Central Iron Ore Ltd.: Drill Program Commencing at South Darlot Gold Project

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS SERVICES OR FOR
DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. 


Central Iron Ore Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:CIO) 

("CIO" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that drilling has commenced at
the Mermaid Prospect which is a part of the Company's South Darlot Gold Project.


The drill program is based on a review of the historical data from the Barrick
JV tenements.


Twenty four gold targets were identified from this dataset. 

Highlights

Barrick Historical Data review:



--  1,104 holes drilled on Barrick JV tenements. 
--  44,605m drilled on Barrick JV tenements. 
--  24 gold targets identified on Barrick JV tenements. 
--  Significant gold intersections: 
    --  Mermaid Prospect 
        --  5m at 348.9 g/t Au (including 1m at 1,510 g/t Au). 
        --  3m at 13 g/t Au. 
        --  4m at 7.9 g/t Au.
              
    --  Endeavour Prospect 
        --  3m at 88.8 g/t Au. 
        --  8m at 23.6 g/t Au. 



Proposed drilling program:



--  Mermaid Prospect 
    --  6 drill holes for approximately 390m. 
--  Endeavour Prospect 
    --  8 drill holes for approximately 550m. 
--  On completion of the drilling the Company envisages that it will have
    earned a 51% interest in the Barrick JV tenements. CIO can earn an
    additional 19% interest (equal to a total interest of 70%) by spending
    an additional AUD$250,000. 



Proposed Drilling Program

Mermaid Prospect

The purpose of the drilling at the Mermaid Prospect is to define the geometry,
orientation and confidence of the gold mineralisation, conduct metallurgical
test work on gold bearing intervals and to drill a HQ diamond drill hole to
collect geotechnical data in fresh rock.


The drill program will consist of 6 drill holes:



--  3 holes for resource definition. 
--  2 holes for metallurgical test work. 
--  1 hole for geotechnical data. 



Maps and diagrams relevant to the Mermaid Prospect can be found at the following
links:


http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cio918a.jpg 

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cio918b.jpg 

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cio918c.jpg

Endeavour Prospect

The purpose of the drilling at the Endeavour Prospect is to define the geometry
and orientation of the gold mineralisation. Geotechnical data will be collected
from the HQ diamond drill hole. If results permit, metallurgical test work will
be conducted on gold bearing intervals.


The drill program will consist of 8 drill holes:



--  5 holes for resource definition. 
--  2 holes for metallurgical test work. 
--  1 hole for geotechnical test work. 



A long section of the Endeavour Prospect can be found here:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cio918d.jpg


Historical Data Review

Jonathan Smalley of BM Geological Services was contracted by CIO to build and
analyse the historical data provided from Barrick Gold Limited as part of the
joint venture agreement for the South Darlot Gold Project. The data consisted of
1,104 drill holes drilling some 44,635 metres. The dataset also included a vast
array of geophyscial data which included gravity and magnetics. The table below
describes the breakdown of drill information into identified targets. 24 targets
have been identified and prioritised from the data review.




---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prospect                                     Holes                   Metres
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mermaid                                         36                    2,636
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Endeavour                                        9                      950
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
British King                                   179                    8,123
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loch Ard                                        71                    3,553
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clonmel                                        104                    5,278
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wee Jim                                         76                    3,566
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A1                                              24                    1,282
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dead Horse                                      51                    2,726
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Prospects                                551                   16,521
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                           
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                        1,101                   44,635
---------------------------------------------------------------------------



A map of these prospects can be found here:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cio918e.jpg


The significant gold intercepts are listed in the table below. The most
interesting gold intercepts were recorded at the Mermaid, Endeavour and the
British King prospects.




----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  AHD         Width    Grade
Prospect         Hole Id   Easting  Northing     (RL) From To   (m) (g/t Au)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mermaid         WDRC0099    327858   6906077      450   79 84     5    348.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Including                                1    1,510
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mermaid        PDERB0002    327867   6906120      450   11 14     3     13.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mermaid         WDRC0111    327829   6906100      450   31 35     4      7.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Endeavour       WDRC0101    328138   6905812      450   36 39     3     88.8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Endeavour        WDR1220    328138   6905807      450   34 42     8     23.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
British King    BKRC0036    327451   6908340      450   15 18     3     27.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
British King    WDRC0110    326818   6908207      450   85 86     1     26.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
British King    BKRC0005    327312   6908329      450   40 42     2     17.8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
British King    BKRC0001    327251   6908340      450   31 33     2     15.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
British King    BKRC0004    327291   6908330      450   36 39     3     14.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
British King     BKR0002    326807   6908280      450   14 17     3     11.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
British King    BKRC0028    327391   6908330      450   20 23     3      9.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loch Ard        WDRC0090    329848   6907357      450    9 10     1     12.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loch Ard         WDR0770    329838   6907357      450   41 45     4      2.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clonmel          WDR0779    330338   6906657      450   29 30     1      6.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wee Jim          WDR0717    328788   6909757      450    8  9     1      5.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wee Jim          BRC0151    328628   6909957      450   13 14     1      3.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wee Jim          BRR0703    328688   6909957      450    7  8     1      2.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A1               BRC0093    327363   6906189      450   22 23     1     19.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A1              WDRC0033    327363   6906167      450   37 39     2      4.3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dead Horse       WBR0318    326738   6910957      450   21 25     4      1.8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------



SOUTH DARLOT GOLD PROJECT (Western Australia)

The South Darlot Gold Project area is approximately 320km northwest of
Kalgoorlie and includes:




--  The British King Mine which is 100% owned by the Company and NI43-101
    compliant. The British King Mine is 5km southwest of Barrick Gold
    Corporation Limited's Darlot Mine. The British King Mine is currently
    under care and maintenance.
      
--  100% CIO owned tenement package covering 324km2.
      
--  The Barrick JV tenements, in which CIO can earn an interest of up to
    70%. 



Maps of the South Darlot Gold Project can be found at the following links:

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cio918f.jpg 

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cio918g.jpg 

100% CIO Owned South Darlot Gold Tenements

The Company's current 100% owned South Darlot Gold Project tenement package
covers 324km2.




----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project                       Tenement             Status         Area (km2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Darlot                   E37/882            Granted                141
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Darlot                  E37/1054            Granted                 33
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Darlot                  E37/1085            Granted                 24
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Darlot                  E37/1086            Granted                  3
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Darlot                  E37/1106            Pending                123
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
British King                    M37/30            Granted                0.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
British King                  P37/7026            Granted                0.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------



For the South Darlot Gold Project, the Company's strategy and objective will be
to evaluate the gold prospectivity of the region, generate targets, expand the
tenement position and acquire all access approvals. The Company currently has 7
prospective targets identified on its 100% owned tenements and will
systematically evaluate these targets over the next 12 months.


Barrick Joint Venture Tenements

The Barrick JV tenements are situated southwest of Barrick's Darlot gold mine
and are contiguous with CIO's current holdings in the area which includes the
British King Mine which is 100% owned and NI43-101 compliant. The tenements
covered by the Barrick Joint Venture are detailed below.




----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project                       Tenement             Status          Area (ha)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrick JV                     M37/421            Granted                381
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrick JV                     M37/552            Granted                200
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrick JV                     M37/631            Granted                776
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrick JV                     M37/632            Granted                595
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrick JV                     M37/709            Granted                 98
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrick JV                    M37/1045            Granted                 90
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrick JV                    P37/7364            Granted                197
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrick JV                    P37/7365            Granted                200
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrick JV                    P37/7366            Granted                113
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barrick JV                    P37/7367            Granted                 45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------



For the Barrick JV tenements, the strategy and objective of CIO will be to
evaluate the gold prospectivity and deliver on target generation and access. The
Company currently has 24 prospect targets identified on the Barrick JV tenements
and will systematically evaluate these targets over the next 12 months. CIO has
prioritised the exploration on the Mermaid and Endeavour Prospects. 


The Company envisages that on the completion of the current drill program it
will have earned a 51% interest in the Barrick JV tenements. CIO can earn an
additional 19% interest (equal to a total interest of 70%) by spending and
additional AUD$250,000.


QUALIFIED PERSON 

Mr. Andrew Spinks B.App.Sc, Grad.Dip (Mining), a member of AusIMM, and a
consultant geologist, a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101, has reviewed
and approved the technical content of this announcement.


On behalf of the Board of Directors 

CENTRAL IRON ORE LTD.

Brett Hodgins, President/CEO

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of
Canadian securities laws. Although the Company believes that such information is
reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be
correct. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as:
believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar
expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The
Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the
Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual
results may differ materially from those in forward looking information as a
result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the
financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the market
for iron ore or other minerals that may be produced generally, recent market
volatility; variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral
deposits that may be located, the Company's ability to obtain any necessary
permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, to raise the
necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies and
other risks associated with the exploration and development of mineral
properties. The reader is referred to the Company's disclosure documents for a
more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects,
copies of which may be accessed through the Company's page on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.


ABN: 32 072 871 133