Northgate Minerals Corporation Announces the Appointment of Richard Hall as President and CEO

VANCOUVER, July 11, 2011 /CNW/ --
VANCOUVER, July 11, 2011 /CNW/ - Northgate Minerals Corporation
('Northgate' or the 'Company') (TSX: NGX, NYSE Amex: NXG) is pleased to
announce today the appointment of Mr. Richard J. Hall as President and
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Northgate, effective July 11, 2011.

Mr. Hall brings to Northgate over 35 years of mining exploration and
development experience and has been a member of Northgate's board of
directors since 2008. Previously, Mr. Hall served as President and CEO
of Metallica Resources Inc., where he was responsible for the
financing, construction and commissioning of the Cerro San Pedro
gold-silver mine in Mexico. Mr. Hall was also involved in the discovery
and development of the El Morro deposit located in Chile through to a
final feasibility study. In August 2008, Metallica was part of a $1.6
billion merger with Peak Gold Ltd. and New Gold Inc. Previous to his
tenure at Metallica, Mr. Hall held senior management positions with
Dayton Mining Corporation and Pegasus Gold Corporation.

In welcoming the appointment, Terry Lyons, Northgate's Chairman of the
Board, stated: 'We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Ritch's
calibre join the Northgate team.  He has a proven ability to lead top
performing companies and has a strong track record in driving
shareholder value.  We believe Ritch will use his leadership strengths
and extensive mining background to take the company to the next level.'

'I am excited to be part of this organization and build upon our strong
core of assets' stated Mr. Hall. 'With a growing production profile
from Young-Davidson and the exciting Kemess Underground project in the
pipeline, Northgate has a bright future.  It's a great honour to join
this team as we look to execute on our strategic objectives and to grow
the company and shareholder value.'

This appointment follows on the previously-announced retirement of Mr.
Ken Stowe as Northgate's President and CEO. In conjunction with his
retirement, Mr. Stowe has also stepped down from the board of directors
effectively immediately.

Terry Lyons also paid tribute to Mr. Stowe upon the announcement of his
retirement, noting: 'For the past 12 years, Ken has worked tirelessly
to achieve the growth of the company. Under Ken's leadership, he has
assembled one of the most experienced operating teams in the industry
that has seen the transformation of Kemess South into one of the most
successful mines built in Canada and the extraordinary development of
Young-Davidson, which will become the new cornerstone of the company.
Throughout his tenure, Ken has inspired us with his tenacity and
strategic thinking and the board of directors would like to recognize
and express our gratitude for his service over the years.'

Mr. Hall joins the company as it enters the final nine months of
construction of the Young-Davidson mine. Targeting its first gold pour
late in the first quarter of 2012, Young-Davidson continues to make
excellent progress and remains on schedule and on budget. In addition,
erection of the mill building has been completed and the installation
of process equipment will begin shortly. Development activities
underground have also made excellent progress, ramping up to a record
average development rate of 15 metres per day in June.

Northgate Minerals Corporation is a gold and copper producer with mining operations, development
projects and exploration properties in Canada and Australia.  Our
vision is to be the leading intermediate gold producer by identifying,
acquiring, developing and operating profitable, long-life mining
properties.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information:


This Northgate press release contains 'forward-looking information', as
such term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation and
'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, concerning
Northgate's future financial or operating performance and other
statements that express management's expectations or estimates of
future developments, circumstances or results. Generally,
forward-looking information can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as 'expects', 'believes',
'anticipates', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'estimates', 'forecasts',
'intends', 'plans' and variations of such words and phrases, or by
statements that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'will',
'could', 'would' or 'might', 'be taken', 'occur' or 'be achieved'.
Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and
estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the
business and markets in which Northgate operates, are inherently
subject to significant operational, economic and competitive
uncertainties and contingencies. Northgate cautions that
forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause Northgate's actual
results, performance or achievements to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by such information, including, but not
limited to gold and copper price volatility; fluctuations in foreign
exchange rates and interest rates; the impact of any hedging
activities; discrepancies between actual and estimated production,
between actual and estimate reserves and resources or between actual
and estimated metallurgical recoveries; costs of production; capital
expenditure requirements; the costs and timing of construction and
development of new deposits; and the success of exploration and
permitting activities. In addition, the factors described or referred
to in the section entitled 'Risk Factors' in Northgate's Annual
Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2010 or under the
heading 'Risks and Uncertainties' in Northgate's 2010 Annual Report,
both of which are available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com, should be reviewed in conjunction with the information found in this
press release. Although Northgate has attempted to identify important
factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to
differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information,
there can be other factors that cause results, performance or
achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can
be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that
management's expectations or estimates of future developments,
circumstances or results will materialize. Accordingly, readers should
not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The
forward-looking information in this press release is made as of the
date of this press release, and Northgate disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by
applicable law.

To view this news release in HTML formatting, please use the following URL: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2011/11/c4487.html

Ms. Keren R. Yun
Director, Investor Relations
Tel: 416-216-2781
Email: ngx@northgateminerals.com  Website: www.northgateminerals.com