Great Basin Gold Ltd. (fka GBGLF)

[basserdan]

Great Basin Gold Concludes Agreement to Earn-In on Ganes Creek Property in Alaska, USA

Wednesday July 18, 9:00 am ET

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(MARKET WIRE)--Jul 18, 2007 -- Great Basin Gold Ltd. ("Great Basin Gold" or the "Company") (Toronto:GBG.TO - News)(AMEX:GBN - News)(JSE: GBGOLD) announces that a Letter of Intent ("LOI") was concluded on June 8, 2007, whereby the Company can earn an 80% interest in all hard rock mineral rights on the Ganes Creek Property in Alaska by making a total of US$3 million in exploration expenditures over a period of 3 years. The Ganes Creek Property is held by Clark/Wiltz Mining (CWM), based in Talkeetna, Alaska, USA.

Pursuant to the LOI, a minimum of US$800,000 in exploration expenditures need to be incurred in 2007; an additional US$1,000,000 in expenditures by the end of 2008; and a final US$1,200,000 in expenditures by the end of 2009. Great Basin Gold can also increase its interest in the property at a production decision by purchasing the remaining 20% at fair market value should CWM not wish to participate in any development costs. CWM would retain a 2% NSR of which 1% could be purchased by GBG for US$2 million.

The Ganes Creek Property is located in Alaska, 440 km northwest of Anchorage and 40 km northwest of McGrath. The property is situated in the Tintina Gold Belt, which hosts the 20 million ounce Donlin Creek Project, located some 110 km to the northeast and held by NovaGold Resources and Barrick Gold. The mineral rights held by CWM at Ganes Creek total 15,402 acres, comprising thirty-nine 40-acre state claims, seventy 160-acre state claims and fourteen federal patents, containing 90 patented claims with a total area of 2,628 acres.

The Ganes Creek Project occupies the western portion of a 19-km long area of gold anomalies, hard rock prospects and placer deposits aligned along the Yankee-Ganes Creek fault zone. The Yankee-Ganes Creek fault is sub-parallel to the major transcurrent Nixon-Iditarod fault. Regional geologic mapping has identified the eastern Innoko district (including Ganes Creek Project) as the structurally offset, northern extension of the Donlin trend of deposits and gold prospects. The Donlin trend is truncated by the Iditarod fault zone some 130 km (80 miles) to the southwest of the Ganes Creek Property.

Historical work on the property has identified intrusive-related gold showings as well as high grade shear- and vein-associated gold occurrences. Numerous showings are proximal to the regional Yankee-Ganes Creek fault, close to the eastern boundary of the property. Unverified historical production at the Independence Mine in the same area was reported to be 500 ounces gold at an average grade of 1 ounce gold per ton.

More recent work by Full Metal Minerals (2005), Placer Dome (1997) and Battle Mountain Gold (1990) includes drill-testing of anomalies along the ridge tops proximal to the Yankee-Ganes Creek fault as well as the identification of a number of additional anomalies. Great Basin Gold plans to focus on exploring the known showings and the under-explored areas near the valley floors where deeper cover makes interpretations more difficult. Initially, extensive trenching close to the valley floors is planned, followed up by drilling of any anomalies outlined.

President and CEO Ferdi Dippenaar said: "The agreement on the Ganes Creek Property further enhances Great Basin Gold's strategic objective of creating value and delivering growth through pursuing gold mining opportunities in North America and Southern Africa. Ganes Creek provides a strategic fit with our North American assets, as the extensive land package provides opportunity to identify high grade gold-bearing quartz veins and shear zones that could be mined in a similar fashion to the Hollister Project in Nevada. In line with our business model, the opportunity comes with the people who have the necessary technical capacity to manage the completion of the exploration program, and our Great Basin Gold management team will oversee the activities."

Gernot Wober, P.Geo, a qualified person and V.P. Exploration of Great Basin Gold, is monitoring the program on behalf of Great Basin Gold and has reviewed this news release.

Ferdi Dippenaar, President and CEO

For additional details on Great Basin and its gold properties, please visit the Company's website at www.grtbasin.com.

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