REPORTS 100% INCREASE IN REVENUE

VANCOUVER, Aug. 4, 2011 /CNW/ - Great Basin Gold Ltd. ("Great Basin Gold" or the "Company"), (TSX: GBG; NYSE Amex: GBG; JSE: GBG) reports an operational update for the 3 months ended June 30, 2011. The Company will file its interim financial statements for Q2 2011 on August 15, 2011 and will hold an earnings call on August 16, 2011 at 9 am (EST).

Great Basin Gold returned a much improved quarter in respect of Au and Ag ounces sold which combined with an expected improvement in cash costs should allow the Company to report adjusted earnings per share for the quarter (Q1 2011: adjusted loss per share of $0.01).

Hollister
The Nevada operations recorded $49 million in revenue during the quarter on record sales of 34,522 Au eqv1 oz, an increase of 100% quarter on quarter. During the continuing construction and installation of the acid wash and carbon regeneration system at the Esmeralda Mill, loaded carbon is sent to the refiner as opposed to dore. Improved refining terms resulted in a decrease of approximately 5,000 Au eqv oz in inventory held at the refiner from Q1 2011. The Esmeralda Mill treated 22,237 tonnes during the quarter (Q1 2011:21,634) with a marked improvement in Au and Ag recoveries of 95% and 75%. Cash production costs for the quarter is expected to improve a further 8% quarter on quarter to approximately $611 per Au eqv oz in Q2 2011.

Underground exploration and stope delineation drilling continued during the quarter, with a record footage of 45,000 feet or 13,636 meters completed from 84 boreholes. The focus has been on completing phases of drilling on the Blanket Zone and south east Gwenivere targets, providing further data for incorporation in the upcoming mineral resource update (anticipated release date September 2011). The stope delineation drilling has continued to tighten up controls for short interval trial stope planning. Surface exploration has continued collating geological and geophysical data as well as reviewing surface expressions of interpretations with structural and geological observations.

Burnstone
Operational efficiencies at Burnstone improved significantly with mechanized ore development increasing by 33% quarter on quarter to 1,550 meters in addition to 1,872 meters of waste development completed during the quarter. The increase in ore development allowed for an increase of 36% in the square meters stoped quarter on quarter. Despite the relatively close drill spacing in the current mining area, the exact position and orientation of geological faults could not be identified earlier as most of these are of a graben nature. Additional infill and delineation drilling as well as extensive mapping and interpretation of the structural information from the over 10 kilometers of underground development, now provides management with more detailed data to incorporate these faulting into the mine plan. An additional 66% waste development was completed during the 6 months ended June 30, 2011 in response to the geological faulting encountered compared with the original planned meters.

Excellent progress has been made with long hole stoping as the mining method, with the efficiency of the teams improving on a monthly basis. The improved hanging and footwall conditions experienced in the C block allowed for a significant improvement in decreasing the stoping width which was measured as low as 67 cm in some stopes. This also had a positive impact on the mining grade of stope material which improved 60% from Q1 2011.

The Metallurgical Plant is performing in line with expectation with approximately 202,660 tonnes processed during the quarter (Q1 2011:199,878 tonnes).Tonnes processed however remain predominantly from development ore which includes more dilution than stoped material and negatively impacts on the mill head grade. Recoveries for the quarter improved to 85% (Q1 2011:83%) although still impacted by the low head grade ore delivered to the mill.

Recoveries are expected to improve to the planned 95% as the head grade increases. The impact of the lower head grade is reflected in the 5,619 Au ounces sold (Q1 2011:2,794 Au eqv oz) as well as the cash production cost per ounce of approximately $1,450 (ZAR 10,130) expected for the quarter. During the build-up phase a more accurate measurement is cost per tonne which improved 12% to approximately $60 (ZAR420) (Q1 2011:$68) per tonne for the quarter.