Golden Star Resources Restarts Its Oxide Plant at Bogoso/Prestea Mine

DENVER, CO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/01/12 -- Golden Star Resources Ltd. (NYSE Amex: GSS) (TSX: GSC) (GHANA: GSR) ('Golden Star' or the 'Company') today announced the re-commissioning of its oxide (non refractory) plant at Bogoso/Prestea Mine. The plant is expected to generate up to 70,000 ounces of gold in 2012.

The Bogoso/Prestea oxide plant operated from 1990 to 2008 until a lack of oxide ore required the plant to be put on care and maintenance. Since that time, the comminution and flotation circuits have been operated periodically to supplement flotation concentrate supply to the BIOX® circuit. As a consequence of further drilling at the Pampe deposit, located 26km west of the Bogoso/Prestea plant, mining operations recommenced at Pampe in August 2011, predominantly mining a pushback of the waste in order to access further ore at depth and along strike. The stockpile of non-refractory and transition ore totals over 129,000 tonnes grading approximately 2.2 grams per tonne (g/t). Since July 2011, the oxide plant has been refurbished from the crusher to the carbon treatment and gold room circuits at a capital cost of approximately $3 million. Cold commissioning of the oxide mill began on January 9, 2012, followed by hot commissioning (ore being introduced to the SAG mill) on January 18, 2012. The first gold pour from the refurbished oxide mill is expected in February 2012.

Tom Mair, President and CEO, commented, 'We are pleased to announce the next phase of oxide ore production at Bogoso/Prestea. With a steady supply of non-refractory ore from Pampe and other active pits, and retreatment of tailings, we expect oxide gold production at Bogoso/Prestea to continue for at least the next seven years, beginning with up to 70,000 ounces in 2012.'

Production Guidance for 2012
With the addition of production from the oxide mill at Bogoso, Golden Star's total production is expected to rise from 301,000 ounces in 2011 to between 350,000 and 370,000 ounces in 2012. In recent months power supplied by the Ghana government utility has been unreliable and it is anticipated that power interruptions will continue during the year. Reasonable adjustments have been made to allow for such interruptions but there can be no guarantee that interruptions will not increase during the year. Bogoso management will take over operation of the GENSER standby power facility in mid-February.

Despite power interruptions, operations at Wassa and Bogoso are on target for production through January. Combined production for the first quarter is expected to be 79,000 ounces. The full impact of the oxide mill will not be reflected in production until the second quarter.

COMPANY PROFILE

Golden Star Resources holds the largest land package in one of the world's largest and most prolific gold producing regions. The Company holds a 90% equity interest in Golden Star (Bogoso/Prestea) Limited and Golden Star (Wassa) Limited, which respectively own the Bogoso/Prestea and Wassa/HBB open-pit gold mines in Ghana, West Africa. In addition, Golden Star has an 81% interest in the currently inactive Prestea Underground mine in Ghana, as well as gold exploration interests elsewhere in Ghana, in other parts of West Africa and in Brazil in South America. Golden Star has approximately 259 million shares outstanding. Additional information is available at www.gsr.com.

Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information: Some statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Specifically, statements in this news release regarding 2012 and future gold production from combined operations and from the Bogoso/Prestea oxide plant, the expected duration of gold production from the Bogoso/Prestea oxide plant, the anticipated retreatment of tailings, the future mining at the Pampe pit, the ongoing permitting process for the Prestea South and Mampon pits, potential increases in power interruptions, adjustments made for such interruptions, and plans for Bogoso management to take over operation of the GENSER standby power facility are forward looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include timing of and unexpected events at the Bogoso/Prestea oxide and sulfide processing plants; variations in ore grade, tonnes mined, crushed or milled; variations in relative amounts of refractory, non-refractory and transition ores; delay or failure to receive board or government approvals and permits; the availability and cost of electrical power; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; technical, permitting, mining or processing issues; changes in U.S. and Canadian securities markets; and fluctuations in gold price and costs and general economic conditions. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. Please refer to the discussion of these and other factors in our Form 10-K for 2010 and subsequent Forms 10-Q for 2011 and other filings of the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities. The forecasts contained in this press release constitute management's current estimates, as of the date of this press release, with respect to the matters covered thereby. We expect that these estimates will change as new information is received and that actual results will vary from these estimates, possibly by material amounts. While we may elect to update these estimates at any time, we do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event. Investors and others should not assume that any forecasts in this press release represent management's estimate as of any date other than the date of this press release.

For further information, please contact:

GOLDEN STAR RESOURCES LTD.
Bruce Higson-Smith

Senior Vice President, Finance and Corporate Development

1-800-553-8436

INVESTOR RELATIONS
Jay Pfeiffer

Pfeiffer High Investor Relations, Inc.

303-393-7044