Premier Gold Mines to Acquire Stake in Ashburton

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Dec. 9, 2010) - ASHBURTON VENTURES INC. (TSX VENTURE:ABR) (FRANKFURT:ARB) ("Ashburton" or the "Company") has signed a letter agreement with Premier Gold Mines Ltd. (PG-TSX) whereby Premier will participate in a private placement financing that will be completed by Ashburton. The majority of this financing will fund further exploration at Ashburton's Deep Creek gold property located near Elko, Nevada.

Ashburton has made several significant discoveries at Deep Creek including the Upper Vein that has been traced over a strike length of over 640 meters with surface sampling returning assays up to 1,180 g/t Au with width of up to over one meter widths in some areas. Additional undiscovered gold-bearing veins are also indicated by a float sample of vein material collected upslope of the Upper Vein, which assayed at 28.90 g/t gold. The Upper Vein area represents only 10% of the Deep Creek property, much of which has not been systematically explored since the early 1990's.

"Ashburton is pleased to have Premier as a significant shareholder," stated Michael England, President and CEO of the company. "We look forward to continuing our exploration at Deep Creek, now in collaboration with Premier's experience and resources. A well-funded comprehensive exploration program is what the project deserves."

"The Deep Creek discovery shares similarities with the nearby Midas (Newmont) and Hollister (Great Basin) gold mines, both being high-grade narrow vein deposits," stated Ewan Downie, President and CEO of Premier. "Our investment in Ashburton gives us a foothold in this significantly undervalued Company and provides for Premier to assist in implementing the next phase of exploration at Deep Creek."

Premier will invest $600,000 in Ashburton through the purchase of 7,500,000 units at $0.08. The financing is to close on or about December 22, 2010. Each unit consists of one common share in the capital of the company and one-half a common share purchase warrant. Each full warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional share at a price of $0.13 cents per share for a period of 18 months from the date of issuance. An additional 2,500,000 units may be sold on a non brokered basis with the same terms.

The initial share purchase will result in Premier owning approximately 14 per cent of Ashburton's current outstanding shares.

This agreement and private placement are subject to the acceptance for filing by the TSX Venture Exchange.

The technical contents of this release were approved by Ashburton director and qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Dr. Tom McCandless, P.Geo.

Ashburton Ventures is a junior exploration company actively seeking mineral opportunities for the benefit of all its stakeholders. For more information visit the Company's website located at www.ashburtonventures.com.

Premier Gold Mines Ltd., is a North American-focused exploration and development company with multiple gold projects located in the heart of proven mining districts in North America.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Michael England, President

Forward-Looking Statement:

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information that involves inherent risk and uncertainty affecting the business of Ashburton Ventures Inc. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.