Golden Phoenix Joint Venture Partner Scorpio Gold Begins Exploration Drilling on Coyote Target at Mineral Ridge Gold Project, Nevada

SPARKS, NV -- (Marketwire) -- 06/13/11 -- Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. (the 'Company') (OTCBB: GPXM) joint venture partner Scorpio Gold is pleased to announce that exploration drilling has commenced on the Coyote target, located approximately four kilometers southwest of the Mineral Ridge operation and on strike with the Brodie mineralized body that lies adjacent to the heap leach pad. The Coyote target is one of three priority drill exploration targets outlined by Scorpio Gold.

Golden Phoenix currently maintains a thirty percent (30%) interest in the Mineral Ridge Gold Project via its membership interest in Mineral Ridge Gold LLC; the joint venture entity that owns and operates the Mineral Ridge property with Scorpio Gold.

To date, exploration in the Coyote target area has outlined a one-kilometer long, north-northeast trending structural corridor that ranges from 200 meters in width in the south to 300 meters in the north and is open in all directions. Structural features of the corridor are traceable on surface a further three kilometers northeast to the Mineral Ridge operation; however, detailed surface prospecting and sampling has yet to be conducted over this extent due to the rugged terrain. Numerous historical workings (circa 1900's) lie within the area to be tested, including seven shallow shafts, one adit and six trenches. Surface grab sampling over the area has reported values up to 14 grams per tonne gold.

The primary host rock outcropping in the Coyote area is the Mary Limestone unit, which is the same unit that hosts mineralization currently being mined in the Drinkwater pit and is known to host primary gold mineralization over four kilometers distance from the pit area. This unit has been overprinted by a strong north-northeast structural fabric that contains secondary quartz veins and quartz swarms which were the target of the historical workings and prior small-scale mining. Both phases of gold mineralization are present in the Coyote target area, emphasizing the wide-scale distribution of mineralization in the Mary Limestone unit and the importance of the later structural component in enriching the gold content over considerable distances from the current operations.

This drill program represents the first ever conducted in the Coyote area and will comprise 12 reverse circulation drill holes testing the target over a one kilometer strike length.

Regional exploration drill targets and proposed drill hole locations at the Coyote target can be found at www.scorpiogold.com/Properties/mineralridge/MR_DrillTargets.jpg and www.scorpiogold.com/Properties/mineralridge/Coyote_DHPlan.jpg, respectively.

Mr. Peter J. Hawley, PGeo, is Scorpio Gold's Qualified Person and CEO for the various Scorpio Gold projects. Mr. Hawley is responsible for the current exploration and development program at Mineral Ridge.

Scorpio Gold reports its results under Canadian mining and TSX Venture Exchange guidelines, which report mineral reserve and resource estimates differently than in the U.S., and may not meet the standards of 'proven' and 'probable' reserves set forth in SEC Industry Guide 7.

Please visit the Golden Phoenix website at: www.golden-phoenix.com.


About Golden Phoenix:

Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. is a Nevada-based mining company whose focus is Royalty Mining in the Americas. Golden Phoenix is committed to delivering shareholder value by identifying, acquiring, developing and joint venturing gold, silver and strategic metal deposits throughout North, South and Central America. Golden Phoenix owns, has an interest in, or has entered into agreements with respect to mineral properties located in the United States, Canada and Peru including its 30% interest in the Mineral Ridge gold project near Silver Peak, Nevada.


Forward-Looking Statements: Information contained herein regarding optimism related to the business, expanding exploration, development activities and other such statements are 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to the safe harbors created thereby. While Golden Phoenix believes such statements are reasonable, they are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business and are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results could vary materially from the description contained herein due to many factors including continued market prices for the Company's mineral products, domestic and international business and economic conditions, and other risk factors listed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings under 'risk factors' and elsewhere. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.



For More Information Contact:

Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc.
Robert Ian, Director of Corporate Communications
(775) 453-4741
robertian@golden-phoenix.com