Carlin Completes Initial Cortez Summit Drilling; Moves Drill to its JDS Property

Carlin Gold Corporation (TSX VENTURE:CGD) ("Carlin" or the "Company") reports
that it has completed an initial phase I drill program on its 100% owned Cortez
Summit property ("Cortez Summit"), Eureka County, Nevada. The initial program
consisted of seven reverse circulation drill holes totaling 11,720 feet (3,573
m.) ranging in depth between 1500 and 1800 feet (450 and 550 m.). Drilling was
completed by Envirotech Drilling based in Winnemucca, Nevada. One hole was
collared in the Paleozoic rocks on the west side of the property and the other
six were drilled into Paleozoic rocks beneath the younger Miocene basalts and
gravels. The Company is awaiting assay results to evaluate follow-up drilling.


CARLIN'S NEVADA PROPERTIES

Carlin owns 100% of three properties in northern Nevada described below, all of
which represent Carlin-type gold targets.


JDS Property

The Company has moved the drill rig to its JDS property, 21 kilometers southeast
of Cortez Summit. It is located along the southeast extension of the Cortez Gold
Trend near the southernmost Paleozoic carbonate window in the trend. The target
area is covered by late Tertiary sedimentary rocks and alluvium and is defined
by mercury gas and soil geochemistry data indicating potential buried
mineralization in the northwest portion of the property. The geochemical target
is coincident with a gravity high, which suggests relatively shallow bedrock.
The mercury anomalies are considered important targets because of the known
mercury association with Cortez Trend mineralization. The Company plans to drill
two to three widely spaced drill holes to approximately 1,000 feet (300 m.),
while it awaits assays on the initial Cortez Summit drilling program.


Cortez Summit Property

The Cortez Summit property consists of 142 claims located on the Cortez Trend in
Nevada, adjacent to Barrick Gold Corporation's ("Barrick") recently announced
gold discoveries, Red Hill and Gold Rush and the past producing Horse Canyon and
Buckhorn gold deposits. The Cortez Trend contains a major gold endowment that
exceeds 40 million ounces total gold produced, reserves and resources.
Production in 2011 at Barrick's Cortez district operations is reported to be
1.42 million ounces of gold.


On September 7, 2011 Barrick announced two new gold discoveries, Red Hill and
Goldrush, on property adjacent to Cortez Summit. The closer Red Hill discovery
was reported to contain an inferred resource of 3.5 million ounces of gold at a
grade of 0.123 oz/ton. One of the better holes reported at Red Hill contains 194
feet (59.1 m.) grading 0.90 ounces per ton gold, and is located 2,000 meters
south-southwest of Cortez Summit. Barrick states that the Red Hill geology is
similar to its other deposits in the district. Barrick's operating Cortez Hills
mine is located 6.5 kilometers west of the Cortez Summit.


On February 16, 2012, Barrick announced an indicated and inferred resource at
Red Hill-Goldrush (now referred to by Barrick as Goldrush) of 7.0 million ounces
of gold as of December 31, 2011, double the estimate reported just a few months
earlier. The deposit is open for expansion and Barrick is now carrying out a
planned $64 million exploration program for this area in 2012. Twelve drill rigs
were observed at Red Hill - Goldrush in June. Mineralized holes occur within 1.5
kilometers southwest of Cortez Summit.


Company geologists believe that the geological environment at Cortez Summit is
similar to Barrick's nearby Carlin-type deposits. Sampling by Carlin along a
prominent north-northwest trending structural zone on the west side of Cortez
Summit has yielded gold values of 447 and 263 ppb in hydrothermally altered
siltstones. Much of this target is blind, being covered by post-mineral gravel
and basaltic andesite. The Company conducted a gravity survey to obtain
information from the target terrain underneath the cover. The survey was
successful in defining potentially favorable structures, which represent drill
targets.


The Company is awaiting assay data on its recently completed initial drill
program, at which point it will decide how to proceed with further evaluation.


Willow Property

The Willow property is located in northeast Nevada, northwest of the new Long
Canyon gold discovery in the Pequop Mountains, which is part of the Newmont
Mining Corporation acquisition in 2011 of Fronteer Gold Inc., a $2.3 billion
transaction. Carlin-type targets have been defined in favorable silty carbonate
rocks of the Roberts Mountain Formation within an area of significant structural
preparation.


YUKON JOINT VENTURE

Carlin also owns approximately 90,000 hectares distributed over 13 project areas
in Yukon, in a 50/50 joint venture with Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. The
properties are early stage, with the initial field evaluation program completed
in 2011. Several significant gold anomalies have been identified to date.


K. Wayne Livingstone, President and Chief Executive Officer

Note:

Robert Thomas CPG, Vice President of Carlin and a qualified person as defined by
Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical
information contained in this news release on behalf of Carlin.


Forward-looking statements: This news release includes certain "forward-looking
information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively "forward looking
statements"). Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and
forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as
"seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "forecast", "expect",
"potential", "project", "target", "schedule", budget" and "intend" and
statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might"
occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives
thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in
this release are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and
uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be
accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements.


Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and
assumptions. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from Carlin's expectations include availability of capital and
financing in connection with future private placement, regulatory approval,
actual exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to
be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices,
availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic,
market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in
title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis,
accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in receiving government approvals,
unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and
other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the
filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company has
attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events
or results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements, there
may be other factors that cause such actions, events or results to differ
materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that
forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and accordingly readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.