VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 31, 2011) - Columbus Gold Corporation (News - Market indicators) (the "Company" or "Columbus Gold") is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Hughes Canyon property, located 30 miles east-southeast of Lovelock, Nevada, on the west flank of the Stillwater Range in Nevada, bringing its total gold property portfolio to 25 projects. See location map below.
http://www.columbusgoldcorp.com/i/nr/2011-05-31-map.jpg
Detailed geologic mapping and grid sampling by Columbus Gold is in progress at Hughes Canyon. Drilling will be permitted following completion of the field program and will include angle holes designed to cross known mineralized high-angle structures and to evaluate additional gold anomalies that have not yet been drilled. This drilling is planned for late 2011 or early 2012.
Hughes Canyon displays a broad area of anomalous gold mineralization hosted in complexly faulted and folded Mesozoic limestones and siltstones. The geologic setting is analogous to sediment-hosted gold deposits at the nearby Florida Canyon, Standard, Willard, and Relief Canyon mines. The nearby Florida Canyon and Standard Mines have over 1M ounces of gold reserves1, and Relief Canyon, which was mined in the late 1980's as a gold-silver producer has a remaining resource of 262,000 ounces of gold2. The Coeur-Rochester Mine also in the area has produced 1.2 million ounces of gold and 125 million ounces of silver from Mesozoic volcanic rocks3. The Willard deposit being explored by Rye Patch Gold contain 1.12 M ounces in reserves4.
At Hughes Canyon, historic surface sampling by Noranda, Independence Mining (Freeport), and a local prospector has yielded gold assays from anomalous to 4.9 g/t in both altered shales and jasperoids thought to be replacing limestones. The gold mineralization can occur over widths exceeding sixty meters (200 feet) as shown by fifty continuous channel samples taken by Noranda, in a drill road cutting lightly altered shale, which averaged 0.25 g/t Au and ranged from 0.04 g/t to 1.1 g/t Au. The property was drilled in the early 1990's, with vertical holes, by Independence Mining (Freeport) and Noranda. Most of the drill holes had numerous intercepts of anomalous gold, with thicknesses up to30 meters (100 feet). The best result was in drill hole RP-7 which cut 6 meters of 1.37 g/t (20 feet of 0.04 opt Au), including 2.8 m of 4.32 g/t (5 feet of 0.126 opt Au). It is Columbus Gold's opinion that the better grade gold mineralization at Hughes Canyon is related to several high-angle structures and that the property needs drilling angled across these structures for a proper assessment of its economic potential.
All claims in the project are subject to annual advance royalty payments to a local prospector, and a 1% gross royalty on eventual production.
About Columbus Gold Corporation
Columbus Gold is a gold exploration and development company operating in French Guiana and Nevada. In French Guiana, Columbus Gold recently acquired an option to earn a 100% interest in the Paul Isnard gold project, which has a 43-101 compliant 1.9 million ounce inferred gold resource and substantial expansion potential. In Nevada, Columbus is a prolific project generator focused on advancing projects either through joint-venture with industry partners or on its own where exploration risk is minimized and potential is particularly promising. President Andy Wallace has a long and successful history of gold discovery and mine development in Nevada. The Company currently has 12 of its 23 Nevada projects joint ventured to major and junior mining companies, including Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited.
Andy Wallace is a Certified Professional Geologist (CPG) with the American Institute of Professional Geologists and is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101 who has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,
Peter Kendrick, Senior Vice President
1 Source: Jipangu Holdings website: http://www.jipangu-hd.co.jp/en/business/production.html
2 Source: http://www.reliefcanyon.com/uploads/Executive_Summary.pdf
3 Source: COEUR company website: http://www.coeur.com/operations-rochester-nevada.html
4 Source: http://www.ryepatchgold.com
This release contains forward-looking information and statements, as defined by law including without limitation Canadian securities laws and the "safe harbor" provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("forward-looking statements"), respecting the Company's exploration plans. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including without limitation the ability to acquire necessary permits and other authorizations; environmental compliance; cost increases; availability of qualified workers; competition for mining properties; risks associated with exploration projects, mineral reserve and resource estimates (including the risk of assumption and methodology errors); dependence on third parties for services; non-performance by contractual counterparties; title risks; and general business and economic conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including without limitation assumptions about: general business and economic conditions; the timing and receipt of required approvals; availability of financing; power prices; ability to procure equipment and supplies; and ongoing relations with employees, partners and joint venturers. The foregoing list is not exhaustive and we undertake no obligation to update any of the foregoing except as required by law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 
