Continental Gold Appoints Paul Begin as Its New Chief Financial Officer

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 18, 2011) -Continental Gold Limited ("Continental" or the "Company")(TSX:CNL) is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Begin as the Company's new Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), effective today.

Mr. Begin brings over ten years of senior level financial experience to Continental and is well versed in the public markets, international business and strategic management. He joins Continental from Hanfeng Evergreen, Inc., a leading developer and producer of value added fertilizers in China and South East Asia, where he served as CFO and Corporate Secretary. Prior to Hanfeng Evergreen Inc., Mr. Begin served as the former CFO and Vice President of Trilliant Incorporated and OZZ Corporation. At OZZ, he led a team that made numerous acquisitions and divestitures. Mr. Begin has held senior financial roles at leading companies in a number of industries, including marketing communications, secure transactions, real estate and hospitality.

"We are delighted to welcome Paul to the executive team," said Ari Sussman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "His diverse expertise in global operations and finance will further strengthen the senior management team in its efforts to advance Continental towards gold production in 2014."

Mr. Begin is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) degree in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario and a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Toronto.

"The caliber of Continental's management team is evident by its success since going public last year," said Mr. Begin. "I am excited to join the Company to play an active role in achieving the full potential of its corporate strategies."

Mr. Begin succeeds Keith McKay, who is also CFO of Dalradian Resources Inc. Mr. McKay will remain with the Company through a transition period. "I would personally like to thank Keith McKay for all his efforts in steering the financial affairs of the Company through the post-RTO period and helping to structure Continental into a viable public company," added Mr. Sussman.

About Continental Gold Limited

Continental Gold Limited (TSX:CNL) is an advanced-stage exploration company with nine gold projects covering over 190,000 hectares in Colombia. Spearheaded by a management team with over 40 years of exploration and mining experience in South America, the Company has begun an aggressive exploration program on its extensive portfolio of properties with a focus on its flagship high-grade gold project, Buriticá. Additional details on the Buriticá project and the rest of Continental Gold's suite of gold exploration properties is available at www.ContinentalGold.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains or refers to forward-looking information, including statements regarding the estimation of mineral resources, exploration results, potential mineralization, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions, and is based on current expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry Forward- looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update them or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances other than as required by law.