Western Pacific Expands Mineral Gulch Project

VANCOUVER, April 8 /CNW/ - Western Pacific Resources Corp. (WRP - TSXV) is pleased to announce that it has staked additional claims at its 100% owned Mineral Gulch project. After reviewing historical data for the property, formerly known as the Black Pine Mine, Western Pacific has acquired a further 159 claims, bringing the total land package to 345 claims.

Review of the Black Pine Mine dataset has revealed extensive soil geochemistry covering the pre-mine surface. "Gold-in-soils was the most effective exploration tool during the phase one programs," states Curt Everson, Exploration Manager. "The original soil programs delineated 15 strong, localized anomalies of which 6 were mined. The other 9 anomalies are currently under evaluation now that the snow-pack is starting to melt. These gold assays are very strong for soil samples, with the highest being 3.64 grams/ton. (The reader is cautioned that this is historic data which is not compliant with NI 43-101 and cannot be relied upon. Western Pacific has not yet completed sufficient work to verify this result). These are some of the highest values we have seen associated with Carlin-style systems. The discovery of 3 open anomalies prompted us to stake an additional 159 claims, bringing our total holdings to 345 claims."

"The data we received from Newmont has us excited about near-mine and regional exploration," says Eric Saderholm, Director. "We are in the process of locking up 9,280 acres of trust land surrounding the project and we recently filed a notice-of-intent for surface exploration with the Forest Service. Things are proceeding smoothly."

Western Pacific is continuing a detailed review of the historical data and expects to announce its plans for advancing the Mineral Gulch project during the second quarter of 2010.

Mineral Gulch is located in Cassia County, Idaho, along the southeast edge of the Black Pine Mountains. Pegasus Mining acquired the property from Noranda Inc. and produced approximately 520,000 ounces of gold from several small open pits in the late 1980s through the mid-1990s. Historic exploration and mining efforts at the project have generally focused on near-surface, oxidized ore bodies.

For more information about the property, please visit this link on our website:

http://www.westernpacificresources.com/s/MineralGulch.asp

About Western Pacific

Western Pacific is a gold explorer focused on acquiring advanced-stage projects in the Western United States, and has the right combination of exploration and financial professionals to succeed in making a world class gold discovery. For more information, please visit our website at www.westernpacificresources.com.

Qualified Person

Curt Everson, M.Sc., P.Geo., is Western Pacific's Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has prepared or supervised the preparation of the disclosure of any scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Warwick Smith, Chief Executive Officer

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

This news release contains forward-looking information, which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. Important factors - including the availability of funds, the results of financing and exploration activities, the interpretation of drilling results and other geological data, risks associated with the estimation of mineral resources and the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses -- that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time on SEDAR (see www.sedar.com). Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information: Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone], Email: [email protected], Website: www.westernpacificresources.com