New Copper-Gold Targets Acquired At São Julião, Northeast Brazil

July 23, 2012 (TSX Venture: LRA) - Lara Exploration Ltd., (“Lara” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that it has signed letter agreements with two privately-owned Brazilian companies, to acquire the datasets and mineral rights to a series of copper and copper-gold targets near the towns of São Julião and Fronteiras in Piauí State, northeast Brazil, now denominated the São Julião Copper Project. The copper-gold mineralization of the targets is interpreted as Iron Oxide Copper Gold (“IOCG”) in style, associated with iron-rich breccias in altered volcanic rocks, related to rifting and porphyry granite intrusions.

Previous exploration work comprised geological mapping, geophysical surveys (Electro-Magnetic), trenching, rock chip sampling and soil sampling, but no drilling. Six target areas have been acquired as part of these transactions, with anomalous copper-gold values associated with Early Proterozoic-age meta-volcano-sedimentary sequences that have been faulted and rifted in the younger Brasiliano Orogeny. The Company plans to begin compilation and reinterpretation of the newly acquired datasets in the coming weeks and complete field checks of the known target areas.

The São Julião Copper Project comprises approximately 14,505 hectares of exploration licenses and claims located near the towns of São Julião and Fronterias, approximately 385 kilometres by paved highways from Teresina, the State Capital. Under the terms of the two letter agreements signed, Lara has paid R$40,000 (approximately $20,000) and will make further success-based cash payments as follows: R$70,000 (approximately $35,000) upon Lara including the properties in a third-party joint venture agreement, R$520,000 (approximately $260,000) upon approval of an economically mineable reserve by the Brazilian Department of Mines and a 2% Net Smelter Returns Royalty of part of the property that is capped at R$1.75 million (approximately $875,000).

Quality Control

Michael Bennell, Lara’s Vice President Exploration and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and is responsible for the preparation and verification of the technical information in this release.

About Lara

Lara is an exploration company following the Prospect Generator business model, which aims to minimize shareholder dilution and financial risk by generating prospects and then exploring them in joint ventures funded by partners. The Company currently holds a diverse portfolio of prospects and deposits primarily in Brazil and Peru where it has signed agreements for fifteen joint ventures and two Strategic Alliances. Lara’s common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "LRA".

For further information on Lara Exploration Ltd. please consult our website www.laraexploration.com, or contact Chris MacIntyre, VP Corporate Development, at +1 416 703 0010.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.