Candente Gold Begins Exploration Drilling at El Oro

Vancouver, British Columbia, May 20 2010. Candente Gold Corp. (CDG-TSX) ("Candente Gold") is pleased to announce that surface exploration drilling has commenced on the El Oro Gold Project in Mexico. The initial drill test of the Andrea target, located in the northeast portion of the El Oro property approximately 3,000 metres northeast of the historically prolific San Rafael vein, has now been completed with additional testing of this previously undrilled vein system ongoing.

The Andrea target is an outcropping, low sulphidation epithermal style vein and breccia system coinciding with gold-silver-antimony geochemical anomalies in soils and an NSAMT (Natural Source Audio Magnetic Telluric) geophysical anomaly. The Andrea vein was discovered by Candente in 2006.

Drilling of the Andrea vein is planned to test the down dip extensions to the vein as well as any additional blind mineralized structures through a series of increasingly deeper holes from surface. The first and shallowest of these holes has successfully intersected sulphide mineralized quartz-calcite vein material and significant zones of argillic alteration within the volcanic units that overlie the sedimentary package that hosts the San Rafael and all other mineralized veins in the district. The second, deeper hole is still in progress but has also intersected mineralized quartz-calcite veins and fault structures within both the volcanic and sedimentary packages.

"We are extremely pleased to have intersected mineralized veins and alteration in our first drill hole targeting the Andrea vein system, only 230 meters down-hole," said Joanne Freeze, Candente Gold's President and CEO. "This reinforces our zoning model that predicts that significant mineralization lies deeper within the historic district and in an area never previously drilled. We eagerly await assay confirmation of the narrow mineralization in Hole 1 and continuing favourable results from Hole 2."

Underground Work on the San Rafael Vein

Preparations for the 9,000 metre underground drilling program on the San Rafael vein are nearing completion, with rehabilitation of old workings, preparations and rock bolting around the first drill site, and procurement of the drill equipment and personnel now complete. Drilling of the first hole into the San Rafael vein is expected to commence before the end of the month.

About Candente Gold

Candente Gold's flagship asset is El Oro, a district scale gold project encompassing one of the largest and most prolific high grade epithermal gold-silver vein systems in Mexico. The El Oro district includes over 50 known veins, but the bulk of the historic district production of 6.4 million ounces of gold and 74 million ounces of silver came from just two of these.

Candente Gold has planned an underground drifting and drilling program targeting extensions to the high-grade bonanza zones in the first of these two veins, the San Rafael vein. These extensions were Placer Dome's top exploration targets in the El Oro district prior to their takeover by Barrick Gold in January, 2006.

Mine grades in the San Rafael vein system averaged 10 to 12 g/t gold and 120 to 160 g/t silver and reached as high as 50 g/t gold and 500 g/t silver, with over 4 million ounces of gold and 44 million ounces of silver mined from only the uppermost 150 to 250 metre levels. Candente Gold believes that the San Rafael vein system is analogous to other epithermal vein systems mined in Mexico such as the Fresnillo, Guanajuato, and Pinos Altos mines where gold and silver occurs over 600 to 1200 metres vertically.

Candente Gold will also concurrently begin a thorough, modern, systematic program of exploration of other known veins, and potential additional veins in the El Oro gold district as well as on their Peruvian gold and silver properties in 2010.

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Joanne C. Freeze, P.Geo., President and CEO and Mark M.J Pryor, Pr.Sci.Nat., are the Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the projects discussed above and they have reviewed and approved the contents of this release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Candente relies upon litigation protection for forward-looking statements.

CAUTIONARY NOTE TO U.S. INVESTORS

We advise U.S. investors that this news release uses terms that are not recognized by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including "mineral resources", "measured resources", "indicated resources" and "inferred resources". The estimation of measured and indicated resources involves greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of proven and probable reserves. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that mineral resources in these categories will be converted to reserves. The estimation of inferred resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of resources. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that estimates of inferred mineral resources exist, are economically mineable, or will be upgraded into measured or indicated mineral resources. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that mineral resources in any of these categories will be converted into reserves.

On behalf of the Board of Candente Gold Corp.
"Joanne Freeze" P.Geo.
President & CEO

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For further information please contact:

John Foulkes
VP Corporate Development
mobile: +1 (604) 614-2999
local: + 1 (604) 689-1957 ext 2
toll free: 1 (877) 689-1964 ext 2
moc.dlogetnednac@ofni

or:

Walter Spagnuolo
Manager, Investor Relations
mobile: +1 (604) 306-8477
local: + 1 (604) 689-1957 ext 3
toll free: 1 (877) 689-1964 ext 3
moc.dlogetnednac@ofni

www.candente.com

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