Mesa Exploration Permitting Update for the Bounty Potash Project

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - July 31, 2012) - Mesa Exploration Corp. (TSX VENTURE:MSA)(PINKSHEETS:MSAJF) announces an update to permitting at the Bounty Potash Project in western Utah. The BLM has determined that the Project is compatible with the regional Pony Express Resource Management Plan, a vital milestone. As part of the permitting process the BLM is now reviewing historic geologic and hydrologic investigations done at the site. Mesa has provided all available historic reports and two internally generated reports to facilitate and expedite this process. Mesa's proposed exploration plan will be evaluated by the BLM for environmental impacts and once approved the program will commence. Because the area is a lifeless, barren salt flat there are no anticipated environmental or permitting issues. Drilling should begin in the next few weeks.

About the Bounty Potash Project

Historic exploration work at Bounty was conducted in 1966 by Quintana Petroleum. Quintana drilled 35 auger holes resulting in the definition of 5.1 million tons of potash (MOP) averaging 6.8 grams/liter potash. Quintana limited the estimation of the resource to the top 10 feet of the brine aquifer, the depth limits of the auger drilling equipment that was used; Mesa controls 80% of this resource. The Quintana resource is historical in nature and was calculated using a polygonal contour estimation method, the industry standard prior to NI 43-101 standards. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource; Mesa is not treating the historical estimate as a current mineral resource.

The project is 15 miles north of Intrepid Potash's Wendover operation, a potash production facility that is chemically and physically analogous to the deposit at the Bounty project. The Bounty project consists of 90 square miles of potash prospecting permit applications from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and 14 square miles of Potash Leases from the State of Utah. The Wendover facility has been in production for 75 years utilizing a system of potash brine collection ditches and solar evaporation ponds, with potash and salt being processed in a simple flotation mill. The Wendover facility has an annual production of 100,000 tons of potash and 200,000 tons of magnesium chloride, grossing $60 million per year.

About Mesa Exploration

Mesa is developing and exploring a portfolio of mineral properties in the United States where it controls significant land holdings in proven mining districts with excellent access and infrastructure. Mesa currently has 14 million shares issued and outstanding, 50% of the shares are controlled by insiders and institutions. For further information please visit our website at www.MesaExploration.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

MESA EXPLORATION CORP.

Foster Wilson, President and CEO

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, including the likelihood of commercial mining and possible future financings are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include unsuccessful exploration results, changes in metals prices, changes in the availability of funding for mineral exploration, unanticipated changes in key management personnel and general economic conditions. Mining is an inherently risky business. Accordingly the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company and the risks and challenges of its business, investors should review the Company's annual filings that are available at www.sedar.com.