Luna Gold Announces Major Resource Update at Aurizona

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Dec. 8, 2011) - Luna Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:LGC)(BVLAC:LGC) ("Luna Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a significant mineral resource update at the Aurizona gold mine in Brazil. Measured and Indicated gold resources now total 78.0 million tonnes at 1.26 g/t Au or 3.17 million ounces gold, an increase of 250% from the previous mineral resource estimate published in January 2009. Inferred gold resources now total 15.2 million tonnes at 1.47 g/t Au or 0.72 million ounces gold, an increase of 79% from the January 2009 mineral resource estimate.

Consolidated Statement December 8, 2011, Inclusive of Reserves
Deposit	Classification	kt	Au g/t	Au oz
Piaba Pit Constrained1	Measured	10,782	1.13	391,000
	Indicated	62,939	1.28	2,596,000
	Measured and Indicated	73,721	1.26	2,987,000
	Inferred	2,469	1.47	117,000
Piaba Underground2	Measured	0	0.00	,000
	Indicated	2,738	1.29	113,000
	Measured and Indicated	2,738	1.29	113,000
	Inferred	10,901	1.56	547,000
Tatajuba3	Measured	0	0.00	0
	Indicated	1,554	1.31	66,000
	Measured and Indicated	1,554	1.31	66,000
	Inferred	1,859	0.94	56,000
Total	Measured	10,782	1.13	391,000
	Indicated	67,231	1.28	2,775,000
	Measured and Indicated	78,013	1.26	3,166,000
	Inferred	15,229	1.47	720,000
Notes:
25g/t Au capping at Piaba and 10 g/t Au capping at Tatajuba.
Block dimensions are 10m x 10m in the xy plane and 3m on the z axis.
Piaba database consists of 69,578 meters consisting of 335 diamond drill holes and 142 reverse circulation holes and 374 auger drill holes.
1 Piaba pit constrained resources are reported at a cutoff grade of 0.30 g/t Au inside a pit optimization shell based on a gold price of US$1500 per ounce.
2 Piaba underground resources are reported at a cutoff grade of 0.75 g/t Au outside the pit optimization shell. The cutoff grade has been calculated at al gold price of US$1500 per ounce.
3 Tatajuba database consists of 4,740 meters in 45 diamond drill holes (2008). The Tatajuba resources are not constrained by a pit optimization shell.
Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have a demonstrated economic viability.
The independent QP responsible for the preparation of the mineral resource estimate and who has reviewed this press release is Leah Mach, CPG, of the Denver office of SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc.
4 The Company has not yet up-dated its mineral reserves estimate for the Aurizona Gold Operation based on the new mineral resource discussed in this press release. For greater clarity, the Company's mineral reserves estimate effective as of July 13, 2010 previously disclosed by the Company is based on an earlier mineral resource estimate which did not include the additional drilling data.
5 There may be political, environmental, legal and other risks that may materially affect the mineral resource estimate disclosed in this press release.

The resource has been updated by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. according to Canadian National Instrument 43-101 guidelines and is based on 43,968 metres of new diamond, reverse circulation and auger drilling by Luna Gold.

Luna Gold's President and CEO, John Blake, comments, "Luna Gold embarked on a drill program in August 2010 culminating in today's resource upgrade and I am pleased to deliver this on time as previously advised. These excellent results confirm the Company's confidence in the geological mineral endowment at Aurizona. The high percentage of pit constrained Measured and Indicated ounces demonstrates the high quality of this resource estimate. The quantum increase in total ounces provides a clear directive for Luna to embark on studies to increase production, delivering growth and shareholder returns. The geological knowledge base will now be dedicated to discovery of similar gold deposits in our adjacent Maranhão Greenfields project that will deliver further growth potential."

Work has now commenced on the identification of potential deep structural drill targets beneath the limit of the updated Piaba resource. Drilling has also started at the Boa Esperança target. In November, Itasca CA completed a structural mapping program in the Piaba pit to define the high-grade mineralization controls. This work will develop a better understanding of the structural setting and guide deep drilling planned for 2012. The Piaba deposit is now 3.30 kilometres in length and is currently open at depth on all cross-sections and strike.

Luna Gold's VP Exploration, Titus Haggan, states, "This resource update confirms the outstanding quality and growth potential of the Piaba deposit. We have identified strong similarities between Aurizona and major gold deposits of the West African Shield. This resource is an important first step in defining a world class gold deposit at Aurizona and benchmarks the discovery potential within our extensive Maranhão Greenfields project which is being advanced by our exploration teams."

The Company has also retained the services of a consulting firm to assist with the completion of a scoping study to identify the potential for expanded gold production opportunities at Aurizona.

About Luna Gold Corp.

Luna Gold is actively engaged in the operation, exploration, acquisition and development of gold opportunities in Brazil. The Company currently has a gold mining operation, Aurizona Gold Mine in Maranhão, Brazil, a gold development project, the Cachoeira project in Para, Brazil and the Company is exploring in a large strategically placed greenfields land position in Maranhão, Brazil.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

LUNA GOLD CORP.

John Blake – President and CEO

Regulatory Footnotes

Luna operates a rigorous QA/QC protocol on all aspects of sampling and analytical procedure. Drill core is checked, logged, marked for sampling and sawn in half. One half of the HTW (71 mm diameter) core is maintained for future reference and one half of the core is sent for analysis. Samples are collected at approximately 2 metre intervals, which are reduced to 1 metre interval or less when a mineralized zone is encountered. All core and samples are stored in secure locked areas. Up to the end of Q3 2011 samples were transported from the Aurizona project to the ALS Chemex sample preparation facility in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais accompanied by Luna personnel. After Q3 2011 samples were transported from the Aurizona project to the ACME Labs sample preparation facility in Cuiaba, Mato Grosso and Goiania, Goias accompanied by Luna personnel. Samples are assayed at ACME Labs in Santiago, Chile using a 50 gram fire assay with AAS finish. Samples are assayed at ALS Chemex Labs in Lima, Peru and Perth, Australia using a 50 gram fire assay with AAS finish. Each sample batch contains 10% of randomly inserted internal control samples consisting of certified analytical standards, blanks (barren rock) and duplicates. These QA/QC procedures provide several measures of data quality and assure the Company that the assay data is representative of the original sample. Additional technical information about the Aurizona Project is available in our technical report dated September 1, 2010, filed on SEDAR.

Titus Haggan Ph.D., EurGeol Certified Professional Geologist #746, Luna's Vice President Exploration is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the scientific and technical work on the exploration programs.

A technical report in support of the mineral resource estimate disclosed in this press release will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of the date of this release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains certain "forward looking statements" and certain "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the exploration program and any planned resource, reserve and production upgrades and potential. Forward-looking statements are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that, while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Certain of the statements made herein by Luna Gold Corp. are forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, many of which are beyond the ability of Luna Gold Corp. to control or predict. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Luna Gold Corp.'s actual results, performance or achievements may be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out here in, including but not limited to the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drill results and other exploration data, the potential for delays in exploration or development activities, mine development and production costs, the projected life of the Company's mines, future production levels, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, accidents, equipment breakdowns, title matters, labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in production and operations, fluctuating metal prices, unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations, currency fluctuations, regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions and liability, competition, loss of key employees, and other related risks and uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-looking information represents management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.