LUNA GOLD DEFINES 10 EXPLORATION TARGETS AT AURIZONA MAIN

VANCOUVER, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Luna Gold Corp. (TSXV-LGC) ("Luna" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the exploration programs in progress at Aurizona Main. To date 10 gold targets have been defined by surface geochemical surveys and geologic mapping. In addition shallow auger drilling at the Boa Esperança target has intersected a continuous zone of gold mineralization exceeding 500 metres in strike and 100 metres in width. A plan map showing the distribution of the exploration targets has been uploaded to the Luna Gold website at www.lunagold.com. The top 6 exploration targets are listed below.

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    Target          Average Au (g/t) Soil     Strike Length (m)     Width (m)
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    Boa Esperança              0.25                 700                 100
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    Conceição                  0.20                 200                 100
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    Ferradura                  0.15                 430                 100
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    Pirocaua SE                0.16                 300                 100
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    Tatajuba East              0.10                 600                  75
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    Tatajuba West              0.15                 500                 100
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    Table 1. Average grade and dimensions of the top 6 exploration targets
    defined by soil sampling at Aurizona Main, August 2010.

Luna's President & CEO, Jim Bahan, comments, "The results of the surface programs are very encouraging and indicate that the Aurizona Main area holds significant exploration potential. All targets defined to date are located within a 5 kilometers radius of the Aurizona gold process plant. They will all be advanced to drill stage with the objective of delineating additional gold resources within trucking distance of the plant."

An auger drill program totaling 1,144 meters in 144 holes was completed at the Boa Esperança target located 1 kilometer southeast of the Piaba deposit. Holes were drilled to 8 meters depth with some holes to 10 meters. Auger assay data have identified a significant continuous sub-cropping mineralized zone extending for over 500 meters in an ENE direction hosted in a parallel structure to the principal Aurizona Shear Zone. Significant mineralized intervals are tabulated below.

    HOLE ID       DEPTH (m)    FROM (m)      TO (m)      INT (m)     AU (G/T)
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    T0297           8.00         3.00         8.00         5.00         5.69
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    T0287           8.00         0.00         8.00         8.00         2.62
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    T0264           8.00         5.00         8.00         3.00         2.08
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    T0279           8.00         0.00         8.00         8.00         1.98
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    T0298           8.00         4.00         8.00         4.00         1.65
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    T0281           8.00         1.00         8.00         7.00         1.10
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    T0314           8.00         3.00         8.00         5.00         1.04
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    T0296           8.00         2.00         8.00         6.00         0.99
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    T0280           6.40         0.00         6.40         6.40         0.96
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    T0245           7.50         5.00         7.50         2.50         0.92
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    Table 2. Top 10 mineralized intervals, Boa Esperança target. All holes
    are vertical. True widths to be established.

Luna's VP Exploration, Titus Haggan states, "Surface exploration programs at Aurizona Main have accelerated and the Company currently has 5 teams working in this area. All targets defined to date are spatially associated with magnetic lineaments consistent with the orogenic gold deposit model of the Piaba and Tatajuba deposits. Surface geochemical surveys and mapping are ongoing. Following surface definition, the targets are auger drilled followed by ground magnetic surveys and trenching programs designed to identify mineralized structures prior to diamond drilling. The surface definition of these exploration targets is significant though early stage."

About Luna Gold Corp

Luna is a gold mining and mineral exploration company engaged in the exploration and development of gold deposits and advanced stage gold exploration projects in Brazil. The Company is currently commissioning its Aurizona gold project in Maranhão, Brazil.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

LUNA GOLD CORP.

Jim Bahan - President and CEO

Website: www.lunagold.com

NEITHER 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.

Regulatory Footnotes

Luna operates a rigorous QA/QC protocol on all aspects of geochemical sampling and analytical procedure. Soil samples are collected at a nominal depth of 0.50 metres on a regular grid which is surveyed using a total station. Several types of ancillary data including soil type, granulometry and magnetism are also recorded. Auger drilling is conducted using Company owned motorized Honda auger drills. Soil and auger drill teams are supervised by trained mining technicians. Auger samples are collected at continual 1 metre intervals using a 10.16 centimeter diameter collector. Sample weight averages 16 kilograms. All data including depth, sample number and geologic information are recorded on special log sheets. All soil and auger samples are stored in secure locked areas. Samples are transported from the Aurizona project to the ALS Chemex sample preparation facility in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais accompanied by Luna personnel. Soil samples are assayed for gold via fire assay (30 grams) and a suite of 35 elements using ICP-AES at ALS Chemex, Lima. Auger samples are assayed for gold via fire assay (50 grams) at ALS Chemex, Lima. Luna operates a rigorous QA/QC program for soil and auger samples which involves the insertion of blanks, CRM and sample duplicates (soil only) (6% of each sample batch). 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 information on the QA/QC program as well as other factors affecting the drill results is available in the Company's technical report filed on SEDAR entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Mineração Aurizona S/A Piaba Project, Maranhão, Brazil" dated July 3, 2008.

Titus Haggan Ph.D., EurGeol Certified Professional Geologist #746, Luna's VP Exploration is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the scientific and technical work on the exploration program and has supervised the preparation of and reviewed the technical disclosure in this press release. Non qualified persons currently work on Luna's exploration programs under the guidance of Titus Haggan. Dr Haggan takes responsibility for work, information and advice generated by non-Qualified persons and has taken the steps required to ensure that the work, information and advice is sound.

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

Statements in this release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors identified in Luna Gold Corp.'s periodic filings with Canadian Securities Regulators. 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. Luna Gold does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE Luna Gold Corp.