Esperanza Resources Corp. Announces Changes to Board of Directors

Esperanza Resources Corp. (TSX VENTURE:EPZ)(PINKSHEETS:ESPZF) announce the appointment of Greg Smith as the new President and Chief Executive Officer and Laurence Morris as the new Chief Operating Officer of the Company. Both are highly experienced professionals previously involved with the success of Minefinders Corporation Ltd., including the recent $1.5 billion acquisition of Minefinders by Pan American Silver Corp. Mr. Smith has also been appointed to the Board of Directors of Esperanza. The Company is also pleased to announce that Marcel de Groot and Andrew Swarthout have been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors to fill the vacancies created by the resignations of Steve Ristorcelli and George Elliot, who have resigned from the Board of Directors of Esperanza.

The Company wishes to thank Messrs. Ristorcelli and Elliott for their many contributions to the Company. Messrs. Ristorcelli and Elliott will continue to act as consultants to the Company and its' Board of Directors. William Pincus has also resigned as the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer and has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Esperanza.

Mr. Smith is the former Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Minefinders Corporation Ltd. Mr. Smith is a Chartered Accountant with a breadth of experience in the mining industry focused on executive management, finance and capital markets. In his role at Minefinders Mr. Smith developed key financial and business strategies to help lead the company from an exploration company to a respected gold producer. Prior to joining Minefinders Mr. Smith held management positions with the KPMG mining practice in Vancouver and with Goldcorp Inc.

Mr. Morris is a geologist and mining engineer with more than 30 years of experience in the metals and mining business. Mr. Morris has broad international experience in construction, operating and planning roles ranging from exploration stage to large scale operating mines in a variety of commodities and countries. Most recently Mr. Morris held the position of Vice President of Operations for Minefinders. In this position he oversaw all aspects of development, mining operations, exploration activities and resource management. His operational leadership at the Dolores gold mine in Mexico led to significant improvements in operating efficiencies and production and ultimately to the acquisition of Minefinders. Prior to joining Minefinders Mr. Morris worked in mine management for First Quantum Minerals Ltd. in Zambia and Mauritania.

Mr. de Groot is a Chartered Accountant and co-founder and President of Pathway Capital Ltd., a Vancouver based venture capital company, that has played a significant role in the development of a number of mining companies including, Peru Copper Inc. (acquired by Aluminum Corporation of China ("Chinalco") in 2007), Nautilus Minerals Ltd. and CIC Resources Inc. Mr. de Groot is currently the Chairman of Luna Gold Corp. and a director of Keegan Resources Inc. and Sandstorm Metals and Energy Ltd. Mr. de Groot is a former director of Underworld Resources Inc. which was acquired by Kinross Gold Corporation in 2010.

Mr. Swarthout is the Chief Executive Officer of Bear Creek Mining Corporation. Prior to founding Bear Creek, Mr. Swarthout participated in several deposit discoveries and reserve expansions in North and South America, many of which are in now in production. Mr. Swarthout is also experienced in project permitting and financing, as well as managing several prefeasibility and financial scoping studies. Previously, Mr. Swarthout was the exploration manager (Mexico) for Kennecott Copper. Mr. Swarthout is also a director of Sandstorm Gold Ltd. and Sandstorm Metals & Energy Ltd.

Mr. Pincus said, "This is great step forward for the Company. We have had great success in finding and advancing our Cerro Jumil project. Greg Smith and Laurence Morris have the needed experience and skill to meet our fundamental near-term objective - placing Cerro Jumil into production. I have every confidence they will do that and seek new ways to create additional shareholder wealth."

Mr. Smith added, "Laurence Morris and I are excited to be joining Esperanza at this stage in the Company's growth. Bill Pincus and his team have done an outstanding job of advancing the Cerro Jumil project to the point where we can now commence bringing this asset into production. Both Laurence and I see tremendous value and opportunity at Cerro Jumil and believe this will be a cornerstone asset in a plan to build a mid-tier, multi-mine precious metal producer. Further, I would like to thank Bill for his substantial contribution to the Company to date and express my enthusiasm to be working with him going forward in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of Directors."

Posted May 2, 2012

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