Standard & Poor's Announces Changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index

TORONTO , Jan. 20 /CNW/ - Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Wednesday, January 20, 2010:

    
    -   The shares of Ventura Gold Corp. (TSXVN:VGO) will be removed from the
        index. The shares of the company have been acquired by International
        Minerals Corp. (TSX:IMZ) pursuant to an Arrangement Agreement.
    

Company additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.

About Standard & Poor's Index Services

Standard & Poor's Index Services, the world's leading index provider, maintains a wide variety of investable and benchmark indices to meet an array of investor needs. Over $1 trillion is directly indexed to Standard & Poor's family of indices, which includes the S&P 500, the world's most followed stock market index, the S&P Global 1200, a composite index comprised of seven regional and country headline indices, the S&P Global BMI, an index with approximately 11,000 constituents and the S&P GSCI, the industry's most closely-watched commodities index. For more information, please visit www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's, a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With offices in 23 countries and markets, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for nearly 150 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit: www.standardandpoors.com.

For further information: Tony North, [phone], [email protected]; Dave Guarino, [phone], [email protected]