Northern Vertex Drilling on Copley Project Identifies Large Gold Bearing Structures. Distinct Geological Similarities and Presence of Magnetic Lows Point to Potential Blackwater Style Bulk-Tonnage Discovery in B. C.'s Nechako Plateau

Kootenay Gold (KTN-TSX.V) and Northern Vertex (NEE-TSX.V) are pleased to announce drill results from an 1100 meter drill program on its Copley Gold property in British Columbia's Nechako Plateau. Of the 11 holes Northern Vertex drilled on its Copley Property in central BC, 9 intersected gold including a 33 m intersection of 0.271 g/t Au in hole 01-04 (see accompanying table); of the 33 m: 5.6 m averaged 0.68 g/t Au, and 1.4 m averaged 1.57 g/t Au. Drilling focused on the Smoking Pipe target and results indicate the mineralized zoning is near surface and the zones of gold-rich rocks thicken to the west.

The drill program confirmed that gold occurs in silicified volcanic rocks containing disseminated- or vein-pyrite and anomalous concentrations of zinc (Zn) and mercury (Hg). These are the same associations observed at Richfield's Blackwater project located 40 km south of Copley.

States Bob Thompson (P Eng, PhD), consulting geologist for Northern Vertex:"We are very pleased and excited with drill assays returned from the current program. Results confirm Copley's geological characteristics mirror that of Richfield's Blackwater discovery 40km to the south. Moreover, the significant gold intersections identified over a large area, combined with the thickness of the intervals underscore Copley's significant bulk tonnage gold potential".

Further bolstering Copley's near-surface bulk tonnage potential, drilling at the Smoking Pipe target outlined a sizeable volume of auriferous rock measuring 200 m by 100 m by 50 m depth. Additionally, the program demonstrated that gold can occupy intersections 10's of metres thick and is not confined to narrow, widely-spaced vein-like features. Since the Smoking Pipe target is open to the west beneath overburden, additional drill testing will be required to properly estimate its size.

Drilling follows results from previous exploration on Copley that demonstrated it is a large gold-bearing epithermal system measuring 7 km long x 2 km wide within the 2,926 hectare property. The sampling program traced extensive areas of gold mineralization on surface, including one prospective area measuring 55 m by 140 m. 11 sample sites returned values greater than 1 g Au/ton including one at 14 g Au/ton. 23 additional sites returned values between 0.05 and 1.0 g Au/ton in only one of several gold-bearing zones identified thus far.

Northern Vertex further reports the Company has identified 3 additional drill-ready targets associated with silicified, pyritic, gold-bearing surface samples. The drill targets occur on the shoulder of an annular magnetic low extending west of the Smoking Pipe target. The existence of a "magnetic low" is considered significant as Richfield's Blackwater property 40 km to the south also occurs on the margin of a magnetic low.

A planned upcoming phase II drilling program by Northern Vertex will prioritize the newly identified targets as the Company focuses on vectoring into the feeder systems controlling the gold dissemination on Copley.

Table 1: A synopsis of drill results from Copley Property. All analyses were performed by ACME Laboratories Inc., Vancouver, using industry standard protocols.

The foregoing geological disclosure has been reviewed and verified by Dr. Robert Thompson, Phd, P.Eng, a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101, standards of disclosure for mineral projects.
Northern Vertex has the right to earn a 60% interest in the Copely Gold Property in exchange for issuing a total of 800,000 common shares of Northern Vertex to Kootenay Gold Inc; and financing $2.2 million of exploration expenditures on the property within a four year period.

About Northern Vertex: Northern Vertex is a Canadian exploration and mining company focused on precious metals discoveries in North America. The company is presently conducting systematic exploration programs on two prospective joint-venture properties in British Columbia, Canada: The Copley Gold Property located in the emerging Nechako Plateau region of Central British Columbia and the Deer Creek Gold Property located in the West Kootenay region of Southern British Columbia.

About Kootenay Gold Kootenay Gold is actively developing mineral projects in the Sierra Madre Region of Mexico and in British Columbia, Canada. The Company's flagship property is the former producing Promontorio Silver mine in Sonora State, Mexico. The Company's objective is to develop near term discoveries and long term sustainable growth. Kootenay's management and technical team are proven professionals with extensive international experience in all aspects of mineral exploration, operations and venture capital markets. Multiple, ongoing J/V partnerships in Mexico and Canada maximize potential for additional, new discoveries while maintaining minimal share dilution.
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For additional information, please contact: James McDonald, CEO and President at 403-238-6986 To view an interview with James McDonald visit: www.kootenaygold.ca

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release may contain information about adjacent properties on which we have no right to explore or mine. We advise U.S.
investors that the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our properties. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. 2011 number 6