VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Oct. 10, 2012) - Northern Freegold Resources Ltd. (News - Market indicators)(OTCQX:NFRGF)(FRANKFURT:8N6) is pleased to announce results from the five drill holes, totaling 2,453 metres, that were completed on the gold-rich porphyry system located at the Nucleus Zone, at the road-accessible Freegold Mountain Project, Yukon.

Highlights include:

• The 2012 drilling program intersected mineralization at depths of 45 metres to 170 metres below the Nucleus Zone's current Inferred and Indicated resource
• Higher grade intervals, such as:
  • 13.20 metres averaging 1.57 g/t Au in Hole GRD12-175 from 82.45 metres depth
  • 11.45 metres averaging 2.12 g/t Au in Hole GRD12-178 from 230.10 metres depth
  • 4.05 metres averaging 2.64 g/t Au in Hole GRD12-178 from 382.35 metres depth
• Based on 2012 drilling the deposit continues to remain open to expansion laterally and at depth

"Our exploration objectives this season were to extend our known gold mineralization to depth at the Nucleus gold resource and to better understand the geological controls on gold mineralization. We achieved both of these objectives. The results demonstrate gold mineralization extends up to 60% deeper, or 170 metres further, than the maximum extent of the existing resource which starts near surface and reaches a maximum of 280 metres depth. This coupled with the recently reported excellent metallurgical results at Nucleus will assist us as we start to work on our first economic assessment for the Freegold project," commented Northern Freegold's President and CEO, John Burges.

2012 Nucleus Zone Exploration Program Details

Northern Freegold has completed its 2012 exploration drill program. The main goals of the exploration program were to:

1. test the depth extent of the gold mineralization below the current Nucleus Zone Indicated and Inferred resource model; and
2. better determine the geological controls on gold mineralization.

A total of 2,453 metres of Diamond drilling was completed on the gold-rich porphyry system at the Nucleus Zone during 2012. All five holes returned intervals of significant gold mineralization, with several intervals averaging more than 1 g/t Au over bulk mineable widths. The results reported in Table 1 include holes drilled within the Nucleus Deposit and confirm that mineralization continues an additional 45 to 170 metres below current resource boundaries. Mineralization remains open laterally and at depth. To date, drilling has tested only a small portion of the coincident geophysical and geochemical anomaly and only a few percent of the overall Freegold Mountain Project area.

Broad zones of gold mineralization were intersected with these zones centered on higher grade intervals. The higher grade gold mineralization is best developed where moderately south dipping stratabound sulphide horizons hosted by biotite schist were cross cut at high angles by feldspar porphyry dykes, breccia zones and shear zones.

The results of the Diamond drilling will be used to update the current resource and geological models on the Nucleus Zone. Maps of drill hole locations are posted to the Company website: www.northernfreegold.com. Three dimensional models of the project are available at: www.corebox.net/properties/freegold/nucleus-deposit.

Table 1: Significant Gold Assay Intercepts from the Nucleus Zone

The Freegold Mountain project is located within the Dawson Range, approximately 70 kilometres northwest of the community of Carmacks, Yukon. Commercial electrical power is available at Carmacks, which is situated on the Klondike Highway, a paved all-weather highway running from Whitehorse to Dawson City. The property covers an area in excess of 198 square kilometres (75 square miles) and is accessible by a government maintained road. The Nucleus Au-Ag-Cu Deposit and the Revenue Cu-Au-Mo-Ag Deposit cover approximately 30 square kilometres.

The Nucleus Deposit lies adjacent to the Revenue Deposit. It is believed that the Revenue Deposit, the Nucleus Deposit to the west, and the Stoddart Zone to the east are all part of a large scale gold-rich porphyry system, which extends in an east-west direction for more than eight kilometres.

The Nucleus Deposit is a near-surface, gold dominant deposit. Mineralization begins near-surface and is open to expansion laterally and at depth. The resource (at a 0.4 AuEq cut-off) contains 48.5M tonnes grading 0.70 g/t gold, 0.90 g/t silver and 0.06% copper (1.1 M oz Au, 1.4 M oz Ag, 67.8 M lbs Cu or 1.4 M oz AuEq) in the Indicated Category and 41.5M tonnes grading 0.47 g/t gold, 0.98 g/t silver and 0.07% copper (0.6 M oz Au, 1.3 M oz Ag and 62.0 M lbs Cu or 0.9 M oz AuEq) in the Inferred Category (see news release dated February 22, 2011).

Mineral Resource Estimate for Nucleus Deposit

All core samples from Diamond drilling completed by Northern Freegold in 2012 follow NI 43-101 approved QA/QC protocols including insertion of blanks, commercial standards, and duplicate core samples. For the 2012 program, the core samples were split and shipped to ALS Laboratory's (ALS) sample preparation facility in Whitehorse. The prepped samples were then shipped to the main North American laboratory in North Vancouver, BC for final pulverizing and analysis.

The project is being managed by GeoVector Management Inc. of Ottawa, Ontario under the supervision of Alan Sexton, M.Sc., P.Geo. Paul Reynolds, B.Sc., P.Geo., Vice President Exploration for Northern Freegold Resources Ltd., is the qualified person, as defined by NI 43-101, and has reviewed the technical information in this news release.

Option Grant

The Company also announces that subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, it has granted 2,625,000 incentive stock options at a price of $0.17 to officers, directors, employees, and consultants of the Company. Some of the options were granted to replace options that had expired and the remainder are new grants. The options are set for a period of 5 years, expiring on October 10th, 2017 and are subject to vesting provisions according to Company policies. Any shares issued on the exercise of these stock options will be subject to a four-month hold period from date of grant.

On behalf of the Board of Directors 

John Burges, President and CEO

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The information in this press release includes certain "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, plans for and intentions with respect to the company's properties, strategic alternatives, quantity of resources or reserves, timing of permitting, construction and production and other milestones, are forward looking statements. Statements concerning Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are also forward-looking statements in that they reflect an assessment, based on certain assumptions, of the mineralization that would be encountered and mining results if the project were developed and mined in the manner described. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from NFR's expectations include the uncertainties involving the need for additional financing to explore and develop properties and availability of financing in the debt and capital markets; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and geological testing and the estimation of reserves and resources; the need for cooperation of government agencies and First Nations groups in the exploration, and development of properties; and the need to obtain permits and governmental approval. NFR's forward looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections of management on the date the statements are made. NFR assumes no obligation to update the forward looking statements if management's beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors should change.