GREAT BASIN GOLD ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF NEW DIRECTORS

VANCOUVER, May 16 /CNW/ --
VANCOUVER, May 16 /CNW/ - Great Basin Gold Ltd. ('Great Basin' or the
'Company'), (TSX: GBG) (NYSE Amex: GBG) (JSE: GBG) today announced the
appointment to the Board of three new Directors to its Board and one
new director to the Board of its subsidiary, all effective May 5, 2011.

ANU DHIR holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto, Canada,
and a law degree (Juris Doctor) from Quinnipiac University,
Connecticut, USA. She was called to the Connecticut bar in 1995. Anu
has extensive experience in private equity and publicly-held companies
in the mining, oil and gas and technology sectors. She most recently
served as Vice President Corporate Development and Company Secretary at
Katanga Mining Limited, a TSX-listed company, and is currently Managing
Director of Miniqs Limited, a private group primarily interested in
resource projects that have the capability to grow into major producing
operations.

OCTAVIA M. MATLOA is a registered accountant and auditor with the South African Institute
of Accountants and the Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors
respectively. She studied for her BCom, majoring in Accounting and
Economics at the University of Cape Town; and B.Com (Hons) and CTA at
the University of Pretoria. Octavia is a shareholder and director of
Tsidkenu Chartered Accountants Inc., Jireh Holdings, Mukundi Mining
Resources, Bokkies Transport, the Vibe Group; and  Nissy Holdings. In
addition she has been appointed by court as the first woman curator in
the insurance industry. She served/serves on a number of public sector
audit committees and has also won the 2010 Businesswoman of the year
Van Ryn's Black Business Quarterly Awards.

Mametja Moshe holds a B.Com Hons (Accounting) degree from the University of Kwazulu
Natal and is a qualified chartered accountant registered with the South
African Institute of Accountants. She brings a wealth of financial
knowledge having worked in the mergers and acquisitions teams of
international banks focusing on mining and telecommunication companies.
She has been appointed to the board of Southgold Exploration (Pty)
Ltd., the wholly owned subsidiary of Great Basin Gold, and operator of
the Burnstone Mine in South Africa.

PHILIP KOTZE is a mining engineer with over 30 years of experience in the mining
industry, including both operations and executive positions at
AngloGold Limited, Kalahari Goldridge Mining Company Limited and
Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited. A graduate of the University of
the Witwatersrand with a Graduate Diploma in Engineering (Mining
Economics), Mr Kotze also holds a National Higher Diploma in
Metalliferous Mining (WITS Technikon) as well as qualifications in
Industrial Relations and Management from the University of South
Africa.

Ronald Thiessen. Great Basin Gold Chairman commented: 'On behalf of the
Board, I would like to welcome our new members to Great Basin and
Southgold, our operating subsidiary in South Africa.  As you can see
our new Board members bring a breadth and depth of skills, knowledge
and experience which will be instrumental in providing guidance to our
management and representing our shareholders. Together we look forward
to a very exciting future as Great Basin Gold transitions to production
and a quality mid-tier gold producer.'

Great Basin Gold is a mining company engaged in the exploration and
development of gold properties. The Company is currently focused on its
two emerging mines in the world's two richest gold regions. The
Hollister gold mine is located on the Carlin Trend in Nevada, USA and
the Burnstone gold mine is located in the Witwatersrand Basin goldfield
of South Africa.

No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information
contained in this news release.

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 possible future
commercial production, reserve potential, exploration drilling results,
development, feasibility or exploitation activities and events or
developments that Great Basin Gold expects to occur are forward-looking
statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in
such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions,
such statements are not 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, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of
mineralization, uncertainties related  to the ability to obtain
necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party
opposition, geopolitical uncertainty, changes in government policies
regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, and
continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic,
market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such
statements are not guarantees of future performance and those actual
results or developments may differ materially from those projected in
the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company,
Investors should review the Company's annual Form 40-F filing with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its home
jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

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For additional details on Great Basin and its gold properties, please visit the Company's website at www.grtbasin.com or contact Investor Services at: