International Tower Hill Mines Appoints Allen R. Thabit as Manager of Engineering

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/15/11 -- International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. ('ITH' or the 'Company') - (TSX: ITH)(NYSE Amex: THM)(FRANKFURT: IW9) announces that it has appointed Mr. Allen R. Thabit as the Company's new Manager of Engineering, effective November 15, 2011. Mr. Thabit has over 33 years of experience in project engineering, construction, maintenance and management of mining and milling equipment with companies such as Cyprus Mines and Newmont Gold as well as a consultant in the mining and petrochemical industries.

Mr. Thabit is the president of Jade Diamond Consulting Inc., which has provided consulting services to mining and petrochemical industries on management training and project management, troubleshooting, maintenance and construction since 2001. Prior to that, he was the President of Garfield Steel and Machine, Inc. which also consulted to the mining and petrochemical industries. Among the projects that he has consulted on are Kennecott's Utah Copper-MAP project, IAMGOLD's Rosebel gold mine in Suriname, Anglo Nevada Metals Corporation's Taylor silver project, Alacer Gold Corp's Copler project in Turkey, Goldfields Peru's Cerro Corona project and the AngloGold Ashanti's Cripple Creek & Victor mine.

From 1987 to 1995, Mr. Thabit was a Project Manager/Senior Project Engineer and Mill Maintenance Superintendent for Newmont Gold Company where he was responsible for engineering design and construction of treatment plants and mine de-watering projects with a total budget in excess of $300 million. From 1983 to 1987, he was the Maintenance Manager of the Atlas Plant for Atlas Powder Company responsible for the total maintenance function in a large industrial complex manufacturing chemicals and explosives with a $3 million annual maintenance budget. From 1973 to 1983, he served as Maintenance, Construction and Project Engineer for numerous mining and petrochemical companies, including Cyprus Mines Corporation, where he was responsible for design and specification review for a $400 million surface mine and mill project. Mr. Thabit has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, New York.

ITH has retained Jade Diamond Consulting Inc., which will provide the services of Mr. Thabit to oversee the preparation of documents enabling the Company to select third party consultants and engineering firms as well as supervise these firms which will provide specific technical design expertise for the Livengood project's pre-feasibility study, feasibility study and permitting process. Working together with the Company's Alaska Livengood Project Manager, he will help ensure that all third party consultants and engineering work products comport with permit requirements.

'The addition of Al Thabit to our development team demonstrates our persistent focus on building up an operations team that rivals those of major mining companies,' said James Komadina, Chief Executive Officer of ITH. 'We will de-risk the project operationally by retaining the best-in-industry talent to advance the Livengood project towards development into a major new gold mine in North America.'

The Company also announces the departure of President and Chief Operating Officer Carl Brechtel, who has left to pursue other opportunities. The Company would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Brechtel for his contributions to the Company since 2010 and to wish him success in his future endeavours.

Grant of Incentive Stock Options

The Company announces that, pursuant to its 2006 Incentive Stock Option Plan, it has granted Jade Diamond Consulting Inc. incentive stock options to purchase 100,000 common shares in the capital stock of the Company. The options are exercisable on or before November 15, 2016 at a price of CAD 5.64 per share and will vest as to 33,333 shares upon grant, as to 33,333 shares on November 15, 2012, and as to the balance on November 15, 2013.

About International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. controls a 100% interest in the world-class Livengood Gold Project accessible by paved highway 70 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. In 2011 ITH is focused on the rapid advancement of the Livengood project into a compelling potential development scenario while it continues to expand its current resource and explore its 145 km2 district for new deposits.

On behalf of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

James J. Komadina, Chief Executive Officer

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, 'forward-looking statements') within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the potential for the expansion of the current estimated resources at the Livengood project, the potential for the preparation of a feasibility study with respect to the Livengood project, the potential for a production decision to be made in respect of the Livengood Project, the potential for any production at the Livengood project, business and financing plans and business trends, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, the Company's inability to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's Annual Information Form filed with certain securities commissions in Canada and the Company's annual report on Form 40-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC'), and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and its United States public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sec.gov, and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.

NR11-17

Contacts:

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.

Shirley Zhou

Vice-President - Corporate Communications

1-888-770-7488 (toll free) or (604) 638-3247

(604) 408-7499 (FAX)
szhou@ithmines.com
www.ithmines.com