Mr. Peter Akerley reports

ERDENE LAUNCHES 24,000 METRE DRILL PROGRAM ON MONGOLIA GOLD PROJECTS; COMMENCES DRILLING AT BAYAN KHUNDII

Erdene Resource Development Corp. has commenced its 2017 drill program at the company's wholly owned Bayan Khundii gold project in southwest Mongolia. The program will consist of approximately 20,000 metres of diamond drilling at Bayan Khundii and an additional 4,000 metres on its neighbouring Altan Nar and Altan Arrow gold projects.

Two Longyear 44 drill rigs will be operating. The first commenced drilling on April 13, 2017, and will focus on delineation and expansion of the gold mineralized zones within the known Bayan Khundii target areas: Gold Hill, Striker and the recently announced discovery at Midfield. On Jan. 10, 2017, the company announced the discovery of the Midfield zone under younger cover with results including 41 metres of 5.2 grams per tonne gold and 72 metres of 4.0 grams per tonne gold. The second drill rig, expected to be operational on May 1, 2017, will test multiple exploration targets throughout the larger, 1.8-kilometre-by-one-kilometre Bayan Khundii trend, as well as the new high-grade target discovered at the Altan Nar gold-polymetallic project (3,000 metres), located 16 kilometres northwest of Bayan Khundii, and the Altan Arrow gold-silver project (1,000 metres), located 3.5 kilometres north of Bayan Khundii.

Reporting of drill results will commence by late May and continue at regular intervals through late in the third quarter. A follow-up drill program will be implemented in the fourth quarter, based on a review of the second quarter/third quarter phase I results. Erdene's 2017 exploration program will also include additional metallurgical testing as well as hydrogeological, environmental, geotechnical and preliminary economic studies related to the Bayan Khundii and Altan Nar projects.

The following sections outline the objectives for Erdene's drill programs at its Bayan Khundii, Altan Nar and Altan Arrow projects.

Bayan Khundii gold project

The 20,000-metre drill program at Bayan Khundii has two objectives. The first is to increase confidence in areas with established resource potential within the Striker, Gold Hill and Midfield zones and to simultaneously expand the perimeter of these zones. The second objective is to test new areas within the larger 1.8-kilometre-by-one-kilometre trend in order to establish additional extensions or identify new mineralized zones that require definition drilling.

Striker zone drilling

Drilling within the Striker zone in 2016 continued to define high-grade gold zones (up to 65 metres of 6.3 grams per tonne gold in hole BKD-77) with good continuity and extended the boundaries of the gold system, which remains open in all directions. The 2017 drill program at Striker has three objectives: 1) complete infill drilling where hole spacing exceeds 40 metres; 2) drill test deeper targets in the range of 200-metre to 300-metre depth (average vertical drill depth to date of 91 metres and 30 per cent of holes within Striker have ended in mineralization); and 3) test for lateral extensions to the south of Striker (Gold Hill zone) and to the west of Striker. Drilling at the Gold Hill zone has been limited thus far, but has included up to 17 metres of 1.2 grams per tonne gold from surface (BKD-06). Drilling to the west of Striker has also returned very encouraging results to date, including hole BKD-59 located 230 metres west of Striker, which returned 31 metres of 1.0 gram per tonne gold at a depth of 121 metres and two metres of 7.4 grams per tonne gold at a depth of 216 metres.

Midfield zone drilling

Drilling in late 2016 at the Midfield zone, a stepout target located 170 metres north of the Striker zone, under younger postmineralization cover, returned some of the highest grades (BKD-92: two metres of 112.8 grams per tonne gold, starting at 119 metres) and longest mineralized intervals (BKD-90: 149 metres of 2.1 grams per tonne gold, starting at a depth of 23 metres) intersected to date at Bayan Khundii. Nine holes have been completed at Midfield at 40-metre drill hole spacing. Several high-grade extension targets located to the west, north and east will be drill tested in 2017. The down-dip extension to the south and west of Midfield also remains open and will be drill tested.

Reconnaissance drilling

The second drill rig will focus on testing multiple exploration targets throughout the larger 1.8-kilometre-by-one-kilometre Bayan Khundii trend. Postmineralization sedimentary units and basalt overlie approximately 80 per cent of the Bayan Khundii target area averaging approximately 40 metres in thickness, with two outcropping prospect areas interpreted as erosional windows through the younger cover. The full extent of the alteration and mineralization is unknown, although there are several indications that Bayan Khundii's epithermal system may be more widespread than the Striker/Midfield/Gold Hill zones, and it may continue out under the postmineralization cover, as demonstrated by the Midfield zone results.

Previous, shallow drilling in the Northeast prospect area, located 700 metres to the northeast of Striker, returned wide zones of strongly altered volcanics (similar to Striker) and up to 2.3 grams per tonne gold over two metres. In addition, two rock-chip samples that were collected 500 metres farther to the northeast (Northeast Extension prospect) returned gold assay values of 6.9 grams per tonne and 0.4 gram per tonne gold. The 2017 drill program will follow up on these encouraging results.

The combined gradient array and dipole-dipole induced polarization (IP) geophysical survey data suggest the alteration (illite-quartz) within the Striker zone is located at the apex of a broad resistivity (induced polarization geophysical survey) anomaly. This anomaly extends to the north of Midfield and east under the younger cover at relatively shallow depths. In the second quarter of 2017, Erdene commissioned an independent geophysical consultant who confirmed existing targets and identified new targets that will be tested in 2017, including previously unrecognized northwest-trending linear features under cover to the northeast and east of the Striker zone following the same trend as the structures hosting the high-grade gold zones in Striker and Midfield.

Altan Nar gold-polymetallic project

The company plans to complete approximately 3,000 metres of diamond drilling at its Altan Nar gold-polymetallic project between the second quarter and the third quarter of 2017. A key objective will be establishing the continuity and extent of a new high-grade zone identified at the discovery zone in the fourth quarter of 2016. Drill hole TND-101, designed to test a structural intersection in the central discovery zone, returned a very high-grade intersection of 14 metres of 55.6 grams per tonne gold, 131 grams per tonne silver, 0.73 per cent copper and 5.6 per cent combined lead/zinc. This zone was within a consistently mineralized zone from surface to 170 metres and included 110 metres of 9.3 grams per tonne gold, 32 grams per tonne silver and 1.4 per cent combined lead/zinc. TND-101 was an exploratory hole drilled perpendicular to a crosscutting feature observed in geophysical surveys, but at a low, oblique angle to the mineralized discovery zone trend with true width of the zone unknown but assumed to be in the range of 25 metres to 35 metres.

The program will also continue to delineate and expand the discovery zone and Union North deposits, as well as testing other areas within the remaining 16 targets along the 5.6-kilometre-long Altan Nar gold mineralized trend. A high-resolution magnetic survey and a deep induced polarization survey will be completed to assist the company in exploring areas along the 5.6-kilometre Altan Nar trend, where zones of structural dilation, or offset, similar to TND-101, may have provided a favourable setting for the concentration of base and precious metal-rich solutions over wider intervals.

Altan Arrow gold-silver project

In the fourth quarter of 2016, the company completed a maiden drill program at the Altan Arrow gold-silver project, located within the same licence but 3.5 kilometres north of the Bayan Khundii project. The program, consisting of 590 metres in seven holes at an average hole spacing of 200 metres, completed to an average vertical depth of 58 metres. Drill results confirmed the presence of high-grade gold and silver veins, and broad structurally controlled lower-grade zones with similar style to the company's Bayan Khundii gold project.

The objective of the 2017 program is to identify high-grade gold-silver zones with continuity that can be the focus of future definition drill programs. The company will complete approximately 1,000 metres of exploratory drilling, focusing on the areas of encouraging results from the 2016 exploration program.

Qualified person and sample protocol

Michael MacDonald, PGeo (Nova Scotia), vice-president, exploration, for Erdene, is the qualified person as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. All samples have been assayed at SGS Laboratory in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. In addition to internal checks by SGS Laboratory, the company incorporates a quality assurance/quality control sample protocol utilizing prepared standards and blanks.

Erdene's sampling protocol for drill core consists of collection of samples over one-metre or two-metre intervals (depending on the lithology and style of mineralization) over the entire length of the drill hole, excluding minor postmineral lithologies and unmineralized granitoids. Sample intervals were based on metreage, not geological controls or mineralization. All drill core was cut in half with a diamond saw, with half of the core placed in sample bags and the remaining half securely retained in core boxes at Erdene's Bayan Khundii exploration camp. All samples were organized into batches of 20 samples including a commercially prepared standard and blank. Sample batches were periodically shipped directly to SGS in Ulan Bator through Erdene's logistical contractor, Monrud Co. Ltd.

About Erdene Resource Development Corp.

Erdene is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of precious and base metal prospects in underexplored and highly prospective southwest Mongolia. Exploration success has led to the discovery, definition and continuing development of several 100-per-cent-owned prospects and deposits. These include the company's flagship and newly discovered, high-grade, near-surface Bayan Khundii gold project; the 5.6-kilometre-long Altan Nar gold-polymetallic mineralized trend that is host to 18 targets; the Altan Arrow gold-silver prospect; and the Zuun Mod molybdenum-copper deposit.

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