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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — (MARKET WIRE) — 09/09/09 — Aura Minerals Inc. (“Aura Minerals” or the “Company”) (TSX: ORA) is very pleased to provide the following update on operations at its Arapiraca Project located in Alagoas State, Brazil, San Andres Gold Mine in Honduras and Aranzazu Project located in Zacatecas State, Mexico.

Arapiraca Project

The Company is very pleased to confirm that it has been granted the Installation License (“LI”) issued by the Alagoas State Environmental Agency for the Serrote da Laje deposit (“Serrote”) at the Arapiraca Project. The LI allows Serrote to proceed to the construction stage.

Early in 2009, Aura Minerals obtained three other key licenses, being a license to uptake water from the Sao Francisco River, issued by the Brazilian Federal Water Agency, and tailings dam and waste rock disposal licenses issued by the Alagoas State Water Agency. The Arapiraca Project is thus fully licensed to move on to the development stage.

The Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) is in the final stage of completion, and is expected to be issued before the end of September. The PEA is based on the Serrote Deposit and will review mine development options, infrastructure, site layout, metallurgy, development timelines, as well as capital and operating costs.

During the second quarter of 2009, the Company completed a second stage of metallurgical testwork at the SGS Lakefield Resource Limited laboratory in Lakefield, Ontario to follow-up on the first phase of copper recovery testwork. The focus of this second stage was to improve copper recovery and concentrate grades. The results of the second stage of testwork are now complete and show a significant increase in copper recovery and concentrate grade and these results will be incorporated in the PEA.

San Andres Gold Mine

The Company has now assumed operational control of the San Andres Gold Mine in Honduras. A detailed operational review is underway with operations staff at the property to determine optimized throughput and recovery and to review all future mine plans and metallurgical operations. The mine is expected to continue to produce approximately 6,000 ounces per month for the remainder of the year.

The new crusher/conveyor project is progressing well and is expected to be complete in Q1/2010. This will significantly reduce ore haulage distances and therefore overall costs per ounce.

Aranzazu Project

The Company has received results from 17 holes which are part of an in-fill drill program at the Arroyos Azules zone (“AA Zone”). The AA Zone is scheduled to be the first mined on the recommencement of operations in 2010.

Highlights from these results include (see Table 1 and Map 1 below):

– Hole AZC-003 which returned 7.5 metres of 1.41% Cu, 14.24 g/t Au and 13.30 g/t Ag; and followed by 12.0 metres of 2.55% Cu, 1.22 g/t Au and 24.00 g/t Ag;

– Hole AZC-007 which returned 34.5 metres of 1.82% Cu, 1.28 g/t Au and 19.90 g/t Ag;

– Hole AZC-010 which returned 10.5 metres of 1.67% Cu, 1.44 g/t Au and 23.50 g/t Ag;

– Hole AZC-014 which returned 30.0 metres of 1.62% Cu, 1.09 g/t Au and 17.00 g/t Ag;

– Hole AZC-016 which returned 12.0 metres of 2.52% Cu, 0.82 g/t Au and 9.60 g/t Ag; and followed by 43.5 metres 1.93% Cu, 0.70 g/t Au and 15.80 g/t Ag;

– Hole AZC-0017 which returned 16.5 metres of 1.26% Cu, 0.65 g/t Au and 21.90 g/t Ag;

– Hole AZC-018 which returned 40.5 metres of 2.38% Cu, 0.74 g/t Au and 32.30 g/t Ag;

– Hole AZC-019 which returned 12.0 metres of 2.29% Cu, 0.79 g/t Au and 12.3 g/t Ag; a followed by 14.05 metres of 1.54% Cu, 0.58 g/t Au and 15.10 g/t Ag; and

– Hole AZC-022 which returned 19.50 metres of 1.26% Cu, 0.28 g/t Au and 9.30 g/t Ag.

Commenting on the above,

Patrick Downey, President and CEO, stated “Receipt of the LI is an extremely important step in the development process for the Serrote Deposit. We have now resumed the feasibility study which was deferred due to low metal prices and economic uncertainty. We continue to have very positive discussions with local and federal government agencies in areas of taxation and infrastructure upgrades which will also provide economic benefit to the Arapiraca Project.

In regards to the Aranzazu Project we are accelerating development towards restart of operations. The latest drill results show that the high-grade ore zones have excellent continuity both down dip and along strike. Mine planning and mill expansion upgrades are underway for planned restart of operations.

With the formal acquisition of the San Andres Gold Mine now complete, the Company has cash-flow and a strong treasury to execute on our business plan to become a premier mid-tier gold producer.”

Table 1 – Aranzazu Assays (see Map 1 below) ————————————————————————— Azi- Inter- Cu muth Dip From To val(1) (2) Au Ag (deg- (deg- (met- (met- (met- (4) (3) (3) Hole # East North rees) rees) res) res) res) (%) (g/t) (g/t) ————————————————————————— AZC-001 2723939 254285 180 -59 35.0 42.5 7.5 0.56 0.99 7.50 ————————————————————————— AZC-001 2723939 254285 180 -59 135.5 138.5 3.0 1.19 0.50 16.00 ————————————————————————— AZC-001 2723939 254285 180 -59 144.5 173.0 28.5 0.92 0.54 10.00 ————————————————————————— AZC-002 2723922 254387 214 -50 49.5 55.5 6.0 0.58 0.51 6.30 ————————————————————————— AZC-003 2723949 254280 207 -65 39.0 46.5 7.5 1.41 14.24 13.30 ————————————————————————— AZC-003 2723949 254280 207 -65 130.5 133.5 3.0 1.86 1.29 17.30 ————————————————————————— AZC-003 2723949 254280 207 -65 138.0 150.0 12.0 2.55 1.22 24.00 ————————————————————————— AZC-004 2724073 253900 210 -55 79.5 82.5 3.0 1.32 1.21 7.70 ————————————————————————— AZC-006 2724065 254143 210 -56 48.0 51.0 3.0 0.67 0.29 3.80 ————————————————————————— AZC-006 2724065 254143 210 -56 133.5 142.5 9.0 0.62 0.89 8.50 ————————————————————————— AZC-007 2723983 254363 204 -59 100.5 124.5 24.0 0.92 0.56 13.00 ————————————————————————— AZC-007 2723983 254363 204 -59 133.5 142.5 9.0 0.8 0.85 8.20 ————————————————————————— AZC-007 2723983 254363 204 -59 232.5 267.0 34.5 1.82 1.28 19.90 ————————————————————————— AZC-010 2724001 254235 211 -54 43.5 49.5 6.0 1.15 2.34 14.00 ————————————————————————— AZC-010 2724001 254235 211 -54 148.5 159.0 10.5 1.67 1.44 23.50 ————————————————————————— AZC-011 2724185 253881 223 -47 97.5 100.5 3.0 1.31 0.40 2.20 ————————————————————————— AZC-011 2724185 253881 223 -47 120.0 124.5 4.5 0.77 0.47 8.30 ————————————————————————— AZC-011 2724185 253881 223 -47 160.5 165 4.5 2.49 0.80 20.30 ————————————————————————— AZC-011 2724185 253881 223 -47 178.5 184.5 6.0 1.33 0.40 6.10 ————————————————————————— AZC-012 2724185 253881 223 -55 112.5 121.5 9.0 1.03 0.97 9.80 ————————————————————————— AZC-012 2724185 253881 223 -55 142.5 145.5 3.0 1.61 0.43 7.80 ————————————————————————— AZC-012 2724185 253881 223 -55 181.5 186.0 4.5 1.74 1.00 7.60 ————————————————————————— AZC-012 2724185 253881 223 -55 192.0 195.0 3.0 1.48 0.17 8.00 ————————————————————————— AZC-014 2724017 254329 209 -55 255.0 285.0 30.0 1.62 1.09 17.00 ————————————————————————— AZC-015 2724191 253910 206 -61 204.0 232.5 28.5 0.77 0.18 4.90 ————————————————————————— AZC-016 2724197 253914 210 -66 223.5 235.5 12.0 2.52 0.82 9.60 ————————————————————————— AZC-016 2724197 253914.1 210 -66 243.0 249.0 6.0 0.66 0.37 5.70 ————————————————————————— AZC-016 2724197 253914.1 210 -66 261.0 304.5 43.5 1.93 0.70 15.80 ————————————————————————— AZC-017 2724109 254007.3 209 -60 34.5 42.0 7.5 1.54 0.05 0.80 ————————————————————————— AZC-017 2724109 254007.3 209 -60 46.5 55.5 9.0 0.75 0.04 0.20 ————————————————————————— AZC-017 2724109 254007.3 209 -60 160.5 177.0 16.5 1.26 0.65 21.90 ————————————————————————— AZC-018 2724231 253962.2 209 -54 249.0 256.5 7.5 0.79 0.66 9.00 ————————————————————————— AZC-018 2724231 253962.2 209 -54 271.5 312.0 40.5 2.38 0.74 32.30 ————————————————————————— AZC-019 2724231 253962.3 206 -60 267.0 279.0 12.0 2.29 0.79 12.30 ————————————————————————— AZC-019 2724231 253962.3 206 -60 306.0 320.05 14.05 1.54 0.58 15.10 ————————————————————————— AZC-020 2724089 253939 209 -65 124.5 127.5 3.0 1.28 1.12 16.40 ————————————————————————— AZC-022 2724203 253888.9 206 -62 222.0 241.5 19.5 1.26 0.28 9.30 ————————————————————————— AZC-022 2724203 253888.9 206 -62 246.0 250.5 4.5 1.71 0.55 12.00 ————————————————————————— AZC-022 2724203 253888.9 206 -62 262.5 271.5 9.0 1.36 0.22 12.70 ————————————————————————— AZC-022 2724203 253888.9 206 -62 286.5 292.5 6.0 2.54 0.45 18.50 ————————————————————————— (1) true width has yet to be determined (2) using a copper cutoff grade 0.5% (3) fire assay and atomic absorption finish (4) atomic absorption (“AA”)

Corporate Update

The Company is pleased to announce that Mr.

John Ivany has been appointed to its Board of Directors. Mr. Ivany most recently held the position of Executive Vice-President, Kinross Gold Corporation from 1995-2006 where he was instrumental in the growth of Kinross to become one of the largest primary gold producers in North America. The Company is extremely pleased to add Mr. Ivany to its Board. His extensive experience in the area of corporate development will be of great value to the Company as it continues to grow as an Intermediate Gold Producer.

Mr.

Peter Marrone will be stepping down as a member of the Board and the Company wishes to thank him for his many contributions over the past several years.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control (“QA/QC”) Procedures for the Aranzazu Project

Prior to the suspension of exploration on December 10, 2008, the Company’s core and reverse circulation drilling program was conducted by Layne de Mexico. The reverse circulation drill used a bit sized from 5.5 inches to 4.75 inches. The core program utilized HQ-sized core and then stepping down to NQ-sized core as required. Samples were collected on a 1.5 metre sample interval. The reverse circulation drill cuttings are split at the drill rig. The samples collected consist of an approximate 25% split of the total material recovered from the interval sampled. This material is shipped directly to the Inspectorate America Corp. (“Inspectorate”) facility in Durango, Mexico and processed utilizing the same sample preparation protocol as used for the core samples discussed below. Assays were completed at the Inspectorate laboratory in Reno, Nevada. Diamond drilling core is logged, photographed and then split in half using a diamond core saw. Half the core is retained off-site in a secure storage facility and the other half is sampled, secured in sealed, labelled bags and then transported to the Inspectorate facility in Durango, Mexico and processed utilizing the same preparation protocol discussed below. Assays were completed at the Inspectorate laboratory in Reno, Nevada. The entire half-core and reverse circulation drill cuttings are crushed to 95% passing 2 millimetres, split and pulverized to 95% passing 150 mesh, split again, and a 150 gram sample sent for assay. Gold assays are determined by fire assay with an AA finish, over limit assays are determined by fire assay with a gravimetric finish. Silver assays are determined by three acid digestion with an AA finish, over limits are determined by fire assay with a gravimetric finish. All samples are analyzed by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrography for multi-element analysis and by AA for copper. The Company systematically inserts certified standard samples, sample duplicates in a non-sequential order and blank samples in all batches of samples sent to Inspectorate as a means of quality control. Additionally, Inspectorate has its own stringent internal QA/QC protocols. Check samples are systematically sent to the ALS Chemex lab in Vancouver, Canada. Chain of custody of drill samples is maintained throughout the process with the use of numbered seal tags closing sample bags and third party professional transportation of samples to the laboratories. Each stage of sample handling is recorded in log sheets and receipts obtained from each party involved.

Mr.

Anthony P. George, B.Sc.(Hons), P.Eng., who is the Company’s Qualified Person, for the Aranzazu Project, as defined by NI 43-101 has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release as applicable.

About Aura Minerals Inc.

Aura Minerals is a Canadian resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mining properties in the Americas. In addition to the Company’s San Andres gold mine in Honduras and Aranzazu copper mine in Mexico, the Company owns the advanced stage Arapiraca Project in north-eastern Brazil. The Company has also agreed to acquire the Sao Francisco and Sao Vicente gold mines in Brazil, subject to regulatory approvals.

For further information, please visit Aura Minerals’ web site at www.auraminerals.com.

Cautionary Statement:

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include those risks set out in Aura Minerals’ public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although Aura Minerals believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Aura Minerals disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

To view Map 1 – Aranzazu Drill Hole Location Map, please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/ora99map1.pdf.

No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

Contacts: Aura Minerals Inc.

Patrick Downey President & Chief Executive Officer (604) 669-4777 (604) 696-0212 (FAX) info@auraminerals.com
www.auraminerals.com