Mr. Ferdi Dippenaar reports

GREAT BASIN GOLD REPORTS OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2012

Great Basin Gold Ltd. has filed its interim consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, and the company refers the reader to those materials for further information. The company will review the results during an investor conference call scheduled for May 15, 2012.

                                                              Three months ended      
                                                 March 31, 2012   March 31, 2011

Recovered AuEq oz                                        22,911           29,593
AuEq oz sold                                             21,555           20,118
Realized AuEq price                                      $1,548           $1,309
Revenue ($000)                                          $33,373          $26,343
(Loss) from operating activities ($000)                 ($7,650)           ($377)
Net (loss) for the quarter ($000)                      ($17,770)        ($20,341)
Cash generated from (used by) operations ($000)            $565          ($9,482)
Adjusted (loss) per share                                ($0.03)          ($0.02)

Hollister

The Nevada operations produced 16,240 gold equivalent(1) ounces for the quarter (first quarter 2011 -- 24,082 gold equivalent ounces), compared with the forecast of 19,749 gold equivalent ounces. Ineffective carbon stripping while the final upgrade to the acid wash and carbon regeneration circuit was being completed resulted in lower than planned gold (87 per cent) and silver (62 per cent) recoveries at the Esmeralda mill during the quarter. The upgrade to this circuit was completed in late April, 2012. All dore will be poured on site starting May, 2012.

Although lower than first quarter 2011, gold and silver grades as well as tonnes extracted from trial mining were in line with the production plan, and good progress has been made in improving mining flexibility through additional focus on ore development. During the quarter, 15,357 gold equivalent ounces were sold (first quarter 2011 -- 17,324), with the amount of gold equivalent ounces locked up in carbon and awaiting processing through third party refiners increasing by 1,352 to 14,447 gold equivalent ounces on March 31, 2012. It is expected that this carbon will be treated during second quarter 2012 and inventory levels will return to normalized levels by the end of second quarter 2012. Cash costs per ounce of $850 per ounce were recorded for the quarter (first quarter 2011 -- $670); costs were affected by the lower recoveries achieved as well as the additional transportation costs incurred to process the carbon at the Rand refinery in South Africa. Following the recent receipt of the dam safety permit (which authorizes the impounding of tails, slimes and water on the tailings storage facility (TSF)) and the updated reclamation bond, construction commenced on the three-phase expansion of the TSF. At the currently planned production rates, phases 1 and 2 will provide tailings storage capacity for the next six years, and the completion of phase 3 can extend this to 25 years. The current facility has sufficient capacity for the impoundment of tails until the planned completion of the expanded tailings facility.

Burnstone

The Burnstone operations produced 6,671 gold ounces for the quarter (first quarter 2011 -- 5,511 gold ounces), compared with the forecast of 6,327 gold ounces. Production volumes were generally in line with the production plan, with a slightly higher stoping gold grade compensating for minor volume variances. Square metres available for stoping more than doubled from Dec. 31, 2011, with over 14,000 square metres being available at March 31, 2012. The amount of available square metres has increased further since that time, with approximately 16,200 square metres being available for stoping at the end of April, 2012. Good progress was made during the quarter on infrastructure upgrades that will enable the mine to maintain its momentum to meet increasing development and production targets. Cash costs per ounce for the quarter of $2,181 were recorded (first quarter 2011 -- $2,471) and were affected by additional water-handling and employee-related costs incurred.

Financial results and corporate matters

Revenue of $33-million was recorded for the quarter, an increase of 27 per cent over the comparative period in 2011. The increase in revenue can be ascribed to a 7-per-cent increase in ounces sold as well as an 18-per-cent increase in the realized gold price. The increase in cash and non-cash costs had a negative effect on the loss from operations, which amounted to $7.7-million (2011 -- $400,000). A $2-million increase in net interest paid when compared with first quarter 2011 is due to interest for January, 2011, being included in the Burnstone project development costs. A further $2.6-million impairment charge on the loan advanced to the company's BEE (black economic empowerment) partner (TranterBurnstone (Pty.) Ltd.) was recorded as a result of the decline in the company's share price. The valuation of the zero-cost-collar hedge structures was immaterial for the quarter as a result of the relative sideways movement in gold prices during this period.

The company closed the previously announced $50-million public offering (see press release dated March 15, 2012) on March 30, 2012, with the 15-per-cent overallotment option granted to the underwriters closing on April 5, 2012. Net proceeds from the offering, totalling $54-million, will be used as working capital for the development and production ramp-up at Burnstone. At March 31, 2012, the company had net working capital of $15-million, which included $44-million in cash reserves, and also had $10-million available to be drawn upon under the $150-million (U.S.) term facility.

Following negotiations between the company, Tranter and Investec Bank Ltd., a term sheet was agreed to in late April, 2012, to settle a mutually beneficial proposal whereby the company provides Tranter with further financial assistance over a period of 18 months to enable it to meet its proposed restructured loan repayment obligations to Investec and thereby remove its current breach of the loan agreement. In terms of the proposal, Investec will remove all cash margin requirements and also restructure the repayment in such a matter that the required assistance from the company does not affect its short-term cash requirements. The parties are currently working on finalizing the legal agreements and obtaining the required approvals to enter into the binding legal agreements. It is anticipated that this restructured loan and financial assistance agreement will be executed before May 30, 2012.

Ferdi Dippenaar, Great Basin Gold's president and chief executive officer, commented: "Good progress has been made at both Hollister and Burnstone during the first quarter of 2012. The focus has been to improve mining flexibility through the increase in ore development and the establishment of additional stopes, thereby enabling the company to meet its annual production targets. Burnstone achieved its planned quarterly production targets whilst addressing short-term infrastructural challenges, which impacted on efficiencies in late 2011 and the first few months of 2012. This has resulted in a 6-per-cent increase in ore development metres, up from a monthly average of 845 metres in first quarter 2012 to over 900 metres in April, 2012. In addition, ore development ends at the end of April were 62, which is an improvement of 48 per cent over the 42 ends available on March 31, 2012. Continued infill drilling has shown no further geological challenges similar to the Graben fault that significantly influenced our production buildup at Burnstone in 2011.

"The operational benefit from increased flexibility at our Hollister mine and the completion of the acid wash and carbon regeneration circuit at the Esmeralda mill is expected to allow cash costs from trial mining activities to decrease to the planned levels for the year."

Note

1. Gold equivalent ounces are calculated using metal prices of $1,400 (U.S.) per ounce for gold and $30 (U.S.) per ounce for silver.

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