Pilot Gold Kicks Off 17,000-Metre 2014 Drill Program at Kinsley Mountain

Winter program targets Western Flank discovery and Right Spot target

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jan 16, 2014) - Pilot Gold Inc. (TSX:PLG) ("Pilot Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a 17,000-metre, $4.5-million drill program at Kinsley Mountain for 2014. The initial 3,700-metre winter program begins January 18, 2014 and will focus on infilling and extending the Western Flank discovery towards the Right Spot target, where host rocks returned significant gold in road cut sampling. Drill results from the Western Flank and Right Spot sampling suggest that the targets may result in a gold mineralized zone stretching more than one kilometre.

"2013 was a pivotal year at Kinsley Mountain, with a new high grade discovery at the Western Flank target and 'proof of concept' of Pilot Gold's exploration model," said Dr. Moira Smith, Chief Geologist, Pilot Gold. "The 2014 exploration program is designed to build on our success to date, demonstrate the district scale potential of Kinsley and reinforce its status as the leading exploration project in Nevada."

2013 drill highlights from Kinsley Mountain include:

• 8.53 g/t gold (Au) over 36.6 metres in PK091CA, including
  • 29.4 g/t Au over 7.6 metres
• 5.00 g/t Au over 7.6 metres and 4.71 g/t over 7.3 metres in PK096C
• 2.50 g/t Au over 24.4 metres in PK104C
• 1.65 g/t Au over 24.4 metres in PK074
• 6.34 g/t Au over 5.9 metres in PK106C, including
  • 9.91 g/t Au over 3.4 metres

Additional 2014 exploration drilling will focus on targets south of the Western Flank and past producing Kinsley Mine where prior drilling, geologic mapping and geochemistry defined a series of robust targets hosted in the Candland Shale and Secret Canyon Shale. Candland Shale is a historically exploited regional gold host while the underlying Secret Canyon Shale provides a new host horizon discovered last year, with drill hole PK091CA. Targets will be drilled within the historic mine area, where the Secret Canyon Shale remains untested. These southern targets are drill ready and permitted under the existing Kinsley Plan of Operations.

Drill testing of priority exploration targets up to seven kilometres north of the Kinsley Mine will occur upon receipt of an Amended Plan of Operations. Large geochemical anomalies, strong gold values in surface rock samples and extensive geologic mapping have confirmed the presence of key structures and regional stratigraphic gold hosts at 'Kinsley North' and defined drill targets. An amendment to the existing Plan of Operations was submitted on November 6, 2013.

Pilot Gold holds an approximately 78% interest in Kinsley. Intor Resources Corporation ("Intor"), a subsidiary of Nevada Sunrise Gold Corp., is the Company's joint venture partner at Kinsley. Intor has notified Pilot Gold of its intention to fund its $941,000 share of the proposed program in 2014.

ABOUT KINSLEY MOUNTAIN

Kinsley Mountain hosts near-surface mineralization similar to other Carlin-style, sediment-hosted gold systems along a 2.2 kilometre trend. The property consists of 380 claims and 7,650 acres (3,095 hectares) on U.S. Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") land, and hosts a past-producing mine with an extensive exploration database and numerous, untested gold targets. Gold mineralization is primarily oxidized and occurs in stratiform zones and fault collapse breccias within a sequence of Cambrian-Ordovician shelf carbonates. At depth, Pilot Gold has also drilled high-grade transitional and sulfide mineralization.

Kinsley Mountain is an early-stage exploration project and does not contain any mineral resource estimates as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The potential quantities and grades disclosed herein are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource for the targets disclosed herein. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in these targets being delineated as a mineral resource.

Moira Smith, Ph.D., P.Geo., Chief Geologist, Pilot Gold, is the Company's designated Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of NI 43-101 and has reviewed and validated that the technical information contained in the release is accurate. Drill composites were calculated using a cut-off of 0.20 g/t. Drill intersections are reported as drilled thicknesses. True widths of the mineralized intervals are interpreted to be between 30-100% of the reported lengths. Drill samples were assayed by ALS Chemex (ISO9001:2000) in Reno, Nevada for gold by Fire Assay of a 30 gram (1 assay ton) charge with an AA finish, or if over 5.0 g/t were re-assayed and completed with a gravimetric finish. For these samples, the gravimetric data were utilized in calculating gold intersections. For any samples assaying over 0.200 ppm an addition cyanide leach analysis is done where the sample is treated with a 0.25% NaCN solution and rolled for an hour. An aliquot of the final leach solution is then centrifuged and analyzed by AAS. QA/QC for all drill samples consists of the insertion and continual monitoring of numerous standards and blanks into the sample stream, and the collection of duplicate samples at random intervals within each batch. Selected holes are also analyzed for a 51 multi-element geochemical suite by ICP-MS.

Further information is available in the technical report entitled "Technical Report on the Kinsley Project, Elko County, Nevada, U.S.A.", effective February 15, 2012 and dated March 26, 2012, prepared by Michael M. Gustin, CPG of Mine Development Associates and Moira Smith, Ph.D., P.Geo. and Kent Samuelson of Pilot Gold, under the Company's Issuer Profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

ABOUT PILOT GOLD

Pilot Gold is a well-funded gold exploration company led by a proven technical team that continues to discover and define high-quality projects featuring strong grades, meaningful size and mining-friendly addresses. Our three key assets include interests in the TV Tower and Halilaga projects in Turkey, and the Kinsley project in Nevada, each of which has the ability to become a foundational asset. We also have a pipeline of projects characterized by large land positions and district-wide potential that can meet our growth needs for years to come.

For more information, visit www.pilotgold.com.

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to Pilot Gold within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements that address timing of exploration and development plans at the Company's mineral projects. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "planned", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions, or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made including, among others, assumptions about future prices of gold, copper, silver and other metal prices, currency exchange rates and interest rates, favourable operating conditions, political stability, obtaining governmental approvals and financing on time, obtaining renewals for existing licences and permits and obtaining required licences and permits, labour stability, stability in market conditions, availability of equipment, accuracy of any mineral resources and mineral reserves, successful resolution of disputes and anticipated costs and expenditures. Many assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Pilot Gold and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.

Such forward-looking information, including, but not limited to, statements that address reserve potential, potential quantity and/or grade of minerals, potential size of a mineralized zone, potential expansion of mineralization, the timing and results of future resource estimates, proposed timing of exploration and development plans at the Company's mineral projects, and the estimation of mineral reserves and resources involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of Pilot Gold to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.

Such factors include, among others, risks related to the interpretation of results at certain of our exploration properties, reliance on technical information provided by our joint venture partners or other third parties as related to any of our exploration properties; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; successfully completing the earn-in on the TV Tower project; current economic conditions; future prices of commodities; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; current and proposed exploration and development; the costs and timing of the development of new deposits; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; uses of funds in general including future capital expenditures, exploration expenditures and other expenses for specific operations; the timing and success of exploration activities generally; delays in permitting; satisfaction of Turkish requirements relating to the periodic submissions of Environmental Impact Assessments; possible claims against the Company or its joint venture partners; labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, financing or in the completion of exploration as well as those factors discussed in the Annual Information Form of the Company dated March 27, 2013 (the "AIF") in the section entitled "Risk Factors", under Pilot Gold's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Although Pilot Gold has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Pilot Gold disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Further details relating to Pilot Gold are also available in the AIF, available under Pilot Gold's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.