Ongoing Trial Mining Operations At Hollister

VANCOUVER, BC - Great Basin Gold Ltd. reported its underground exploration and development (inclusive of trial mining and metallurgical test work) at Hollister for the year ended December 31, 2008.
During the period under review, the Company continued with infrastructure establishment which included the completion of an expanded waste rock disposal facility, a third rapid infiltration basin and commissioning of the water desilting facility. Different stoping methods were also under trial at Hollister during 2008. The results of the shrinkage and cut/fill methods yielded an average gold equivalent grade of 1.6 oz/ton. The average minimum mining widths for both the shrinkage and cut and fill stopes was 42 inches (3.5 feet). Vein recovery in the surveyed shrinkage and cut/fill stopes was 99%. A third stoping method, thermal fragmentation, is being tested at Hollister as a research and development project.
At the end of December 2008, an additional approximately 10,273 gold equivalent ounces were held in various stockpiles.
Under the current Plan of Operations approved by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Company is permitted to undertake underground exploration and development inclusive of the taking and removal of bulk samples, and doing trial mining. An amended Plan of Operations to approve full production was submitted to the BLM in March 2008. After evaluating the Company's proposal for full-scale production, the BLM determined that the environmental analysis required for the Plan of Operations amendment is an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The initiation of the EIS process in conjunction with the BLM is currently underway.
Prior to the completion of the EIS process and receiving BLM's approval of the amended Plan of Operations, the underground exploration and development activities at Hollister must be conducted within the limits set out in the current BLM permit and in the renewed Water Pollution Control Permit that the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) recently issued. The ongoing trial mining operations will be conducted in a manner that will protect the environment - including the important archaeological resources near the mine - and will not create any additional surface disturbance or other new environmental impacts.
During 2008 a total of 17,111 feet of lateral and vertical development were excavated in waste and ore.
The development is a critical phase of the detailed evaluation of the vein systems and has enabled commensurate delineation drilling, channel sampling and mapping.
Using the existing infrastructure, the planned 2009 underground program will develop approximately 260,000 tons of rock (both waste and ore) - similar to the volume of rock developed and removed from the underground workings in 2008. Up to 275,000 tons of ore per annum is allowed to be processed off-site in accordance with the NDEP Water Pollution Control Permit to determine the metallurgical characteristics.
During December 2008, the Company announced that it had purchased the Esmeralda Mill in Nevada, which it is planning to refurbish at a cost of US$8.0 million. This facility will be redesigned to test the Hollister bulk samples so that gold recoveries can be optimized and revenues will closer reflect the spot price of gold and silver.
The companyÕs address is 1108 - 1030 West Georgia Street, Vancouver BC ?V6E 2Y3, 604-633-9113, fax: 604-633-0190, email: [email protected].