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Santa Rita, El Salvador

All references to "Pacific Rim" or "the Company" encompass the Canadian corporation, Pacific Rim Mining Corp, and its U.S. and Salvadoran subsidiaries Pac Rim Cayman LLC ("Pac Rim"), a Nevada corporation, and its Salvadoran enterprise Pacific Rim El Salvador, S.A. de C.V. ("PRES"), and Dorado Exploraciones, S.A. de C.V., inclusive ("DOREX"), inclusive.

The Santa Rita gold project is located in central El Salvador, immediately northwest of the El Dorado project. The Santa Rita exploration licence was staked by the Company's subsidiary PRES in July 2005 after its regional reconnaissance program in El Salvador resulted in the discovery of gold-bearing quartz-calcite boulders. Subsequent to the end of fiscal 2009, the Santa Rita exploration licence expired and was immediately re-staked by the Company's subsidiary DOREX. DOREX is currently awaiting approval of the new Santa Rita exploration licence.

PRES discovered an epithermal quartz-calcite vein system at Santa Rita in fiscal 2006. Two distinct veins were originally discovered and surface rock channel samples collected from along the length of one of these, the 2+ kilometre long Trinidad vein, which returned anomalous gold (between 6.4 g/t gold and 118.3 g/t over vein widths of 1 to 2 meters) at various localities along its length. In late fiscal 2006 PRES received a permit from MARN to conduct a drill program on the Santa Rita gold project. However, during fiscal 2007 the Company stepped back from exploration work at Santa Rita when the project became the target of anti-mining protests. Exploration work at Santa Rita resumed during fiscal 2008 and continued into fiscal 2009.

During this most recent exploration campaign, PRES discovered several new veins on the Santa Rita property that significantly expanded the prospective target area, and undertook a surface trenching and sampling program that revealed the Trinidad vein to be significantly wider than previously understood.

In addition to the surface exploration work described above, during fiscal 2009 PRES undertook a short drill program that tested the Trinidad vein system over a strike length of approximately 500 meters. This program was carried out in a low impact, low visibility manner. It was also conducted at that specific time primarily in order to satisfy work requirements necessary to maintain PRES's legal tenure of the Santa Rita licences. In the end 9 shallow holes were drilled on the Trinidad vein, the results of which confirmed that the Trinidad vein extends to below surface and contains anomalous gold. The Company believes that further drill testing is clearly warranted.

Notwithstanding the excellent exploration potential demonstrated to date at the Santa Rita project, exploration activities were curtailed in July 2009 in keeping with the Company's decision to significantly reduce its investment in El Salvador until such time as the El Dorado environmental permit is received and the exploitation concession is granted. DOREX is currently awaiting receipt of approval of its application for the new Santa Rita exploration licence. If as and when this licence application is approved and DOREX's tenure at Santa Rita is re-established, the Company intends to resume low cost exploration activities and make expenditures required to keep the Santa Rita licence in good standing.