Golden Phoenix Minerals Inc. Mineral Ridge Property Scheduled to Begin Gold Production in First Quarter 2011

SPARKS, Nev., Nov. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. (the "Company") (OTC Bulletin Board: GPXM) is pleased to announce gold production is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2011 on its Mineral Ridge property, which the Company maintains a thirty percent (30%) interest in via its membership interest in Mineral Ridge Gold, LLC, the joint venture entity that owns and operates the Mineral Ridge property with Scorpio Gold ("Scorpio").

Mr. Peter J. Hawley, CEO of Scorpio Gold, has reported that gold production is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2011, with material previously mined that is available for restacking and releaching. Ramp up will take place using this material and then be followed with newly mined material from the Drinkwater pit. Production is expected to reach a steady state by June and then continue to track positively in the second half of 2011.


Permitting

On Nov. 2, 2010, Scorpio underwent a successful inspection by representatives of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection Bureau of Mining Regulation and Reclamation. This prestart-up inspection verified the compliance of the company's process facilities with its NDEP water-pollution-control permit and the mining regulations of the state of Nevada.

On Nov. 10, 2010, Scorpio received approval from the Nevada Division of Water Resources to drill water-monitoring wells for the leach pad. This approval was required in addition to the NDEP approval of the monitoring-well plan.


Site operations

Leach-pad rehabilitation is well advanced, with the new drainage system nearing completion. Crushing of the over-liner drainage total and covering of the exposed liner will be completed by the end of November.

Crushing the previously mined and placed material is scheduled to begin in the latter half of December, with leach-solution application commencing in January.

Sludge removal from the barren pond was completed and all necessary liner repairs were performed. The barren pond is now fully operational.

Removal of coarse material from the pregnant pond is under way and scheduled for completion by month-end.

The on-site assay laboratory expansion is in progress and scheduled for completion in February.

Carbon columns in the adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR) plant have been replaced and will be operational by mid-December.

Contractual arrangements for the stripping of carbon and refining of gold with outside parties are currently being finalized, with first shipments scheduled to take place in January.


Exploration planning

Scorpio's successful exploration and modeling of the mineralized deposits and related structures at Mineral Ridge has led to an extensive staking program adding an additional 2,934 hectares (7,250 acres) of unpatented mining claims with no underlying royalties to the property. The over-all land package now consists of 351 claims, which encompass 4,118 hectares (10,176 acres), representing an increase of 348 per cent from the original holdings. Exploration targets on the new claims are currently being mapped and sampled, with several drill targets having already been identified. The 2011 exploration plan includes 13,000 metres of drilling.

Planning for exploration drilling in areas adjacent to the historical Oromonte underground mine is in progress. Wide-spaced drilling conducted by previous companies in the 1990s intersected significant intervals of gold mineralization, which warrant additional closer-spaced drilling. Recent surface mapping and sampling has identified several additional targets that are being planned for drilling.

Exploration targets are being defined in the Bluelite area, where drilling by previous operators intersected multiple shallow horizons of gold mineralization. In addition, there is evidence for the presence of a high-angle, high-grade mineralized structure that has not been adequately tested.

Exploration targets are also being defined in the Solberry area between Bluelite and Oromonte, where shallow-dipping gold-bearing quartz veins crop out at the surface. The area is the site of historic underground mining operations. Holes drilled by previous operators intersected significant gold mineralization warranting additional exploration.

Amendments to both the Mineral Ridge mine plan of operations and the associated environmental assessment are well advanced, upon completion of which Scorpio will proceed with additional exploration drilling.

Mr. Peter J. Hawley, PGeo, is Scorpio Gold's Qualified Person and CEO for the various Scorpio Gold projects. Mr. Hawley is responsible for the current exploration and development program at Mineral Ridge.

Please visit the Golden Phoenix website at: www.golden-phoenix.com.


Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc. is a Nevada-based mining company whose focus is Royalty Mining in the Americas. Golden Phoenix is committed to delivering shareholder value by identifying, acquiring, developing and mining superior precious and strategic metal deposits throughout North, Central and South America using competitive business practices balanced by principles of ethical stewardship. Golden Phoenix is a 30% joint venture partner with Scorpio Gold on the Mineral Ridge gold and silver property near Silver Peak, Nevada, and owns the Adams Mine and Duff Claim Block near Denio, Nevada, and the Northern Champion molybdenum mine in Ontario, Canada. Golden Phoenix has an option to earn an 80% interest in the Vanderbilt Silver and Gold Project, and the Coyote Fault Gold and Silver Project, both of which are adjacent to the Mineral Ridge gold and silver property near Silver Peak, Nevada. Golden Phoenix has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to acquire an 80% interest in five gold and molybdenum properties in Peru; two on the Pataz Gold Trend in the north and three in the Porvenir area in the south. Golden Phoenix has entered into a Definitive Acquisition Agreement to acquire a 100% interest in four gold and base metal properties in the Shining Tree Mining District in Ontario, Canada.


"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements by officers of the Company, and other statements regarding optimism related to the business, expanding exploration and development activities and other statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business. Words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, sees, estimates and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results could vary materially from the description contained herein due to many factors including continued market prices for the Company's mineral products. In addition, actual results could vary materially based on changes or slower growth in the gold and base and precious metals markets; the potential inability to realize expected benefits and synergies in the Company's mining operations; domestic and international business and economic conditions; changes in the mining industry for base and precious minerals; unexpected difficulties in restarting or expanding production at the Company's mines; the need for additional capital and other risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings under "risk factors" and elsewhere. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.



For More Information Contact:

Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc.
Robert Ian, Director of Corporate Communications
(775) 453-4741
robertian@golden-phoenix.com
www.golden-phoenix.com