Gold Canyon Intersects 257 Meters at 1.48 Grams per Tonne Gold at the Springpole Gold Project


VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Dec. 7, 2011) - Gold Canyon Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:GCU)(PINKSHEETS:GDCRF) ("Gold Canyon" or "the Company") is pleased to announce additional drill results from its Summer-Fall drill program including drill hole SP11-096 which intersected 257 meters at 1.48 grams per tonne gold (843 feet at 0.043 oz per ton gold) including 37 meters at 3.03 grams per tonne gold (121 feet at 0.088 oz per ton gold). Drill hole SP11-096 is located 100 meters southeast of hole SP11-091 (310 meters at 1.87 grams per tonne gold announced November 16, 2011) and continues to demonstrate excellent continuity of the higher grade core of the Portage Zone. Assays are awaited from drill holes SP11-097 through -104, all needed for completion of the new National Instrument (NI) 43-101 technical report including resource estimate. Due to delays in receiving these assays, it is now planned that the resource estimate will be announced in January rather than mid-December as originally intended.

To view a map of the Springpole Gold Project, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/gcu127i.pdf.

Gold Canyon is also pleased to announce it has contracted SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. to undertake work on its NI 43-101 compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) targeted for completion in the second half of 2012. SRK Consulting will work closely with Mr. William F. Tanaka, a Qualified Person independent of Gold Canyon as defined in NI 43-101, who is updating the resource estimate at Springpole.

In addition, SGS Lakefield Research Ltd. has been contracted to conduct metallurgical test work to support the upcoming PEA. Five core holes, drilled in various parts of the Springpole deposit, have been delivered to the lab in Lakefield, Ontario to facilitate test work in the next 3-4 months. Mr. Michael Fallat, a Qualified Person independent of Gold Canyon as defined in NI 43-101, has been contracted to assist Gold Canyon with coordinating all future metallurgical test work for Springpole.

Drilling will continue at Springpole until Christmas with two drills testing deeper parts of the mid-section of the Portage Zone. Since July, nearly 15,300 meters have been drilled, over 25% more meters than originally planned. Crews are currently flooding the lake ice over the target area to build up sufficient thickness to support an aggressive winter drill program beginning in January. Gold Canyon plans to drill at least 50,000 meters at Springpole in 2012 with approximately 80% of this directed at infill in the Portage Zone and 20% testing new exploration targets including the southeast strike projection of the Portage Zone.

"We are preparing to move Springpole forward aggressively in 2012," comments Dr. Quinton Hennigh, Technical Advisor to, and Director of, Gold Canyon. "The addition of SRK Consulting, SGS Lakefield and Mr. Fallat to our existing team puts us in an excellent position to complete our PEA during the second half of 2012. Meanwhile, we eagerly await final assays for the remaining holes required for our NI 43-101 compliant resource estimation."

Summary of Drill Results

  • Diamond drill hole SP11-096, a vertical infill hole drilled from a barge on the 0+500 m section line, intersected 257 meters at 1.48 grams per tonne gold (843 feet at 0.043 oz per ton gold) including 37 meters at 3.03 grams per tonne gold (121 feet at 0.088 oz per ton gold) and continues to demonstrate excellent continuity of the higher grade core of the Portage Zone. Due to soft ground conditions casing was set to a depth of 66 meters where the first core was recovered. This mineralized intercept is continuous along almost the entire length of the drill hole which ended at 327 meters, and clearly demonstrates the continuity of the higher-grade core of the Portage Zone to depth.
  • Diamond drill holes SP11-092 (situated on the 0+600 m section line) and SP11-095 (situated on the 0+550 m section line) were both drilled at an azimuth of 220 degrees true north with inclinations of -55 and -45 degrees, respectively. These holes both tested the "Bridge Zone," a recently identified, near-surface body of mineralization between the Portage and East Extension Zones. Both holes encountered multiple intervals of mineralization that appear to be part of a stacked, sub-horizontally oriented body between the upper portion of the Portage Zone and the near-surface East Extension Zone lying approximately 200 meters to the northeast. The Bridge Zone has now been intersected by multiple holes between the 0+500 m and 0+700 m section lines and represents a potentially significant addition to the Springpole mineralized system.
  • Diamond drill hole SP11-093, a vertical infill hole drilled from a barge on the 0+050 m section, tested the southwest shoulder of the Portage Zone. This hole encountered 194.5 meters at 0.85 grams per tonne gold (638 feet at 0.025 oz per ton gold) including several higher grade zones (see table below); the drill hole ended in mineralization at a depth of 316.5 meters down-hole.
  • Diamond drill hole SP11-094, situated on the 0+350 m section line and drilled at an azimuth of 220 degrees true north and inclination of -50 degrees, tested deeper parts of the Portage Zone in this area. This hole intersected 142.5 meters at 0.71 grams per tonne gold (467 feet at 0.021 oz per ton gold). Interestingly, several shorter intervals of mineralization were encountered further down-hole outside of the southwest margin of the Portage Zone.
Summary of Results from Holes SP11-092 through -096
Hole From
(meters
) To
(meters
) Length
(meters
) Gold (grams
per tonne
) Length
(feet
) Gold (oz
per ton
)
SP11-092 2.0 7.0 5.0 0.91 16 0.027
109.0 177.0 68.0 0.58 223 0.017
214.0 221.0 7.0 1.14 23 0.033
SP11-093 122.0 316.5 194.5 0.85 638 0.025
includes 170.0 316.5 146.5 1.03 481 0.030
includes 224.0 253.5 29.5 2.11 97 0.062
includes 270.0 275.0 5.0 3.68 16 0.107
Hole ended in mineralization at 316.5 meters
SP11-094 312.5 455.0 142.5 0.71 467 0.021
includes 336.0 337.0 1.0 12.69 3 0.371
471.0 472.0 1.0 5.39 3 0.157
509.0 520.0 11.0 0.40 36 0.012
536.0 552.0 16.0 0.48 52 0.014
562.0 566.0 4.0 0.42 13 0.012
No core was recovered from 374-377, 392.5-395.5 and 421-424 meters
SP11-095 21.0 37.0 16.0 1.73 52 0.051
includes 25.0 28.0 3.0 4.89 10 0.143
256.0 264.0 8.0 0.34 26 0.010
269.0 283.0 14.0 0.32 46 0.009
296.0 307.0 11.0 0.39 36 0.011
SP11-096 66.0 323.0 257.0 1.48 843 0.043
includes 66.0 103.0 37.0 3.03 121 0.088
includes 94.0 99.0 5.0 9.01 16 0.263
includes 227.0 250.0 23.0 2.53 75 0.074
292.5 306.0 13.5 2.44 44 0.071
Weighted averages were used to calculate all reported intervals
Intervals of no core recovery were given a gold grade of 0 gpt in the weighted averages above
Reported intervals apply a 0.2 gram per tonne gold (0.006 oz per ton gold) lower cutoff
Internal dilution within reported intervals does not exceed core lengths of 10 meters
1 troy oz = 31.103 grams
Conversion factor grams per tonne to troy oz per short ton; g/t divided by 34.2857 or g/t multiplied by 0.0292
1 meter = 3.28 feet

Core was logged then split using diamond saws with one half sent for analyses and the other half stored for future reference. Quality control programs include the use of field and laboratory duplicates, standards, blanks, and internal and external check assaying. Certified sample standards were submitted with the normal sample stream. Gold and silver assays were completed by SGS Canada Inc. in Red Lake and Toronto, Ontario using a 30 gram charge, fire assay, with an ICP finish. For over limit assay results, initial assays in excess of 10.0 grams per tonne Au, a gravimetric finish is utilized.

About Springpole

Springpole is an alkaline intrusion hosting a gold system that represents a potentially new style of Canadian Archean Shield gold deposit. The Portage Zone is hosted by a trachytic porphyry intrusion displaying polyphase autolithic breccias that host gold mineralization. Other zones, including the East Extension and Main, consist of high-grade veins and pods hosted in diatreme breccias composed of intrusive and country rock fragments. These breccias surround the northwest and northern margins of the Portage Zone. The known mineralized zones underlie a total known area of about 4 square kilometers representing only about 15 percent of the greater alkaline intrusive complex which remains yet to be explored.

Quinton Hennigh, Ph.D., P.Geo., and Alan Roberts, M.Sc., P.Geo. are the Qualified Persons pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 responsible for, and have reviewed and approved, the technical information contained in this news release. Dr. Hennigh is acting as a technical adviser to Gold Canyon and Alan Roberts is the Senior Geologist of Alaska Earth Sciences, Inc. and Senior Exploration Geologist at Springpole.

About Gold Canyon Resources Inc.:

Gold Canyon is engaged in the acquisition and exploration of mineral and precious metals properties. The Company controls a 100% interest in the Springpole Gold - Horseshoe Island Gold, Platinum, Palladium Project and Favourable Lake Poly-metallic property currently under option to Guyana Frontier Mining Corp. pursuant to an option and joint venture agreement entered into in December 2005 - all in the Red Lake Mining District of Ontario, Canada.

Through its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Gold Canyon Resources USA Inc., the Company controls a 100% interest in the Cordero Gallium Project situated in Humboldt County, Nevada, U.S.A.

Gold Canyon entered into a Joint Exploration Agreement with the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) in January 2009.

Additional information can be found on the Company's website: www.goldcanyon.ca.

Akiko Levinson, President & Director

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian provincial securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements often, but not always, are identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "targeting" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "would", "should", "could", or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the timing and nature of permitting studies, the timing and nature of infrastructure developments and construction, projections of future optimization, production timeline targets, the timing of negotiations with third parties, and the timing and nature of future exploration programs which are dependent on projections which may change as drilling continues, or if unexpected ground conditions are encountered. In addition, areas of exploration potential are identified which will require substantial drilling to determine whether or not they contain similar mineralization to areas which have been explored in more detail. The description of the extent of mineralized zones is not intended to imply that any economically mineable estimate of reserves or resources exists on any of Gold Canyon's projects.

The forward-looking statements that are contained in this news release are based on various assumptions and estimates by Gold Canyon and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. As a consequence, actual results might differ materially from results forecast or suggested in these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Gold Canyon to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ include; risks relating to fluctuations in the price of gold; the inherently hazardous nature of mining-related activities; uncertainties concerning resource estimates; results of exploration, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, inability to obtain required regulatory approvals, unanticipated difficulties or costs in any rehabilitation which may be necessary, market conditions and general business, economic, competitive, political and social conditions. These statements are based on a number of assumptions, including assumptions regarding general market conditions, timing and receipt of regulatory approvals, the ability of Gold Canyon and other relevant parties to satisfy regulatory requirements, the availability of financing for proposed transactions and programs on reasonable terms and the ability of third-party service providers to deliver services in a timely manner. Although Gold Canyon has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors which cause actual results to differ. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and Gold Canyon disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on 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 news release.

Contact Information:

Gold Canyon Resources Inc.
Akiko Levinson
President & Director
(604) 682-3234 or Toll free: 1 (888) 242-3234
(604) 682-0537 (FAX)
info@goldcanyon.ca
www.goldcanyon.ca

Investor Relations:
Leo Karabelas
(416) 543-3120
leo@frontlineir.com