Mr. Robert Giustra reports

COLUMBUS PREPARES TO RESUME DRILLING AT EASTSIDE

Columbus Gold Corp. plans to commence a follow-up drilling program at its Eastside gold project in Nevada on Feb. 25, 2016. Two drill rigs, a rotary rig and a core rig will be used, and the preparation of access roads and drill sites is under way.

The planned program includes 16,000 feet (4,850 metres) of core drilling in 16 to 18 core holes and 32,000 feet (9,700 metres) of reverse circulation, rotary drilling. Core holes will be predrilled by rotary drilling to 600 feet and then entered with the core rig to complete the holes. Some exploration holes and several infill holes will be completed by rotary drilling alone.

The goals of the 2016 drilling program are as follows:

1. To test the known gold/silver mineralization at greater depths than drilled so far: Sixteen of the deeper Eastside holes have bottomed in gold/silver mineralization. Geological logging of drill holes indicates the hydrothermal alteration style in deeper holes is getting more intense and likely indicates higher temperatures of formation. (Replacement silicification is changing from chalcedonic silica replacement near the surface to replacement by coarser, crystalline quartz at depth. Veining in stockwork zones at depth has more banding, much coarser quartz crystals, more common quartz after calcite textures and more adularia than near-surface veins. Adularia is much more common as a replacement and in veins at greater depths. Surficial clay alteration (dominantly kaolinite) is also changing to illite alteration with depth.)
   • There are essentially no silver values in surface sampling at Eastside, but silver appears at depth in drill holes. Thicknesses of silver appear to be increasing at depth (24.4 metres of 37.6 grams per tonne silver in ES-39), with occasional higher-grade silver as well (three metres of 203 grams per tonne silver in ES-40). The maximum depth drilled in 2015 was 1,250 feet (379 metres). Core drilling in 2016 will test to depths of 1,600 feet (488 metres) or more if the holes remain strongly mineralized near their bottoms. Please refer to Columbus's news release dated Sept. 22, 2015, for more details on drill results that include ES-39 and ES-40.
2. To test a surface geochemical anomaly (described as target 6 in previous news releases) to the north of the area drilled to date: The strong geochemical anomaly in arsenic and antimony continues directly north of the gold surface anomaly. Twenty-two surface samples define an arsenic (200 to 18,810 parts per million arsenic) and antimony (13 to 330 parts per million antimony) anomaly that is about 600 metres long and 100 to 200 metres wide as it extends directly north from the gold surface anomaly. Please refer to Columbus's news release dated March 30, 2015, for more details on target 6.
3. To test gaps in previous drilling, where holes are as much as 328 to 492 feet (100 to 150 metres) apart.

In addition, permitting is in progress to drill test target 5, which is located 4.5 miles (seven kilometres) south of the original target area. Target 5 is about one kilometre in diameter, and its geology is identical to the original target, consisting of a rhyolite flow dome complex displaying strong hydrothermal alteration. Surface sampling at target 5 identified a gold-bearing outcrop about 200 metres long and 10 metres wide, where four surface samples ranged from 0.4 gram per tonne to 1.08 grams per tonne gold. Please refer to Columbus's news release dated Oct. 23, 2014, for more details on target 5.

Andy Wallace is a certified professional geologist with the American Institute of Professional Geologists and is the qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 who has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release. Mr. Wallace is the principal of Cordilleran Exploration Company, which is conducting exploration and project generation activities for Columbus Gold on an exclusive basis.

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