February 18, 2009

Dia Bras Reports High-Grade Assays From its Cusi Project, Chihuahua, Mexico

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Feb. 18, 2009) - Dia Bras Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:DIB) is pleased to announce highlights from drilling at its Cusi property during the last half of 2008. The information and tables below report only the intercepts above 300 g/t Ag. A complete report showing all holes drilled and their results is available on the Company's web page (www.diabras.com) and SEDAR.

The Company's results from 2008 demonstrate the project's high grades of silver in multiple areas and its potential for significant silver production.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, data compilation and interpretation of Dia Bras' drilling and underground work produced four new target types near Dia Bras' underground workings as well as elsewhere in the most intensely silver mineralized part of the district, which lies between the Santa Eduwiges and Promontorio mines. These targets include:

1. Surface silver oxide mineralization above known veins that crop out in the San Antonio pit.

2. The Santa Rosa "chimney" or stockwork body, a bulk tonnage, underground high-grade silver resource that consists of disseminated and veinlet controlled argentite mineralization.

3. Silver mineralization in silicified wall rock in +2 meter envelopes showing 100 to 300 g/t Ag assays around the major quartz veins.

4. New veins showing previous stoping and mining activity peripheral and perpendicular to the Santa Eduwiges and Promontorio vein systems including the Tascate, Mexicana, San Nicolas, and Minerva veins.


During 2008, 14,235 meters of core were drilled at Cusi to further define silver, gold and base metal resources along the Santa Eduviges, San Antonio, Santa Marina, Santa Rosa "stockwork", Tascate, and Minerva veins. In January, 2009 drilling at Cusi advanced an additional 586 meters from both surface and underground platforms. Several holes cut veins with more than 300 g/t Ag, as shown in the following tables.

Drill Meterage from the Second Half of 2008

Meterage shows a significant decline in output after July, 2008 as development drilling of the Santa Eduwiges vein system wound down. The Company's exploration emphasis shifted to underground exploration for new high-grade gold-silver resources to support the Cusi pilot mining.

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                                                                  July-Dec

Vein                July   August    Sept.  Oct.    Nov.   Dec.      Total

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  Santa Eduwiges     358      363      336   186     357    123       1723

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  Promontorio          0        0        0     0       0     20         20

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Total Underground    358      363      336   186     357    143       1743

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  Promontorio          0        0        0     0       0      0          0

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  San Antonio          0        0        0     0       0    399        399

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  Santa-Eduwiges     487        0        0     0     105      0        592

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  Santa-Marina       420      231        0     0       0      0        651

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  Minerva              0        0        0     0       0      0          0

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Total Surface        907      231        0     0     105    399       1642

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Grand total:        1265      594      336   186     462    542       3385

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Cusi drill results from the first and second quarters of 2008 are described in press releases dated April 10 and June 3, 2008.

Santa Rosa "Stockwork" Zone

In plan view, the Santa Rosa "stockwork" zone occupies a 50 x 150 meter area that has been drilled to a depth of 50 meters below the 2000 Level of the Santa Eduwiges mine and continues for an unknown distance to depth. Mineralization consists of a strongly fractured, pervasively silicified and quartz veined zone. Argentite is the dominant silver mineral in the Santa Rosa "stockwork" zone and is associated with both quartz veinlets and as disseminated blebs and grains within crushed and broken rhyolite host.

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                                    Au     Ag      Cu     Pb     Zn   True

Hole       From     To   Length    g/t    g/t       %      %      %  Width

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DC08M055    8.4     13      4.6   0.12   2031    0.14   0.78   0.12   3.97

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          24.85  25.65      0.8   0.57   4860    0.31   0.81   0.12   0.69

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DC08M057   23.7   24.6      0.9  0.039   1095   0.336  0.744  0.633   0.76

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DC08M060   18.1   19.3      1.2  0.021    321   0.115    1.2  0.523   1.11

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          20.65  21.55      0.9  0.038    707   0.318   1.15  0.696   0.83

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DC08M061   20.4   21.6      1.2     NA    347      NA   0.22  0.203   1.03

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DC08M062   36.7  36.95     0.25     NA   1105      NA   2.54    7.3    0.2

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DC08M065   11.9   13.1      1.2  0.084    316   0.135  0.707  0.188   0.75

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           17.9   18.6      0.7  0.008   2630   0.943   1.11  0.349   0.44

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- DC08M equals underground drilling

  DC08B equals surface drilling

Santa Marina Vein

Diamond drilling of the Santa Marina vein has defined a mineralized shoot of 120 meters horizontally by 50 m vertically that averages 1.97 meters in width. The best holes to date are DB08B191 and DB09B193. Both exhibit wide intercepts of silver mineralization in the hanging wall of the Santa Marina vein. Continued drilling along the Santa Marina vein defines an additional area of mineralization.

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                                    Au    Ag      Cu      Pb     Zn   True

Hole       From     To  Length     g/t   g/t       %       %      %  Width

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DC08M069  45.00  48.00    3.00      NA   306  0.0361  0.0171 0.0788   2.95

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DC08B189   65.3   70.3    5.00    0.02   493    0.05    0.11   0.08   3.05

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DC08B190   55.5     57     1.5           766  0.0592  0.1155 0.0508   1.11

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             63   63.9     0.9           743  0.0986    1.14  0.178   0.67

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DC08B191  133.6  138.1     4.5    0.55   344   0.102    5.36   4.11   2.88

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DC08B193   45.2   46.8     1.6   0.303   691   0.046   0.221  0.059   1.08

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           79.7   81.3     1.6   0.000   336   0.101    0.91  0.402   1.08

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           96.3   96.7     0.4   0.275   368   0.163   12.45   1.67   0.27

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          101.1    102     0.9   0.556  1080   0.358   24.54   2.23   0.61

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          107.7  108.8     1.1   0.145   314    0.07    0.66   0.85   0.74

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DC08B194   55.8   56.9     1.1   0.086   305  0.0402    0.15   0.03   0.61

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          120.8  121.7     0.9   0.047   513   0.645    3.19  1.205   0.50

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Holes drilled in the Santa Eduviges, Tascate, Minerva, and Promontorio veins during late 2008 yielded several intercepts between 100 and 299 g/t Ag, and these results can be seen in the complete report on the Company's web page (www.diabras.com) and SEDAR.

To view the complete report showing all holes drilled and their results is available, please visit the link below: http://www.diabras.com/en/newscenter...

To view the complete assays results from the second semester of 2008, please visit the link below: http://www.diabras.com/en/newscenter...

To view "Map 1: Drill Hole Locations -- Surface Drilling", please visit the link below: http://www.diabras.com/en/newscenter...

To view "Map 2: Drill Hole Locations -- Underground Drilling", please visit the link below: http://www.diabras.com/en/newscenter...

Method of analysis

Samples were prepared at the Chemex lab facility in Chihuahua, Mexico, and analyzed by ICP and AA methods at their facilities in Vancouver, Canada. Diamond drill samples sent for analysis consisted of half NQ-size and BQ-size diamond core split on site, prepared by the ALS Chemex sample preparation laboratory in Chihuahua, Mexico, and assayed for Au by 50 g fire assay with AA finish, and for Ag by AA on 50 g split sample at the ALS Chemex North Vancouver Laboratory. Assays for Pb, Zn and Cu are done by Induction Coupled Plasma (ICP) at Chemex.

Quality control

The quality assurance-quality control (QA-QC) of Dia Bras has been described in detail in both RPA Scott Wilson's 43-101 reports of December 2006 at Cusi and October 2005 for Bolivar.

The technical content of this news release has been approved by Eugene Schmidt, RPG and Vice President of Exploration and Geology for Dia Bras, a Qualified Person as defined in NI43-101.