Timberline Receives Notice of Completeness for Butte Highlands Water Discharge Permit Application

COEUR D'ALENE, IDAHO -- (Marketwire) -- 07/12/12 -- Timberline Resources Corporation (TSX VENTURE: TBR)(NYSE Amex: TLR)(NYSE MKT: TLR) ("Timberline" or the "Company") announced today that the Company has received notification from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) that its application for the required water discharge permit (MPDES Permit) for the Butte Highlands Joint Venture Gold Project is substantially complete. Timberline announced the submission of its initial application in late-March 2012, with subsequent amendments submitted in June.

Timberline CEO Paul Dircksen commented, "Since we assumed day-to-day project management earlier this year, we have made steady progress toward obtaining the water discharge and operating permits at Butte Highlands. This notification from the MDEQ increases our confidence that we will have the MPDES Permit by year-end. Meanwhile, we continue to acquire necessary information to support our Hard Rock Operating Permit application. We believe we are on-track to obtain final permits and to commence gold production at Butte Highlands by mid-2013.

The MDEQ requires all sources of water discharge, such as mine de-watering, to obtain and comply with an MPDES Permit. The goal of the Montana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (MPDES) program is to control point source discharges of water such that quality in state surface waters is protected.

As announced previously, the initial mine plan at Butte Highlands will target production of approximately 400 to 500 tons per day for the first four years of operation with material direct shipped to a nearby mill. In 2011, Timberline completed a 50,000-foot (15,240-metre) underground drill program which returned intercepts of up to 14.5 feet (4.4 metres) grading 6.77 ounces of gold per ton (231.85 grams per metric tonne). The Company has also completed over 4,000 feet (1.2 kilometres) of underground development and completed construction of essentially all surface facilities for the project. The Butte Highlands Joint Venture is located within a favorable geologic domain that has hosted several multi-million ounce gold deposits including Butte, Golden Sunlight, Montana Tunnels, and Virginia City.

About Timberline Resources

Timberline Resources Corporation is exploring and developing advanced-stage gold properties in the western United States. Timberline is working on a transaction to increase its ownership stake in its Butte Highlands Joint Venture in Montana where gold production is targeted to commence in mid-2013. Timberline's exploration is primarily focused on the goldfields of Nevada, where it is advancing its flagship Lookout Mountain Project toward a production decision while exploring a pipeline of quality earlier-stage projects at its South Eureka Property and elsewhere. Timberline management has a proven track record of discovering economic mineral deposits and developing them into profitable mines.

Timberline is listed on the NYSE MKT where it trades under the symbol "TLR" and on the TSX Venture Exchange where it trades under the symbol "TBR".

Statements contained herein that are not based upon current or historical fact are forward-looking in nature and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company's expectations about its future operating results, performance and opportunities that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These statements include but are not limited to statements regarding the timing of the Company's continued exploration and drill program at South Eureka and Lookout Mountain, the timing of assay results from such drilling program being released, the Company's ability to expand the South Eureka resource, purchase of the Butte Highlands JV, LLC membership interests (including the expected timing of such purchase), the timing or results of the Company's drill programs at Butte Highlands, including the timing of obtaining necessary permits, the development and production of the Company's Butte Highlands project and projects on its South Eureka property, the potential life of the mine at the Butte Highlands project, the targeted production date for the Butte Highlands project, targeted date for production at South Eureka, the potential for a heap-leach mine at South Eureka, targeted dates for the South Eureka technical report and economic scoping study, and possible growth of the Company and the Company's expected operations, including potential development of an open pit extraction and run-of-mine heap leach processing and operation at South Eureka. When used herein, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "upcoming," "plan," "target", "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to Timberline Resources Corporation, its subsidiaries, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, whether or not the Company completes the purchase of the Butte Highlands JV, LLC membership interests, risks related to the timing and completion of the drilling programs at Butte Highlands and South Eureka, risks and uncertainties related to mineral estimates, risks related to the inherently dangerous activity of mining, and other such factors, including risk factors discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2011. Except as required by Federal Securities law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements.

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.

Contacts:

Timberline Resources Corporation

Paul Dircksen

CEO

208.664.4859