Rainy River Appoints Two Independent Directors

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 06/17/10 -- Rainy River Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: RR) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Richard Pettit and Mr. James Excell to the Company's Board of Directors. Messrs. Pettit and Excell will serve as independent directors.

Mr. Pettit has over three decades of experience as a Chartered Accountant, principally with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ('PWC'). At PWC he was a senior partner of their Corporate Advisory and Restructuring practice and was responsible for managing large and complex corporate restructurings until he retired in June 2009. In addition to his experience in dealing with secured lenders and regulators, he has extensive director experience with volunteer boards and brings strong financial literacy as well as analytical and risk management skills to the Rainy Board. Mr. Pettit was awarded the designation of Certified Director by the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Mr. Excell is a Metallurgical Engineer with extensive senior executive, mine management and process engineering experience. His career includes more than three decades with BHP Billiton in Canada and internationally, where he was responsible for overseeing the management and development some of the world's premier mining projects, including the EKATI diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, where he led the construction, commissioning and subsequent operation of the $700 million development. Mr. Excell has received numerous awards for his significant contributions to the business community at large and mining industry in particular, including Resource Person of the Year by the Alberta Chamber of Commerce, Businessman of the Year from the NWT Chamber of Commerce, and on behalf of BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc., the Viola R. MacMillan Developers Award for outstanding leadership in management and financing for exploration and development of mineral resources.

'We are pleased to welcome Rick Pettit and Jim Excell to Rainy's Board of Directors and appreciate the considerable strength they add to the Board,' commented Raymond Threlkeld, president and CEO. 'The financial and development experience that these two gentlemen bring is second to none and will be invaluable to the Company and our shareholders as we move forward with our development of the Rainy River gold deposit. We are also pleased that, with their addition to the Board, a majority of our directors are now independent and we are in a position to meet the corporate governance standards expected of more senior corporations.'

In connection with their appointment, Messrs. Pettit and Excell have each been granted options to acquire 200,000 common shares of the Company at the exercise price of $6.75 per share for a period of 5 years, subject to vesting.

About Rainy River Resources Ltd.

Rainy River Resources Ltd. is a Canadian precious metals exploration company whose key asset is the Rainy River gold project in Richardson Township in Northwestern Ontario. The Company's property is extremely well located, with easy access by a network of roads and in close proximity to hydro-electric infrastructure. The Rainy River district has a skilled labour force and is one of the lowest-cost areas for mineral exploration and development in Canada. The province of Ontario has low political risk and, according to the annual Fraser Institute global survey of the mining industry, has consistently ranked as one of the top jurisdictions embracing mineral development.

During the past several years the Company has been conducting a dual-focused exploration program on its Rainy River project, consisting of definition diamond drilling of the main gold resource with accompanying scoping-style studies, and selective diamond drill testing of high-priority gold targets defined primarily by RC drilling within the large gold system centered in the so-called 17/ODM/433 zones. To date its efforts have identified a total inferred and indicated resource of approximately 5 million ounces of gold. With a large land position, approximately CDN $65 million in the treasury, and numerous ore grade intercepts on drill targets outside the main resource of the 17/ODM/433 zones, Rainy River is well positioned to continue with its drill program and to continue planning for future development of a mine.

RAINY RIVER RESOURCES LTD.

Raymond Threlkeld, President and CEO

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be 'forward-looking statements'. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept the responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Contacts:

Rainy River Resources Ltd.

Liz Caridi

Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Governance

(604) 639-4497
lcaridi@rainyriverresources.com
www.rainyriverresources.com