Sandspring Resources Ltd. Issued Environmental Permit for Toroparu Gold Property

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 8, 2012) - SANDSPRING RESOURCES LTD. (TSX VENTURE:SSP) ("Sandspring" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Environmental Permit for the development, construction and operation of a large-scale mine at its Toroparu Gold Property in Guyana S.A. has been issued by the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency. The issuance of the Environmental Permit is the culmination of an extensive multi-year baseline data collection followed by collaboration between Governmental agencies and interested parties with Sandspring and a team from its environmental contractor, Ground Structures Engineering Consultants, of Georgetown, Guyana.

Under the Mineral Agreement between Sandspring and the Government of Guyana, signed in November of 2011, issuance of the Environmental Permit satisfies one of the two conditions for the Company to acquire its large scale Mining License, the remaining condition being the demonstration to the Government of Guyana of the feasibility of a mining operation at Toroparu.

Rich Munson, CEO, stated: "We are very pleased to receive the Environmental Permit, which approves processing options ranging from 3.5 million tons up to 20.0 million tons of ore per year at Toroparu. All environmental aspects of the permit application were developed in accordance with international environmental standards and took into account the ecological effects of the biodiversity that are unique to Guyana and the Toroparu area. This milestone is another significant step in de-risking the project and is clear evidence of the Government of Guyana's continuing support of responsible mineral development."

Sandspring is a Canadian junior mining company currently in advanced exploration and prefeasibility assessment of the multi-million-ounce Toroparu Gold Deposit in the Republic of Guyana. Visit Sandspring's website at www.sandspringresources.com.

Additional information on Sandspring can be viewed on SEDAR under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com or on Sandspring's website at www.sandspringresources.com.

This press release includes certain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, concerning the continued exploration, mine development and mining operations at the Toroparu Project, including expectations with respect to obtaining a mining license and completing a feasibility study, which are based on management's reasonable assumptions, beliefs, expectations and intentions as of the date hereof. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend" and similar words referring to future events and results. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, the Company's successful advancement of the Toroparu deposit toward feasibility and obtaining positive results from ongoing evaluation and testing of multiple gold targets located elsewhere in the Company's landholdings, among other risks as described in more detail in our recent securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking-statements and we caution against placing undue reliance thereon. The forward-looking statements contained herein are provided for the purposes of assisting investors in understanding the Company's expectations and intentions in connection with its Toroparu Project, and may not be suitable for other purposes. Sandspring has an ongoing obligation to disclose material information as it becomes available.