GBG - Great Basin Gold Limited - Great Basin Gold provides Tranter update

GBG - Great Basin Gold Limited - Great Basin Gold provides Tranter update       
GREAT BASIN GOLD LIMITED                                                        
(Incorporated in Canada and registered as an External Company in South Africa)  
(Registration No. 2006/021304/10)                                               
Share Code: GBG      ISIN Number: CA3901241057                                  
("Great Basin Gold" or "the Company")                                           
GREAT BASIN GOLD PROVIDES TRANTER UPDATE                                        
March 14, 2012, Vancouver, BC - Great Basin Gold Ltd. ("Great Basin Gold" or    
the "Company"), (TSX: GBG; NYSE Amex: GBG; JSE: 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.                      
For additional details on Great Basin Gold and its gold properties, please      
visit the Company`s website at www.grtbasin.com or contact Investor Services:   
Tsholo Serunye in South Africa                                                  
+27 (0)11 301-1800                                                              
Michael Curlook in North America                                                
+1 888 633-9332                                                                 
Barbara Cano at Breakstone Group in the USA                                     
+1 (646) 452-2334                                                               
No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained   
in this news release.                                                           
Cautionary and Forward Looking Statement Information                            
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking    
statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of           
historical facts, that address financing events or technical developments that  
Great Basin Gold expects to occur are forward-looking statements. Although the  
Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements  
are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of      
future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially     
from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual   
results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include   
negotiations in respect of restructuring the Tranter Loan, financial market     
conditions, metals prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity   
of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary     
permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition,           
geopolitical uncertainty, changes in government policies regarding mining and   
natural resource exploration and exploitation, continued availability of        
capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.     
Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future   
performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from       
those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the  
Company, Investors should review the Company`s annual Form 40-F filing with     
the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its home jurisdiction  
filings that are available at www.sedar.com.                                    
15 March 2012                                                                   
Johannesburg                                                                    
Sponsor                                                                         
Sasfin Capital (a division of Sasfin Bank Limited)                              
Date: 15/03/2012 07:30:07 Supplied by www.sharenet.co.za                     
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