's mine life by 5 years;

• Manager of Mine Geology for the Yanacocha Mine in Peru, where he led a team that added over 8 million reserve oz. in the Minas Congas zone;

• Chief Geologist at the Batu Hijau and Mesel Mines in Indonesia; and

• Project Geologist at the Carlin Trend in Nevada and the Pacific Northwest.

Mr. Arkell has a M.S. in Economic Geology from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and a B.S. in Geological Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Mr. Arkell has a depth of international experience in South America and the Asia-Pacific region. He has extensive reserve development experience, including management of geology, modeling, metallurgy and geotechnical programs. Mr. Arkell has participated in numerous mine development plans, from scoping studies through to definitive feasibility studies, for open pit and underground gold projects. He has led strategic planning initiatives in South America, New Zealand, and Canada, developing pipelines of long-term growth projects.

Rio Novo Gold CEO David Beatty comments, "We are delighted that a geologist and manager with Brian's depth of knowledge, skills, and international experience has decided to join Rio Novo as a key senior member of our management team to lead our drilling, exploration, and corporate development initiatives."

Mr. Arkell will assume his new role with Rio Novo in three weeks. He will focus on drilling and exploration programs at the Company's Almas and Guarantã X1 projects in Brazil, and growing the resource at its newly acquired, 952,000 Inferred oz., Toldafria property, in central Colombia.

About Rio Novo

Rio Novo has 960,000 Measured & Indicated oz. in Brazil and 1,180,000 Inferred oz. plus over $53 million in cash. We are focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of gold mineral resource properties in Brazil and initiated a similar effort in Colombia on June 1^st, 2011 with the 100% acquisition of the NI 43-101-compliant, 952,000 oz., 2.38 g/t Inferred Toldafria property in Caldas State in the central Cordillera.

The Company's goal is to become a producer of gold in the short term by bringing into production its two Brazilian properties, the Almas Gold Project, located in the State of Tocantins State, and the Guarantã Gold Project, located in the State of Mato Grosso. Both projects enjoy established infrastructure and main grid hydropower in mining friendly jurisdictions.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding the estimation of mineral resources, exploration results, potential mineralization, potential mineral resources and mineral reserves) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identifiable by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", may", "could", "would", "might" or "will", "estimates", "expect", "intend", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts" and similar expressions or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, failure to establish estimated mineral resources, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, the price of gold and other risks identified in the Company's most recent annual information form filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR.com. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.