Austral Gold Appoints Dr Diego Guido as Vice President of Exploration and Announces Preliminary Amancaya Exploration Results

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 6, 2016 / Austral Gold Ltd. (TSXV: AAM) (ASX: AGD) ('Austral' or the 'Company'), is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Diego Guido to the office of Vice-President of Exploration. Austral is also pleased to provide a summary of results from preliminary greenfield exploration activities on its Amancaya property, which appear to show the property hosts an extensive, mostly covered, vein field.

Dr Guido joins Austral Gold, effective October 1, 2016, as Vice-President of Exploration. He has worked as an independent advisor to mining and exploration companies in Argentina since 2002, and from 2006 to 2016 he was Chief Technical Advisor to Argentex Mining. He is Professor of Ore Deposits at La Plata University in Buenos Aires, a post he has held since 2009. Dr Guido supervises researchers, post-doctoral, PhD, masters and undergraduate students in Argentina and New Zealand universities and has published numerous scientific articles and technical reports.

The Company has doubled the strike length of the vein field at Amancaya from approximately 20 kilometres to at least 40 kilometres of known and inferred veins. The current high grade gold and silver Mineral Resource estimate for the advanced Amancaya project is hosted on just two veins as outlined in the NI 43-101 compliant amended and restated technical report titled 'Guanaco Gold Project, Antofagasta Province, Region II, Chile', dated June 30 2016, which has been filed on the Company's SEDAR profile www.sedar.com.

"I am very happy to announce the appointment of Dr Diego Guido as Vice-President of Exploration. Dr Guido is a recognised expert in epithermal systems, in particular in the prolific Massif Deseado in Santa Cruz, Argentina, and his academic and industry experience promises to add significant depth in our ongoing exploration of precious metal epithermal projects in Latin America," stated Stabro Kasaneva, CEO of Austral Gold. "The doubling of the known veins at Amancaya and its upgrade to a vein field are direct results of the exploration program he supervised as a consultant, and we are looking forward to similar success at our other projects."

Amancaya Exploration Update

Recent exploration activities at Amancaya have consisted of geological field mapping and quartz float train delineation in areas that are partially covered in alluvial material. The geological mapping has defined post-mineralisation units that are potentially covering parts of the vein system (see Figure 1). The exploration program has identified a number of previously unidentified potential structures through quartz float lineation coincident with geophysical features identified in preliminary geophysical surveys. Inferred and known structures have increased from a strike length of approximately 20 kilometres to a total of approximately 42 kilometres. Grab sampling results from these floats have returned anomalous mineralisation, with several samples grading over 2 g/t Au (see Figure 2) and Comp http://www.accesswire.com/uploads/22902_a1475725987981111.jpg any's website for full geochemical results: (see Table 1: Grab sample geochemistry- Amancaya).

Image: https://www.accesswire.com/uploads/22902_a1475725987981_1EDIT.jpg

Figure 2 Float Grab Sample Geochemistry: Amancaya Project

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A trenching program using a backhoe is currently underway in an effort to upgrade the Company's knowledge of the presence and nature of the inferred veins, concentrating on covered areas where grab samples from the float returned anomalous mineralisation. Sampling of the trenches will depend on success of trenches reaching outcrop. Detailed geophysics is being planned to help identify structures and narrow down on prospective structural settings coincident with geochemical anomalies. Subject to completion of the geophysical surveys and trench sampling results, the Company is hoping to commence first pass drilling in 2017.

Quality Assurance

Rock samples were collected and bagged and sent to the Actlabs laboratory in Coquimbo, Chile. There they were crushed and prepared. Gold assays were done using 1A2-30 code FA-AAS procedure on a 30g sample. Base metal assaying was done by multi-element 5AAS-07 AR-AAS 2g/100ml ICP-MS analysis. Samples over limit in silver, lead, zinc, and/or copper are reanalysed by a high detection limit ICP-ES analysis (7AR procedure). Activation Laboratories Ltd.is an ISO 17025 certified full-service commercial laboratory, with its head office located in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada.

Competent/Qualified Person's Statement

The exploration results were prepared in accordance with the standards set out in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' ("JORC Code") and in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 — Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators ("NI 43-101"). The JORC Code is the accepted reporting standard for the Australian Stock Exchange Limited ("ASX").

Information relating to Amancaya exploration results in this document has been verified by, is based on and fairly represents information compiled by or prepared under the supervision of Michael Brown, a Geologist and member of Australian Institute of GeoScientists and an employee of Austral Gold Ltd.. Mr Brown is a "qualified person" for the purposes of NI 43-101 and has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a "competent person" as defined in the JORC Code. For further scientific and technical information (including disclosure regarding Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves) relating to the Amancaya Project please refer to the NI 43-101 compliant technical report available at www.sedar.com under the Company's name.

About Austral Gold

Austral Gold Ltd. is a growing precious metals mining, development and exploration company building a portfolio of quality assets in Chile and Argentina. The Company's flagship Guanaco project in Chile is a low-cost gold and silver producing mine with further exploration upside. The company is also operator of the underground silver-gold Casposo mine in San Juan, Argentina. With an experienced local technical team and highly regarded major shareholder, Austral's goal is to continue to strengthen its asset base through acquisition and discovery. Austral Gold Ltd. is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV:AAM) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: AGD). For more information, please consult the company's website www.australgold.com.

Neither 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.

On behalf of Austral Gold Ltd.:

"Stabro Kasaneva"
President and CEO

Further information please contact:

Alison Crealy
info@australgold.com.au
+61 (2) 9380 7233

Mr Mike Brown
VP Corporate Development
mbrown@australgold.com.au
+1 604 568 2496

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Words such as "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "could", "potential", "should", "anticipates", "likely", "believes" and words of similar import also identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include management's belief that the Amanacaya project hosts an extensive, ostly covered, vein field, that Dr. Guido's academic and industry experience promises to add significant depth in Austral Gold's ongoing exploration of precious metal epithermal projects in Latin America, the Company's expectation that it will see results similar to those at Amancaya at its other properties, the Company's anticipation that the trenching program at Amancaya will help upgrade its knowledge of the inferred veins and its plans to conduct geophysics and a drill program, including the timing of that drill program. All of these forward-looking statements are based on management's assumptions and are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied, including, without limitation, uncertainty of production at the Company's other projects, development plans and cost estimates, commodity price fluctuations; political or economic instability and regulatory changes; currency fluctuations, the state of the capital markets, uncertainty in the measurement of mineral reserves and resource estimates, potential labour unrest, reclamation and closure requirements for mineral properties; the general (and unpredictable) risks and hazards related to the development and operation of a mine or mineral property, the availability of capital to fund all of the Company's projects and other risks and uncertainties identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's continuous disclosure documents filed on SEDAR. You are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. Austral cannot assure you that actual events, performance or results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and management's assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Austral's forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof and Austral does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Austral Gold Ltd.