Great Basin Gold Provides Tranter Update; Tranter Is Currently In Default

Great Basin Gold Ltd. GBG in order provide additional clarification with regards to its Black Economic Empowerment partner, Tranter Burnstone (Pty) Ltd. ("Tranter"), which is owned by historically disadvantaged South Africans ("HDSA"), has been notified that Tranter is currently in default of the requirements of their loan agreement with Investec Bank Ltd ("Investec") under which it borrowed ZAR 200 million ($27 million) to partly fund the purchase of 19,938,650 treasury common shares in Great Basin Gold in 2007. The default is due to an approximate ZAR 45 million ($6 million) unfunded cash margin call as a consequence of the decline in the value of the Great Basin Gold shares serving as collateral for the loan. Of the Company's existing guarantee of R140 million ($19 million), ZAR 14 million ($1.82 million) remains available to meet the unfunded cash margin. The Company is seeking, through ongoing discussions with Investec and Tranter, to assist Tranter to remedy their default position and meet their future loan obligations. Whilst the outcome of the discussions is uncertain, the Company does not expect the outcome of these discussions to affect its current compliance with the Mining Charter or near term cash flow.