VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Oct. 10, 2012) - Riverstone Resources Inc. (News - Market indicators)(OTCQX:RVREF)(FRANKFURT:3RV) ("Riverstone" or the "Company") is pleased to report results from sixty-seven reverse circulation ("RC") drill holes on the 100% owned Biliga and Tangapella exploration permits, which form the Company's Bissa East Gold Project in Burkina Faso, West Africa (the "Bissa East Project"). These holes were part of a regional drill program designed to follow up on previously obtained anomalous soil, rock chip and RAB drilling results.

Significant assay intervals in these RC holes include:

• 6.95 g/t gold over 6 m in TGP-12-RC-044
• 1.2 g/t gold over 36 m including 1.60 g/t gold over 12 m in BLG-12-RC-034
• 1.13 g/t gold over 24 m in BLG-12-RC-032
• 1.04 g/t gold over 18 m including 2.94 g/t gold over 4 m in BLG-12-RC-004
• 1.12 g/t gold over 8 m in BLG-12-RC-020
• 2.03 g/t gold over 4 m in BLG-12-RC-012

"The Bissa East Project area is a highly prospective regional exploration target as it is adjacent to the Bissa Hill gold mine," commented Dwayne Melrose, President and CEO of Riverstone. "These initial RC drill results are very promising as they give us a good indication of numerous gold bearing structures that need to be followed up with further drilling. Riverstone has a very good portfolio of early stage exploration projects such as the Bissa East Project, Bissa West Project and also Liguidi, not to mention the excellent potential for expanding the Karma deposits."

The Biliga drill program comprised 40 holes (4752 m) and was designed to follow up on RAB drilling results from 2007 that returned 0.91 g/t gold over 21 m, including 1.67 g/t gold over 9 m in BLG-07-023, 2.09 g/t gold over 3 m in BLG-07-030, 1.38 g/t gold over 3 m in BLG-07-059, 1.47 g/t gold over 3 m in BLG-07-064 and 1.37 g/t gold over 3 m in BLG-07-075 (See Map on the Company's website for the location of the Biliga holes: http://www.riverstoneresources.com/i/maps/121006BLG-121005_BissaEast_PortPlan.jpg).

The Biliga permit is underlain by a series of northwest trending metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks plus a least one northeast trending intrusive. The intrusive lies in close proximity to a prominent regional northeast trending shear structure, which parallels the Sabcé shear zone to the south. This un-named structure hosts a small gold deposit just west of the Biliga permit, and it trends for almost 19 kilometres across Biliga. The Bissa Hill gold mine, which is currently under construction, along with a large number of gold occurrences, occurs within the Sabcé shear to the southwest.

The RC drill results indicate the presence of three gold bearing sub-parallel structures within the intrusive, with the southernmost structure traced for 1000 metres. All three structures are open in all directions, and are zones characterized by silica and hematite alteration, quartz veining and brecciation.

Drilling on Tangapella totaled 30 holes (3516 m) and targeted an artisanal mining site where previous rock chip sampling had returned high gold values, along with a prominent gold in soil anomaly further south. Tangapella is underlain by two distinct northwest trending bands of metavolcanics in thrust contact with surrounding metasediments, folded into a prominent northeast trending regional antiform. The axis of the antiform contains the Sabcé shear, a wide zone of deformation, which can be traced for approximately 20 kilometres across the permit. The volcanic-sedimentary contacts contain numerous artisanal gold mining sites, with intensely fractured, quartz veins and quartz stringer zones (See Map on the Company's website for the location of the Tangapella holes: http://www.riverstoneresources.com/i/maps/121006TGP-121005_BissaEastTGP_PortPlan.jpg).

The Tanmiga artisanal site occurs adjacent to the Sabcé shear zone in a subsidiary structure. The Company obtained high gold values in rock sample results in 2007 within highly fractured, quartz rich, brecciated metasedimentary rocks. RC drill results indicate the presence of a discontinuous structure traceable over approximately 600 m, which is open in all directions. The Mafalou area to the south contains a prominent gold in soil anomaly, and the RC drilling has traced a discontinuous 400 metre long zone of brecciation, within which hole TGP-12-RC-044 returned 6.95 g/t gold over 6 m.

A more complete summary of significant results in these drill holes is presented in the following table: 

Riverstone is active in Burkina Faso, West Africa, where it holds a portfolio of four high quality exploration projects covering in excess of 1,800 square kilometres. The Company's flagship project is the Karma Gold Project (the "Karma Project"), which comprises a NI 43-101 compliant in-pit Whittle indicated resource of 1.9 million ounces of gold in 56.5 million tonnes grading 1.1 g/t gold and an inferred resource of 0.5 million ounces of gold in 15.4 million tonnes grading 1.0 g/t gold (see Company's news release dated October 3, 2012 filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). The results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA"), which has recently been released (see Company news release dated August 20, 2012 and NI 43-101 Technical Report titled, "Preliminary Economic Assessment Report for the Karma Project, Burkina Faso, West Africa", with an effective date of August 2, 2012, filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) September 17, 2012), highlights the Karma Project to have robust economics. The PEA is based on the Company's previous January 9, 2012 resource estimate. The results of the updated resource estimate announced on October 3, 2012, is expected to further enhance project value as the Karma Project is advanced.

Additional information about the Company and its activities may be found on the Company's website at www.riverstoneresources.com and under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. 

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Dwayne L. Melrose, President & CEO

Paul Anderson, M.Sc., P. Geo., the Company's Vice-President, Exploration, is the Company's Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this release.

Certain statements made and information contained in this news release and elsewhere constitutes "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, with respect to statements regarding the updated resources estimate, anticipated Karma Project value enhancement and development, the assumptions set forth in this news release and in the Company's news releases of January 9, 2012, August 20, 2012, October 3, 2012 and risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results and the estimation of mineral resources, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that future exploration, development results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, accidents, equipment breakdowns, risk of undiscovered, title defects and surface access, labour disputes, the potential for delays in exploration and permitting activities, the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations, currency fluctuations, political risk and other risks and uncertainties, including those described under Risk Factors in each management discussion and analysis and in the Company's annual information form which are available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information is based on various assumptions including, without limitation, the expectations and beliefs of management, the assumed long term price of gold, that the Company will receive required permits and access to surface rights, that the Company can access financing, appropriate equipment and sufficient labour and that the political environment within Burkina Faso will continue to support the development of environmentally safe mining projects. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

This news release may use the terms "measured", "indicated" and "inferred" as these terms are defined under Canada's National Instrument 43.101. U.S. Investors are advised that, while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, they are not recognized by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and may not be comparable to similar information for United States mining or exploration companies. As such, certain information contained on this news release concerning descriptions of mineralization and resources under Canadian standards is not comparable to similar information made public by United States companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits described in these categories will ever be converted into proven or probable reserves, as defined in the SEC's Industry Guide No. 7.