Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, December 13, 2012 - Columbus Gold Corporation (CGT: TSX-V - “Columbus Gold”) is pleased to announce results of the final drill hole MO 12-99 of its recently completed Phase I drilling program at the Montagne d’Or gold deposit on its 100% owned Paul Isnard Project in French Guiana. The Phase I drilling program consisted of 45 diamond core holes totaling 15,824 metres. Drill hole MO 12-99 was a step-out hole, located 150 metres west of the earlier drilling which outlined a 43-101 compliant inferred gold resource of 1.9 million ounces within 36 million tonnes grading 1.6 gpt gold. MO 12-99 intercepted a 40 metre interval averaging 1.07 grams per tonne gold (31 metres averaging 1.35 gpt gold after removal of two internal post-mineral dikes) within the principal Upper Felsic (UFZ) mineralized zone.

Columbus Gold considers drill hole MO 12-99 particularly important since it has significantly increased potential of the Montagne d’Or deposit outside the originally defined 1.9 million ounce mineralized envelope and resource area where the other Phase I drill holes focused on resource expansion internally and immediately below the defined deposit.

As reported via news release on November 22, 2012, Columbus Gold announced the results of the other thirty one diamond core holes that formed the Phase I program: MO 12-74 to 98 and 100 to 105 totaling 10,873.65 metres. The holes were laid-out to confirm and expand, internally, along strike and at depth, the Montagne d’Or gold deposit within which earlier widely spaced holes had outlined a 43-101 compliant inferred resource of 1.9 million ounces gold within 36 million tonnes grading 1.6 gpt gold.

Except for two short holes drilled south into the hangwall of the known mineralization all holes from the Phase I program contain significant gold intercepts, generally consistent with earlier results, within the principal UFZ and Lower Favorable (LFZ) mineral zones defined by the original work. Of particular note are drill hole MO 12-92 with 53 metres grading 4.37 gpt gold (3.86 gpt cut to 31.1 gpt) within 113 metres averaging 2.43 gpt gold (2.17 cut) in UFZ and drill hole MO 12-78 with 29 metres grading 2.51 gpt gold in LFZ.

To view the Phase I Assay Table: http://www.columbusgoldcorp.com/i/nr/2012-12-13-table.pdf

To view the Phase I Drill Plan and Cross Sections: http://www.columbusgoldcorp.com/i/nr/2012-12-13-sections.pdf

With the Phase I drill program at Paul Isnard now complete, Columbus Gold is commissioning a resource update and reviewing and interpreting full drill results in preparation for implementation of a planned Phase II program, for a further ±15,000 metres, designed to further expand the Montagne d’Or gold deposit and convert inferred resources to an indicated category.

The Montagne d’Or gold deposit is made up of multiple east-west striking, south-dipping bands of gold mineralization, including the principal UFZ and LFZ with an aggregate average thickness of about 70 metres, which have now been traced by drilling for a strike length of 2,250 metres and a vertical depth in excess of 200 metres. The zones remain open in part along strike and at depth. Lower grade bands of mineralization also occur above and below the principal UFZ and LFZ but are less well defined.

Columbus Gold’s independent consultant and Qualified Person, John Prochnau (P. Geo), B.Sc. (Mining Engineering), M.Sc. (Geology), has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

About Columbus Gold

Columbus Gold is a gold exploration and development company operating in French Guiana and Nevada. In French Guiana, Columbus Gold controls a 100% interest in the Paul Isnard gold project, which hosts a 43-101 compliant 1.9 million ounce inferred gold resource with substantial expansion potential. In Nevada, Columbus is a prolific project generator focused on advancing projects either through earn-in agreements to industry partners or on its own where exploration risk is minimized and potential is particularly promising. Columbus Gold’s President, Andy Wallace has a long and successful history of gold discovery and mine development. Columbus currently has 11 of its 24 strategically located gold projects in Nevada farmed-out to various mining companies.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

Robert F. Giustra
Chairman & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information contact:

Investor Relations
604-634-0970 or
1-888-818-1364
info@columbusgoldcorp.com

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking information and statements, as defined by law including without limitation Canadian securities laws and the “safe harbor” provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“forward-looking statements”), respecting drilling, and Columbus Gold’s general exploration plans. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including without limitation, the ability to acquire necessary permits and other authorizations; environmental compliance; cost increases; availability of qualified workers and drill equipment; competition for mining properties; risks associated with exploration projects, mineral reserve and resource estimates (including the risk of assumption and methodology errors); dependence on third parties for services; non-performance by contractual counterparties; title risks; and general business and economic conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including without limitation assumptions about: the design of the drill plan; general business and economic conditions; the timing and receipt of required approvals; availability of financing; power prices; ability to procure equipment and supplies including without limitation drill rigs; and ongoing relations with employees, partners and joint venturers. The foregoing list is not exhaustive and Columbus Gold undertakes no obligation to update any of the foregoing except as required by law.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

The technical information herein has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 by John Prochnau, an independent consultant of Columbus Gold and the Qualified Person for the Paul Isnard project (the “QP”). For additional information regarding the Paul Isnard project, please see the Technical Report on Columbus Gold’s website at www.columbusgoldcorp.com. (The NI 43-101-compliant technical report on the Paul Isnard Project entitled “Updated NI 43-101 Technical Report, Paul Isnard Project, French Guiana” dated effective February 1, 2012 and updated February 21, 2012, prepared by Bart A. Stryhas C.P.G. Ph.D. of SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc., who is independent of Columbus Gold.)

Mr. Prochnau is responsible for quality control at the Paul Isnard project and has verified the data being disclosed herein, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information or opinions contained in the written disclosure, in consultation with Andre Adam, a Columbus Gold geologist and the Country Manager in French Guiana. The QP personally verifies the results of the quality assurance and quality control samples. The data presented herein was verified as follows: drill assay data and the average intercepts of gold mineralization were inspected, plotted on geological log sheets, averaged manually and checked electronically to produce the drill result released. The drill hole was also plotted on the relevant cross section with existing drill holes, to confirm and validate the interpreted mineralized zones, for purposes of correlation, in the released information. All blank samples and standards were verified against existing standards, and then the blank samples and standards of the lab were verified. Each sample is one meter long, and all standards were found to be within acceptable limits. Gold values were compared with the logging of the rocks by an experienced professional geologist and to the presence of visible alteration and mineralization and percentage of sulfide in this type of mineralization (disseminated to semi-massive sulfides and occasionally massive sulfide, also visible gold), and a strong correlation between amount of sulfides and amount of gold was found. Columbus Gold uses the laboratory of FILAB Suriname with respect to the analysis of its samples, and the processing, handling, documentation, archiving and reporting procedures are in accordance with common procedures in the mining industry. Mr. Adam and other Columbus Gold geologists or technicians are on site during drilling, examining individual drill holes and observing the procedures to maintain chain of custody of the samples and the method of processing. The drill hole was completed at Montagne d’Or, logged by professional and experienced geologists, and then sawn to measurements, taken from the drill hole whose collar location has been surveyed using hand-held GPS.

The location of drill holes will be verified by an independent topographic mapping and surveying company. The drill holes have also been surveyed from top to bottom using industry-standard, down-hole surveying techniques with equipment provided by the drill contractor. The drill core is sawn in half along the length after geological logging, and samples are bagged for analysis in one meter increments. The saprolite material, a minor portion of the drill holes, is put in textile bags by meter, the rock is put in plastic bags and sealed. 10 samples are then combined for shipping in larger bags. All of the samples are sent from the drill site in plastic boxes, covered and sent 5km to the camp every day, from the camp to Cayenne by road or by air, and then FILAB transports the samples every Thursday to Paramaribo, the location of the geochemical lab. Only a few of the one meter samples exceed 31.1 g/t Au and these are cut to 31.1 g/t and reported both cut and uncut. Drill work is done by Performax, a Canadian company, by qualified workers, and drill recovery is very good, averaging 82% in the saprolite (20-30 metres in each drill hole) and 98% in the rock. The presence of faults is very rare. The samples are tested at FILAB, which is an independent laboratory working for a number of mining companies and which has no other relationship with Columbus Gold. FILAB takes samples of approximately 2kg size, which are dried, crushed totally (to a size of less than 3mm), divided, or split to 300g, which is then pulverized to less than 100 microns. The samples are fire assayed with a finish by Flame AAS. 30 grams of rock powder is used for each analysis.

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors 

This news release includes certain estimates that comply with reporting standards in Canada, in particular with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”), a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators to establish standards for public disclosure concerning mineral projects. These standards differ significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and resource information contained herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by United States companies. Certain documents disclosed Columbus Gold, including without limitation this news release, contain the term “inferred mineral resource” to comply with reporting standards in Canada. We advise United States investors that while this term is recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the SEC does not recognize it. United States investors are cautioned: (i) that the aforementioned term has a great amount of uncertainty as to its existence and as to its economic and legal feasibility; and (ii) not to assume that all or any part of the inferred resource exists. United States investors are urged to closely review the additional warnings and disclosure contained under the heading “Cautionary Note to United States Investors” in our Final Short Form Prospectus dated May 11, 2012, a copy of which may be obtained from Columbus Gold or downloaded from Columbus Gold’s profile at www.SEDAR.com.