For immediate release
TSX Venture Exchange - DIB
No. 46 – 2009

DIA BRAS DRILLS MORE HIGH GRADE SILVER AT CUSI PROJECT AND GIVES OUTLOOK FOR 2010

Montréal, Québec, December 16, 2009 - Dia Bras Exploration Inc. (TSX-V:DIB) is pleased to report the results of drilling of the Veta del Contacto target at its Cusi project. The drilling was conducted to test the un-mined portions of the vein above and below old workings.

Veta del Contacto is one of several veins within a network of veins centered on the Promontorio mine. Several of these veins were partially mined by prior operators, mainly during the 1930s; historical records of production, however, are incomplete. Dia Bras’ work since 2007 has shown that large portions of the veins have not been mined.

The accompanying map and cross sections show the relationships between the mined-out portion of Veta del Contacto and Dia Bras drill holes. The table below shows the results from several drill holes:

Hole ID From (m) To(m) Core Interval (m) Estimated True Width (m) Ag (g/t) Pb (%) Zn (%) Zone
DC09B235 101.20 102.00 0.80 0.60 1,585 1.91 0.40 V. del Contacto
DC09B237 110.70 113.00 2.30 1.40 464 0.15 0.16 V. del Contacto
DC09B239 171.70 175.00 3.30 1.00 635 0.08 0.10 V. del Contacto
DC09B244 188.30 190.70 2.40 0.75 2,308 0.46 0.99 V. del Contacto
DC09B247 184.35 190.85 6.50 1.91 570 0.91 0.40 V. del Contacto
DC09B250 95.30 98.00 2.70 2.00 Barren Barren Barren Cusi Fault
DC09B251 113.60 115.70 2.10 1.80 Barren Barren Barren Cusi Fault
DC09B257* 56.10 59.20 3.10 2.00 418 0.06 0.10 Qtz Vein
59.20 61.85 2.65 1.50 652 0.17 0.40 Fault Zone
215.60 217.50 1.90 1.00 268 0.39 0.23 V. del Contacto
* Assays from Dia Bras’ Malpaso lab; ALS Chemex assays are pending

Commenting on these results, Mr. Daniel Tellechea, President of Dia Bras, stated, “The Promontorio mine is the second silver producing operation that we want to develop to ship mineralized material to our Malpaso mill. Together with the Santa Eduviges mine, Promontorio should increase silver production for Dia Bras during 2010-2011. These results confirm the continuation laterally and at depth of rich veins and underscore the exploration potential of Cusi's Promontorio area. Now that we have the cyanidation recovery circuits operational, we can, based on our metallurgical testing, achieve 80-85% recovery of silver by a combination of recovery by flotation and cyanidation methods.”

2010 Cusi Project Exploration Outlook

Three surface drill rigs are now drilling various targets on the property. The first rig is conducting development drilling at the San Antonio-Santa Rosa area where 850 m of core drilling are planned.

The second rig is drilling the Veta del Contacto vein and has encountered a previously unknown vein above Veta del Contacto. Several holes will be drilled to define this new vein, and the rig will then be moved across the valley to drill deeper holes below the old Veta del Contacto stope where earlier holes have encountered kilo levels of silver (see table above).

The third rig is conducting development drilling of the upper El Gallo vein of the Promontorio mine, with about 3,700 m planned for the program. The results of this drilling will guide the mine plan for this area. The ramps previously developed by Dia Bras allow relatively quick development of this vein, which has only been mined to a minor extent. The objective is to have the Promontorio mine developed sufficiently by late 2010 to initiate pilot mining that is expected to produce an additional 250 tonnes per day of mineralized rock during 2011, which will be shipped to the Company’s Malpaso mill for processing and complement the production from Santa Eduviges.

The “alphabet” veins of the Promontorio mine (vein C, H, J, K, etc.) that intersect the main Promontorio vein are mined out above Level 7 but only for a strike distance of about 60 m, where grades were apparently higher adjacent to the Cusi fault. There is significant un-mined lateral extension to these veins, as revealed by the Dia Bras ramps and drilling.

After drilling at Veta del Contacto is completed, the rig will be moved to La India, probably late in the second quarter of 2010, where 2,500 m in 8-10 holes are planned. The drilling will be conducted after the area is mapped and sampled, which should be completed during the first quarter. The rig will then be moved to San Juan, where six holes totaling 1,000-1,200 m are planned.

An area located about 3 km NW of the San Juan deposit, La Matulera, will be explored during the third quarter by soil sampling and reconnaissance mapping. This area is on a mesa-like area that contains small hills that are the result of silicified bedrock being resistant to weathering. Abundant quartz vein float litters the hillsides, and the vein textures indicate that the vein material was eroded from veins high in the epithermal system, above the precious metals zone. This is a low cost program that has the objective of identifying drill targets in a previously unexplored area.

In addition, two underground drill rigs will be used in the Santa Eduviges and Promontorio mines to provide additional data for mine planning.

43-101 Update

Dia Bras has contracted with Geostat Systems International, Inc. of Montreal to update the 43-101 report that Geostat completed in June, 2008. The report stated that the Santa Eduviges and Promontorio deposits contained Measured + Indicated Resources of 234,000 tonnes containing 1,413,260 ounces of silver and Inferred Resources of 1,394,000 tonnes, containing 8,434,810 ounces of silver. The full report is available on Dia Bras’ web page >www.diabras.com or contact:

Daniel Tellechea,
President & CEO
Dia Bras Exploration Inc.
(514) 393-8875 ext. 241

Karl J. Boltz
Vice President, Corporate Development
Dia Bras Exploration Inc.
1 (866) 493-9646

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor 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.