Nighthawk Commences 2014 Drill Program at Indin Lake Gold Property

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jul 8, 2014) - Nighthawk Gold Corp. ("Nighthawk") (TSX VENTURE:NHK) is pleased to announce its 2014 drill program at its Indin Lake Gold Property (Figure 1) in the Northwest Territories.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• 14,000 metre drill program is underway on the Colomac Main, Goldcrest, Cass and Kim gold deposits;

• Represents Nighthawk's first drilling at Goldcrest, Cass and Kim;

• Two drill rigs are scheduled to complete 8,000 metres of resource expansion drilling at the Goldcrest (6,000 metres) and Colomac Main gold deposits (2,000 metres);

• Goldcrest drilling will focus on verifying and expanding on previous shallow, higher grade gold intersections that are open to depth;

• Colomac Main drilling will aim to expand Zones 2.0 and 2.5 down plunge of previously drilled higher grade shoots;

• A third rig will drill the Cass (4,000 metres) and Kim (2,000 metres) gold deposits (20 kilometres southwest of Colomac) to confirm historic high-grade intersections at Cass and to extend mineralization to depth and laterally; and

• Reported historic gold intersections at Cass (March 26, 2014; April 10, 2014; April 24, 2014 news release) establish its potential as a near-surface, bulk-mineable opportunity that hosts significant grades over sizeable widths.

Nighthawk President and CEO, David Wiley, commented, "Our focus for the 2014 drill program will be to expand and upgrade our current NI 43-101 Inferred Mineral Resource estimate. We are particularly looking forward to our first drill programs at the Goldcrest, Cass and Kim gold deposits, and we remain highly optimistic of their resource expansion potential. We anticipate the Cass deposit's high-grade gold shoots will form the basis for a new resource estimate to complement our existing resource at Colomac."

Goldcrest

Goldcrest represents a 2.7+ kilometre mineralized mafic sill similar to the Colomac intrusion located 400 metres to the east. Goldcrest is a primary candidate for resource expansion and hosts the highest average grade in the current resource estimate at 2.19 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold (June 17, 2013 news release); historic drilling was limited to a depth of 100 metres. A 6,000 metre drill program is planned to fully evaluate this opportunity as historic drilling shows both improving grade and development of significant mineralized widths with depth.

Colomac Main

A 2,000 metre drill program on Zones 2.0 and 2.5 is intended to confirm the plunge of the higher grade gold shoots (June 20, 2012 news release). This work will also lay the foundation for a subsequent winter program by expanding down plunge target opportunities that are best drilled from frozen lake setups.

Cass

The Cass deposit is connected by road to Colomac (located 20 kilometres to the northeast). Mineralization is characterized by stockwork quartz-carbonate veins with minor pyrrhotite and lesser pyrite and arsenopyrite within a northeast trending, moderate to strongly foliated gabbroic intrusion. Approximately 13,500 metres of historic drilling traced the mineralization over a strike length of 360 metres and to a depth of 210 metres. The deposit remains open in all directions.

A 4,000 metre drill program will aim to trace and expand on the historically reported high-grade intersections (March 26, 2014; April 10, 2014; April 24, 2014 news release) to depth and along strike. Detailed mapping and sampling of trenches along possible lateral extensions of the deposit will also be carried out to help generate additional drill targets.

The Cass style of mineralization points to the largely untested potential for discovery of significant gold mineralization in other gabbroic bodies such as those hosting the underexplored and nearby Raspberry and Albatross gold occurrences. In addition, similar showings have been located throughout the Indin Lake Gold Belt and represent priority exploration targets to be assessed in the 2014 field program.

Kim

The Kim deposit (located approximately 15 kilometres by road to the southwest of Colomac) lies within a sequence of northerly striking, steeply dipping, mafic to intermediate volcanic rocks. Mineralization is reportedly hosted by intercalated, massive and pillowed mafic volcanic units that have been traced over a strike length of 650 metres and to depths of up to 150 metres. A 2,000 metre drill program is planned to confirm and extend the shallow mineralization to depth and along strike. Over 18,000 metres of historic Kim drill core is stored on site. Results from select historic holes will be released as they are finalized.

To view Figure 1, click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/956198m.pdf

Nighthawk Gold Corp.

Nighthawk is a Canadian-based exploration company focused on acquiring and developing gold mineral properties in the Northwest Territories. Its primary land position covers 229,791 acres or 930 square kilometres in the Indin Lake Gold Camp and includes an Inferred Mineral Resource estimate of 39.815 million tonnes with an average grade of 1.64 g/t gold for 2.101 million ounces gold using a cut-off grade of 0.6 g/t gold.

The technical aspects of this press release have been reviewed by Michael Byron, Ph.D., P.Geo., Chief Geologist and Director for Nighthawk, who is the "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101 for this project.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the timing of future drilling, the expansion of the mineralization, and the remediation of historic reclamation sites. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Nighthawk, including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and estimates, currency fluctuations, dependency upon regulatory approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.

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.