Mr. Jonathan Awde reports

GOLD STANDARD INTERSECTS 97.0 M OF 1.61 G AU/T AND 15.4 M OF 1.85 G AU/T IN A CORE TWIN OF DS15-11 AT THE NORTH DARK STAR OXIDE GOLD DEPOSIT

Gold Standard Ventures Corp. has released assay results from DS15-13, a phase 2 core hole drilled to twin reverse circulation (RC) hole DS15-11 at the recently discovered North Dark Star oxide gold deposit on its 100-per-cent-owned/controlled Railroad-Pinion project in Nevada's Carlin trend. DS15-13 returned multiple, significant, oxidized intercepts containing gold values above the cut-off grade of 0.14 gram per tonne gold established by APEX Geoscience Ltd. of Edmonton, Canada, in its Dark Star National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate announced on March 3, 2015 (see news release), including 15.4 metres of 1.85 g/t Au and 97.0 m of 1.61 g/t Au.

DS15-13 successfully confirmed RC hole DS15-11 which intersected 157.0 m of 1.51 g/t Au (see news release dated Nov. 10, 2015). The DS15-10, 15-11 and 15-13 drill intercepts represent the discovery and confirmation of a new gold zone that has grade/thickness profiles that are an order of magnitude greater than the gold zones in the existing Dark Star resource located 515 m to the south.

Jonathan Awde, chief executive officer and director of Gold Standard, commented: "We are in the early days of a significant discovery that represents a very strong gold system with extensive additional targets identified through surface mapping, sampling and geophysics yet to be drilled. The North Dark Star discovery will make a major contribution to our resource expansion objectives in 2016."

Key highlights of DS15-13 include:

• DS15-13 intersected vertically extensive, oxidized intercepts of 15.4 m of 1.85 g/t Au and 97.0 m of 1.61 g/t Au, approximately 515 m north of the Dark Star maiden resource, confirming the thick zone of oxidized gold mineralization originally identified by RC hole DS15-11.
• Higher-grade intervals exist within the 97.0 m zone, including 18.0 m of 3.36 g/t Au from 182.9 m to 200.9 m. Gold mineralization is open in multiple directions.
• Core confirms the presence of favourable carbonate host rocks -- bioclastic limestone, silty limestone and calcareous sandstone within a coarse conglomerate debris flow unit. This Pennsylvanian-Permian unit also hosts the Dark Star deposit to the south and represents a new, unconventional host on the Carlin trend. Regardless of age and convention, these carbonate rocks react in a chemically similar fashion to more known Carlin host formations in which early-stage decalcification (carbonate removal) is followed by silicification. Rocks of similar age and composition host large, disseminated gold deposits farther west in Nevada on the Getchell trend and in the Battle Mountain district.
• As is typical of core twins of RC holes, DS15-13 intersected higher gold grades over narrower intervals. Difficult drilling in strongly fractured rock and the presence of high gold grades appear to have resulted in the displacement of some of the gold in RC DS15-11 down the hole into the gap between 125.1 to 149.0 m and below 246.0 m.
• Gold mineralization is hosted in a multistage breccia, and is associated with limonite, decalcification, silicification, quartz stringers, drusy quartz, hematite, clay and barite. The brecciation is more pervasive and complex than is apparent in the DS15-11 reverse circulation cuttings.
• Mineralization occurs within a horst (uplifted block) of permissive host rocks in the footwall of a large-displacement normal fault. This favourable geologic pattern is a well-documented control to gold mineralization on the Carlin trend.

Mac Jackson, Gold Standard's vice-president of exploration, stated: "The North Dark Star discovery demonstrates the ability of Gold Standard Ventures to quickly add value through exploration. In a little over a year, we have consolidated land within the Dark Star corridor, created a new geologic model based on relogging, released a maiden resource estimate, defined targets and completed two phases of drilling resulting in a new discovery. The core from DS15-13 contains spectacular breccia textures and gaudy iron oxides, indicating that we are into a very strong oxidized gold system. In 2016, we will follow up by expanding the oxide gold zone intersected in the initial discovery holes at North Dark Star."

Phase 2 Dark Star drilling, which included 3,480 m in eight holes, was designed to:

• Extend areas of known gold mineralization along strike of the Dark Star structural corridor to the north of DS15-03, a phase 1 drill hole that intersected two zones of gold mineralization, including 32.0 m of 0.58 g/t Au and 21.3 m of 1.90 g/t Au (see news release dated July 28, 2015);
• Follow-up on 15.2 m of 0.62 g/t Au in DS15-05 (see news release dated July 28, 2015), the initial test of the updip potential to the east of an existing historic intercept in WR9105 in the area of the North Dark Star discovery;
• Test the intersection of the district-scale South fault and the Dark Star structural corridor to the south of the Dark Star holes.

Gold at Dark Star occurs in an underappreciated host rock for the Carlin trend, a Pennsylvanian-Permian unit composed of bioclastic-bearing debris flow conglomerate with interbeds of calcareous sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. These rocks dip to the west within the north-trending Dark Star structural corridor, which is bounded to the east by a large displacement, normal fault. Phase 2 intercepts in DS15-06, -09, -10, -11 and -13 confirm the upside exploration and expansion potential within the Dark Star structural corridor, north of the Dark Star maiden resource. Further, the six-kilometre strike length of the Dark Star structural corridor, as defined by geologic mapping, geophysics and soil geochemistry, remains largely untested by drilling.

Dark Star drill results are as shown in the table.

         RAILROAD-PINION DRILL RESULTS

Drill hole     Intercept   Thickness       Grade
                      (m)         (m)    (g/t Au)

DS15-13        88.4-92.4         4.0        0.18
             101.0-104.5         3.5        0.14
             109.7-125.1        15.4        1.85
Including    115.8-120.5         4.7        5.21
             142.7-144.0         1.3        0.23
             149.0-246.0        97.0        1.61
Including    173.0-233.5        60.5        2.23
DS15-12        21.3-27.4         6.1        0.42
                                                                            
Gold intervals reported in the table were 
calculated using a 0.14 g/t Au cut-off. Weighted 
averaging has been used to calculate all 
reported intervals. True widths are estimated at 
70 to 95 per cent of drilled thicknesses.

Gold Standard will present core from this new discovery at the Mineral Exploration Roundup 2016 Core Shack in Vancouver, B.C. Core from DS15-13 will be displayed on Monday, Jan. 25, and Tuesday, Jan. 26, in Booth 719.

Sampling methodology, chain of custody, quality assurance and quality control

All sampling was conducted under the supervision of the company's project geologists and the chain of custody from the drill to the sample preparation facility was continuously monitored. A blank or certified reference material was inserted approximately every 10th sample. The Dark Star core samples were delivered to Bureau Veritas Mineral Laboratories preparation facility in Elko, Nev. The samples are crushed, pulverized and sample pulps are shipped to Bureau Veritas certified laboratory in Sparks, Nev., or Vancouver, B.C. Pulps are digested and analyzed for gold using fire assay fusion and an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) finish on a 30-gram split. All other elements are determined by ICP analysis. Data verification of the analytical results includes a statistical analysis of the standards and blanks that must pass certain parameters for acceptance to insure accurate and verifiable results.

The scientific and technical content and interpretations contained in this news release have been reviewed, verified and approved by Steven R. Koehler, Gold Standard's manager of projects, BSc, geology, CPG-10216, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

We seek Safe Harbor.