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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 17, 2010) - High Desert Gold Corporation ("HDG" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:HDG) announces that the Company will initiate a 2000-metre drilling program in early June on the Gold Springs Project located along the border between Nevada and Utah. The campaign will continue to define the known gold-silver mineralization intersected by previous drilling in the Jumbo Zone and will test additional prospective targets identified by the Company.

Ralph Fitch, President of the Company, stated, "We are excited to get back into active exploration after a year- long hiatus during which we successfully defended against a hostile take-over offer, and during which we refinanced the Company. We anticipate this drill program will provide a very positive stimulus. We will be drilling to expand on the previously reported historic drill results at the Jumbo zone (see HDG PR 09-11, October 15, 2009) that included a strong intercept of 50.3 metres averaging 1.4 gpt gold and 10 gpt silver, and which lies within a larger intercept of 125 m grading 0.657 gpt gold and 6.8 gpt silver. This mineralization extends to surface, has been traced by drilling for 850 metres and is open along strike and to depth. In addition to this drill program, the Company is engaged in an aggressive acquisition program in Mexico to complement its existing properties, and is planning further drilling campaigns this year. We expect to have a very active year with a steady flow of news going forward."

In addition to the Jumbo mineralization and eight separate gold drill targets that were reported earlier, (see HDG PR 10-05, March 18, 2010) recent field investigations have identified three new gold targets consisting of veins, silicified breccias and stockwork zones that are several hundred metres wide. This first round of drilling will include several of these additional targets, together with the Jumbo Zone.

The Midnight Zone is one of the new target areas that will be included in the upcoming drill program. This zone has already been traced for over 2,000 metres with widths of up to 200 metres. Historic mining has exploited one of the primary veins, which is up to 1.5 metres in width, by way of a shaft estimated to be over 250 feet deep. Limited sampling has been conducted on the new target zones, but results obtained to date range up to 3.7 gpt gold with numerous samples ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 gpt gold within the stockwork zones. Assays were performed by the Inspectorate America Corp. laboratory in Reno, Nevada, an ISO 9001:2000 facility. Additional samples are currently in the lab for analysis.

The identification of the new targets affirms the potential for this district to host multiple zones of gold mineralization. HDG believes there is the potential for both bulk mineable and high-grade mineralization within this caldera setting, such as is seen at the K-2 deposit (>2,000,000 ounces gold) in Washington and the Midas deposit (>3,000,000 ounces gold) in northern Nevada. In addition to the Midas-type targets, HDG has collected samples from a tuffaceous unit exposed on the property which returned gold values of up to 3.0 gpt. The mineralized tuff may represent a Round Mountain (>10 million oz) type target and will be tested in the upcoming drill program. However, there is no certainty that any similar deposits will be found on the Company's property.

The Gold Springs property is a joint venture with Fronteer Development (USA) Inc. ("Fronteer"), which recently acquired the property from Gryphon Gold. HDG can earn a 60% interest over a 5-year period by spending US$1 million in exploration and making payments to Fronteer of US$160,000. HDG has located an additional 121 claims in the area to bring the total to 250 unpatented lode claims held by the joint venture which are located within Lincoln County, Nevada and Iron County, Utah, comprising a total of approximately 4,780 acres or 1,945 hectares.

The Company is also planning to drill its properties in Mexico later in the year on its own or with a partner. It is also showing its U.S. properties, including Gold Lake, Artillery Peak and Kinkaid, to prospective partners.

The Qualified Person on the Gold Springs property is Randall Moore, Executive Vice President of Exploration. He has reviewed and approved the content of this press release.

Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "should," "estimates," "expects," "believes," "indicates," "targeting," "suggests," "potential," "interpretation" and similar expressions. Information concerning the interpretation of geochemical sample results and also geology may be considered forward-looking statements, as such information constitutes a prediction of what mineralization might be found to be present if and when a project is actually developed. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may materially differ from expectations, if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Except as required by law, HDG assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.