Pershing Gold Hires Timothy D. Arnold as Vice President of Operations

LAKEWOOD, Colo., Jan. 4, 2017 /CNW/ -- Pershing Gold Corp. (NASDAQ:PGLC) (TSX:PGLC) (FWB:7PG1) ("Pershing Gold" or the "Company"), an emerging Nevada gold producer, today announces that Timothy D. Arnold ("Arnold") has joined the Company as Vice President of Operations.

"We are extremely excited to have Tim Arnold join our operating team. He joins our strong operating group which includes Chief Operating Officer, Tim Janke, Senior Vice President, Debbie Struhsacker, Vice President and General Manager, Dan Moore, and the Company's other veteran team members. Arnold will add to our robust operations team of mining veterans with decades of experience in Nevada," commented Stephen D. Alfers, Pershing Gold CEO and Executive Chairman. "In his role as Vice President of Operations for Pershing Gold, Arnold will take a leadership position at the Company, and his many years of industry experience at all levels will be invaluable as we progress towards the reopening of the Relief Canyon Mine in Pershing County, NV."

Arnold is currently the President of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME), with his term ending in February 2017. He has more than 35 years mining experience with ten years as a General Manager of safe mines. Arnold has worked at all levels of mining operations including; laborer, contract miner, Shift Boss through Mine Superintendent, as well as Junior Engineer through Chief. He has held multiple leadership roles in his career including Senior Mining Consultant at Barr Engineering, Inc., Vice President Operations at Nevada Copper Corp., Executive VP and COO at Geovic Mining Corp., General Manager at the Mt. Hope and Liberty Mines for General Moly Inc. and Vice President and General Manager for the Kensington Gold Mine Project and the Rochester Project for Coeur d' Alene Mines Corporation. Arnold has a history of building strong management teams that work well together towards common goals.

Arnold holds an Executive MBA certification from Northwestern University's Kellogg Management Institute and a B.S. in Mining Engineering from the University of Idaho. He has published several professional articles, has received multiple awards and honors, is a Professional Engineer in Arizona and Nevada, and a Qualified Person in Canada and the United States. Additionally, Arnold served on the Board of Directors for the Nevada Mining Association and the Resource Development Council for Alaska and is currently a member of the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America and the Advisory Board for the Mackay School of Mines.

About Pershing Gold Corporation
Pershing Gold is an emerging gold producer whose primary asset is the Relief Canyon Mine in Pershing County, Nevada. Relief Canyon includes three historic open-pit mines and a state-of-the-art, fully permitted and constructed heap-leach processing facility. Pershing Gold is currently permitted to resume mining at Relief Canyon under the existing Plan of Operations.

Pershing Gold's landholdings cover approximately 25,000 acres that include the Relief Canyon Mine asset and lands surrounding the mine in all directions. This land package provides Pershing Gold with the opportunity to expand the Relief Canyon Mine deposit and to explore and make new discoveries on nearby lands.

Pershing Gold is listed on the NASDAQ Global Market and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PGLC and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 7PG1.

www.PershingGold.com

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SOURCE Pershing Gold Corp.