Great Basin Gold Ltd.: Exhibit 99.1 - Filed by newsfilecorp.com
 |
1108-1030 West Georgia St.
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6E 2Y3
Toll Free: 1
888-633-9332
South Africa: 27 (0) 11 301 1800
www.grtbasin.com |
GREAT BASIN GOLD ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF NEW
DIRECTORS
May 16, 2011, Vancouver, BC - Great Basin Gold Ltd.
(“Great Basin” or the “Company”), (TSX: GBG; NYSE Amex: GBG; JSE: GBG) today
announced the appointment to the Board of three new Directors to its Board and
one new director to the Board of its subsidiary, all effective May 5, 2011.
ANU DHIR holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
University of Toronto, Canada, and a law degree (Juris Doctor) from Quinnipiac
University, Connecticut, USA. She was called to the Connecticut bar in 1995. Anu
has extensive experience in private equity and publicly-held companies in the
mining, oil and gas and technology sectors. She most recently served as Vice
President Corporate Development and Company Secretary at Katanga Mining Limited,
a TSX-listed company, and is currently Managing Director of Miniqs Limited, a
private group primarily interested in resource projects that have the capability
to grow into major producing operations.
OCTAVIA M. MATLOA is a registered accountant and auditor
with the South African Institute of Accountants and the Independent Regulatory
Board of Auditors respectively. She studied for her BCom, majoring in Accounting
and Economics at the University of Cape Town; and B.Com (Hons) and CTA at the
University of Pretoria. Octavia is a shareholder and director of Tsidkenu
Chartered Accountants Inc., Jireh Holdings, Mukundi Mining Resources, Bokkies
Transport, the Vibe Group; and Nissy Holdings. In addition she has been
appointed by court as the first woman curator in the insurance industry. She
served/serves on a number of public sector audit committees and has also won the
2010 Businesswoman of the year Van Ryn’s Black Business Quarterly Awards.
MAMETJA MOSHE holds a B.Com Hons (Accounting) degree
from the University of Kwazulu Natal and is a qualified chartered accountant
registered with the South African Institute of Accountants. She brings a wealth
of financial knowledge having worked in the mergers and acquisitions teams of
international banks focusing on mining and telecommunication companies. She has
been appointed to the board of Southgold Exploration (Pty) Ltd., the wholly
owned subsidiary of Great Basin Gold, and operator of the Burnstone Mine in
South Africa.
PHILIP KOTZE is a mining engineer with over 30 years of
experience in the mining industry, including both operations and executive
positions at AngloGold Limited, Kalahari Goldridge Mining Company Limited and
Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited. A graduate of the University of the
Witwatersrand with a Graduate Diploma in Engineering (Mining Economics), Mr
Kotze also holds a National Higher Diploma in Metalliferous Mining (WITS
Technikon) as well as qualifications in Industrial Relations and Management from
the University of South Africa.
Ronald Thiessen. Great Basin Gold Chairman commented: “On
behalf of the Board, I would like to welcome our new members to Great Basin and
Southgold, our operating subsidiary in South Africa. As you can see our new
Board members bring a breadth and depth of skills, knowledge and experience
which will be instrumental in providing guidance to our management and
representing our shareholders. Together we look forward to a very exciting
future as Great Basin Gold transitions to production and a quality mid-tier gold
producer.” Great Basin Gold is a mining company engaged in the exploration and
development of gold properties. The Company is currently focused on its two
emerging mines in the world’s two richest gold regions. The Hollister gold mine
is located on the Carlin Trend in Nevada, USA and the Burnstone gold mine is
located in the Witwatersrand Basin goldfield of South Africa.
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For additional details on Great Basin and its gold properties,
please visit the Company’s website at www.grtbasin.com
or contact Investor Services at:
| Tsholo Serunye in South Africa |
+27 (0) 11 301 1800 |
| Michael Curlook in North America |
+1 (888) 633 9332 |
| Barbara Cano at Breakstone Group in the USA |
+1 (646) 452 2334 |
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the
information contained in this news release.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed
“forward-looking statements”. All statements in this release, other than
statements of historical facts, that address possible future commercial
production, reserve potential, exploration drilling results, development,
feasibility or exploitation activities and events or developments that Great
Basin Gold expects to occur are forward-looking statements. Although the Company
believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based
on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those
in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market
prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization,
uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and
title and delays due to third party opposition, geopolitical uncertainty,
changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration
and exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing, and
general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that
any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and those actual
results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, Investors
should review the Company’s annual Form 40-F filing with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are
available at www.sedar.com.