Keegan Continues to Receive Excellent Results From the Esaase Gold Project Stepout and Infill Drilling Programs

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/13/10 -- Keegan Resources Inc. (TSX: KGN)(NYSE Amex: KGN) ('Keegan') is pleased to announce updated assay results from its Esaase drilling program in southwest Ghana. Keegan drilled significant intercepts in all 15 drill holes drilled either down or up dip from the existing resource, including 16 meters at 5.42 g/t Au, 43 meters of 1.81 g/t Au, and 100 meters of 0.78 g/t Au, as reported in Table 1. Please see a collar location map at www.keeganresources.com.

Table 1: Recent assay results from down and up dip step out drilling from Keegan's Esaase Project. Intercepts with grade-widths of approximately 40 g/t meter Au or higher are marked with (i). Widths are measured in actual drilled meters and grades are reported in g/t Au. All core holes are drilled at an azimuth of approximately 110 degrees at a dip of 45 degrees.

Hole ID       From    To Width Grade   Hole ID       From    To Width Grade
KEDD827        285   293     8  1.44   KERC834         45    66    21  1.38
KEDD827        364   392    28  0.88   including       46    47     1  11.3
including      366   367     1 14.45   KEDD835         25    39    14  0.87
KEDD828        238   271    33  0.87   KEDD835        166 171.5   5.5  0.95
KEDD829      189.8   205  15.2   1.7   KEDD835        251   278    27  1.22
including    189.8 190.9   1.1  18.1   KEDD835        323   330     7  1.09
KEDD829        236   254    18  0.58   KEDD836        184   191     7  2.05
KEDD829(i)     273   304    31  1.47   KEDD836        264   279    15  0.86
including(i)   301   302     1 17.35   KEDD851        187   204    17     1
KEDD829        316   343    27  0.68   including      187   188     1 11.15
KEDD830        130   138     8   2.1   KEDD860        170   180    10  0.57
including      131   132     1 10.55   KEDD860        218   228    10  0.84
KEDD830      216.2   247  30.8  0.72   KEDD860(i)     287   324    37  1.31
KEDD831         32    38     6  0.77   KEDD861        113   129    16  0.54
KEDD831(i)     178   278   100  0.78   KEDD861        176   186    10  0.66
including(i)   226   227     1 11.45   KEDD861        259   276    17  0.61
including(i)   255   256     1  23.7   KEDD861        304   327    23  0.81
KEDD831        330   339     9  1.08   KEDD862(i)     123   139    16  5.42
KEDD831        358   381    23   0.6   including(i)   126   127     1  51.1
KEDD832         17    38    21  0.51   KEDD862(i)     277   320    43  1.81
KEDD832(i)   234.9   275  40.1  1.54   including(i)   281   282     1 19.35
including(i)   245   246     1 15.95   and(i)         307   308     1  42.3
KERC833          4    26    22   0.6   KEDD863          0    28    28   0.7
KERC834          1    23    22  0.79   KEDD863        180   196    16  0.97
                                       KEDD863        326   346    20  1.11

Keegan is continuing to drill in prospective areas down dip from the existing resource as well as in the newly discovered D-1 extension area (see news dated September 8, 2010). Keegan continues to have two drills dedicated to expanding the resource and drilling new targets.

President and CEO Maurice Tagami states, 'These additional new assay results continue to demonstrate that higher grade mineralization is occurring in a wider area than previously delineated. These encouraging results will be utilized in our next Esaase resource estimate. In addition, we are excited about continuing to explore new targets such as the D-1 extension.'

Richard Haslinger, P. Eng. is the Qualified Person with respect to NI 43-101 at Esaase. RC samples were taken at one-meter intervals under dry drilling conditions by geologic and resource consultant Coffey Mining Inc. utilizing drilling and sampling techniques widely accepted in resource definition studies of other West African gold deposits. All reverse circulation drill samples are weighed on site. All samples are assayed using standard 50 gram fire assay with atomic absorption finish by ALS Chemex Labs in Kumasi, Ghana. QA/QC programs using internal and external standard samples, re-assays, and blanks indicate good accuracy and precision in a large majority of standards assayed. Repeatability in duplicate samples is generally within 10% variance. In instances where variance is greater than 10%, the assays from both samples are averaged. Intercepts were calculated to emphasize width rather than grade: a minimum of a 0.2 g/t cut off at beginning and end of the intercept and allowing for no more than six consecutive samples (six meters) of less than 0.2 g/t Au. Mineralization in the A structure strikes approximately 10 to 30 degrees east of north and dips 45 to 90 degrees to the west. Holes are drilled at 110 degrees azimuth and are inclined at 45 to 60 degrees, so true widths are estimated to be over 80% of the drilled widths. The techniques by which drill hole assays have been previously used in resource estimation at Esaase can be found in Keegan's most recent 43-101 technical report on www.sedar.com.

About Keegan Resources

Keegan is a junior gold company offering investors the opportunity to share ownership in the rapid exploration and development of high quality pure gold assets. The Company is focused on its wholly owned flagship Esaase project (2.28 Moz indicated resources with an average grade of 1.2 g/t Au at a 0.4 g/t Au cutoff and 1.65 million ounces in an inferred category at an average grade of 1.2 g/t Au applying a 0.4 g/t Au cut-off for a total inferred and indicated resource of 3.93 Moz) as well as its Asumura gold project, both of which are located in Ghana, West Africa, a highly favorable and prospective jurisdiction. Managed by highly skilled and successful technical and financial professionals, Keegan is well financed with no debt. Keegan is also strongly committed to the highest standards for environmental management, social responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and neighboring communities. Keegan trades on the TSX and the NYSE AMEX under the symbol KGN. More information about Keegan is available at www.keeganresources.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

Shawn Wallace, Executive Chairman

Forward Looking and other Cautionary Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed 'forward-looking statements'. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address estimated resource quantities, grades and contained metals, possible future mining, exploration and development activities, are forward-looking statements. In particular, Preliminary Economic Assessments are preliminary in nature, including Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the findings of the Preliminary Assessment will be realized. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in the Preliminary Economic Assessment and other forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices for metals, the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses, lower than expected grades and quantities of resources, mining rates and recovery rates and the lack of availability of necessary capital, which may not be available to the Company on terms acceptable to it or at all. The Company is subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's annual Form 20-F filing with the United States Securities Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Information Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources This news release also uses the terms 'indicated resources' and 'inferred resources'. Keegan Resources Inc. advises investors that although these terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations (under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. In addition, 'inferred resources' have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, or economic studies except for Preliminary Assessment as defined under 43-101. Investors are cautioned not to assume that part or all of an inferred resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.

To view the figure 'Esaase Project: Drill results September 2010', please click the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/kgn1013.pdf

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Keegan Resources Inc.

Shawn Wallace

Executive Chairman

604 683 8193 or Toll Free: 1 800 863 8655

604 683 8194 (FAX)
www.keeganresources.com