Nighthawk Announces 8,800 Metre Sampling Program of Historic Core and Provides Prospecting Update

TORONTO, July 24, 2012 /CNW/ - Nighthawk Gold Corp. ("Nighthawk") (TSXV: NHK) is pleased to report it has begun a sampling program of 8,834 metres of historic drill core (21 holes) from the Royal Oak Mines Inc. ("Royal Oak") 1997 drilling program at Nighthawk's 100% owned Colomac property ("Colomac Gold Project") in the Northwest Territories ("NWT"). Due to incomplete information, this drilling was not included in Nighthawk's NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource estimate of 42.65 million tonnes with an average grade of 1.05 grams per tonne gold for 1.446 million ounces of gold (February 22, 2012 news release). When this program has been completed, Nighthawk expects to satisfy QAQC requirements, which will allow this historic drilling to be included in the next resource estimate update. Additionally, Nighthawk's summer 2012 prospecting program has identified early indications of other potential "Colomac-like" targets on its Indin Lake property for further exploration.

Nighthawk President and CEO, David Wiley, commented, "We are pleased that in this challenging market environment for junior gold companies, we will be able to report results for approximately 20,000 metres of drilling at the cost of what we had budgeted for 11,000 metres. Over the coming months we expect to provide regular news flow as we receive the assays and end the year in a strong financial position. Once the current program is complete, we will turn our attention to providing shareholders with an updated resource estimate and NI 43-101 technical report."


Historic Core Sampling Program

In 1997 Royal Oak completed 21 drill holes totalling 8,834 metres at Zone 3.5 (20 holes) and Zone 2.0 (1 hole) at the Colomac Gold Project. This drill program established mineralization to great depths beneath Zone 2.0 and discovered the intrusion's first known plunging higher grade gold shoot at Zone 3.5, tracing it to almost 1,000 metres vertically. The 1997 core is in good condition at the former Colomac mine site. After logging all of the core, Nighthawk will sample and assay 10% to 15% to meet the QAQC requirements, which will allow the historic drilling to be included in the next resource estimate update.


Indin Lake Prospecting Program

In mid-June Nighthawk initiated a regional prospecting, sampling, and mapping program with the objective of investigating all known gold showings at its Indin Lake property (220,203 acres) including the regional mineralized volcanic/sedimentary rock contact and targets derived from Nighthawk's recent airborne magnetic survey. The Colomac Gold Project's distinctly strong magnetic signature has been modelled and used to locate early indications of other potential "Colomac-like" targets elsewhere within the regional stratigraphy. Preliminary prospecting has identified several magnetic targets that have the same distinctive mineralogy as the Colomac sill. To date, these intrusions have been identified immediately south, east, and west of the Colomac Gold Project. Occurrences are expected to increase as the prospecting teams advance throughout the rest of the Indin Lake property. This compilation represents the first systematic approach to identifying other potentially mineralized intrusions similar to the Colomac Gold Project, thus adding potential for future exploration within the Indin Lake Greenstone Belt. Prospecting teams are expected to complete the program by early September.


Nighthawk Gold Corp.

Nighthawk is a Canadian-based exploration company focused on acquiring and developing gold mineral properties in the NWT. Its land position covers 222,203 acres or 900 square kilometres in the Indin Lake Gold Camp, located approximately 220 kilometres north of Yellowknife, NWT.

The technical aspects of this press release have been reviewed by Michael Byron, Ph.D., P.Geol., Chief Geologist and Director for Nighthawk, who is the "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 for this project.

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 news release.


Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information with respect to future exploration targets and better defining the current mineral resources at the Colomac Gold Project. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Nighthawk to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks associated with the exploration, development and mining such as economic factors as they effect exploration, future commodity prices, changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, actual results of current exploration activities, government regulation, political or economic developments, environmental risks, permitting timelines, capital expenditures, operating or technical difficulties in connection with development activities, employee relations, the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of reserves, contests over title to properties, and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as those risk factors discussed in Nighthawk's management discussion and analysis for the year ended July 31, 2011, available on www.sedar.com. Although Nighthawk has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Nighthawk does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.




For further information:

please contact:
David Wiley, President and CEO

Nighthawk Gold Corp.
(647) 260-1247
(416) 363-4567 (FAX)
Email: dwiley@nighthawkgold.com

Daniel Boase, Investor Relations
First Canadian Capital Corp.
(416) 742-5600 ext 232
Email: dboase@firstcanadiancapital.com