Gold Exploration in West Africa

[Ed Monton]

High River Gold Starts Drilling At Labola, Burkina Faso

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - May 5, 2005) - High River Gold Mines
Ltd. (TSX:HRG) ("High River" or the "Company") has approved expenditures
of US $450,000 for exploration work on four of its properties in Burkina
Faso for the month of May. Drilling has just started at the Labola
property located in southwestern Burkina Faso.

LABOLA PROPERTY

The Company is currently conducting 1,500 metres of reverse circulation
drilling in 16 holes and 1,440 metres of RAB drilling to test a series
of subparallel quartz veins traced over a strike length of 11 kilometres
within a 300 metre wide deformation corridor. The drilling is expected
to be completed by the end of May.

The area had significant artisanal mining with an estimated 5,000 local
people mining gold from these quartz veins from surface to a depth of 40
metres. Artisanal mining is still ongoing but at a lower rate than a few
months ago as more miners have reached the water table, making mining
nearly impossible. Based on the artisanal gold workings at surface, the
width of the zones varies from 5 to 50 metres. There are no quartz vein
outcrops left along the zones that are mined. There is one section of
1.7 kilometres in strike length with no artisanal workings due to thick
overburden (location of the RAB drilling fence).

In late 2004, the Company collected 186 rock samples along the different
mineralized zones as part of a reconnaissance programme on the license
area. These consisted of grab samples of quartz veins and enclosing wall
rocks left in piles next to the workings by the artisanal miners. The
average grade of 110 quartz vein samples returned 5.4 g/t gold (with a
maximum assay of 72.6 g/t gold) and an additional 52 samples of host
rock averaged 0.8 g/t gold. The Company's geologists are confident that
the grade of the quartz vein structures is underestimated as the
artisanal miners would select only quartz with visible gold (estimated
at greater than 20 g/t gold).

GANDI PROPERTY

The Gandi permit is situated 90 kilometres south-southwest of the
Taparko deposit. The Company started the following activities at the end
of April, which will continue throughout the month of May:

- Re-establishment of the grid around the Tanbyanga gold showing, which
has been extensively worked by artisanal mining;

- 540 metres of trenching in the area of a previous trench sample
returning 1.7 g/t over 16 metres

- Detailed soil sampling on the Tanbyanga grid; and

- Regional soil sampling (400 metres x 400 metres spacing) around the
Tanbyanga grid.

Assay results from a previous sampling campaign by the Company in the
area of the Tanbyanga showing had returned greater than 1 g/t gold for
38 samples with 12 of these assaying greater than 5 g/t gold to a
maximum of 69 g/t gold. A 40 metre long trench excavated at Tanbyanga
returned an intersection of 1.7 g/t gold over 16 metres (including 2.4
g/t gold over 8 metres) and another zone grading 1.2 g/t over 8 metres
was returned from sulphidic felsic intrusive rocks, which outcrop over a
distance of 200 metres. Both mineralized zones remain open along strike
and at depth.

BOUROUM GROUP PERMITS

These properties located near the Bouroum deposit are under an option
agreement with AXMIN Limited.

The Company is currently conducting a programme of 13 trenches totalling
1,630 linear metres at the Yeou 1, Yeou 2 and Yeou 3 prospects. At Yeou
3, where some artisinal mining has taken place, rock sampling assays
included 20 (of a total of 56) grading greater than 1 g/t gold, of which
eight samples assayed greater than 5 g/t gold. Yeou 3 has been traced
for over 1.5 kilometres along strike with geochemical and geophysical
anomalies indicating that the structure possibly extends to Yeou 1, a
total strike length of 6 kilometres.

On the Baola permit, compilation of past work performed nearly 10 years
ago by a previous operator resulted in outlining an area (13.4
kilometres long by 2 kilometres wide) of moderate to strong soil
geochemical anomalies in the extension of Bouroum's Welcome Stranger and
F-12 gold deposits. High River is re-establishing a grid over the area
for soil sampling and geological mapping. The work has started and is
expected to be completed in early June with the objective of having
drill targets ready for testing in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 for the exploration
programmes in Burkina Faso is Driffield Cameron, Vice President
Exploration for High River.

TAPARKO-BOUROUM PROJECT

The Company is currently advancing the construction of the
Taparko-Bouroum project scheduled for production in early 2006. A
progress report on the construction activities will be released next
week.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
High River Gold Mines Ltd.
Don Whalen
Chairman
[phone]
[phone] (FAX)
or
High River Gold Mines Ltd.
Laurie Gaborit
VP Investor Relations & Corporate Secretary
[phone]
[phone] (FAX)
[e-mail]
www.hrg.ca