Angkor Gold Completes First Strategic Transaction: 78 Km2 Of Oyadao Licence In Cambodia Sold For USD $2.4 Million

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 3, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ANGKOR GOLD CORP. (TSX-V:ANK) ("ANGKOR") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a purchase and sale agreement with All Solutions (Cambodia) Co. Ltd., a privately held company in partnership with Chinese gold miner, Canxiang Mining Co Ltd. (" Allsol") pursuant to which Angkor has agreed to sell to Allsol all of its right, title and interest in and to a 78 km ² subsection of its 300 km ² Oyadao tenement in exchange for two million and four hundred thousand US dollars (USD $2,400,000). Under the agreement, it is intended that a new exploration licence covering the subsection to be sold to Allsol (the " Allsol Licence") will be issued to Allsol and that a new exploration licence covering the remaining 222 km ² (the " New Oyadao Licence") will be issued to Angkor.

Angkor will retain 100% ownership of the New Oyadao Licence, which contains other highly prospective areas of interest, including Phum Puik, Sesan North and Phum Lomh, all of which have significant gold anomalies.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Angkor secures non-dilutive financing for the 2013 exploration season by selling a subsection of the Oyadao tenement in Ratanakiri province, Cambodia for USD $2,400,000.
• Angkor receives a renewed exploration agreement (the New Oyadao Licence) for the remaining section of the Oyadao tenement, at no cost to Angkor.
• Angkor Gold is Cambodia's Premier Gold Explorer with a remaining land package that includes 5 licences containing multiple prospects.

Under the terms of the deal:

• Angkor retains the Phum Puik, Sesan North and Phum Lomh Prospects within the New Oyadao Licence, all of which have significant gold anomalies.
• Payment is held in escrow until issuance of both new licences, which is expected to take place within 45 days.
• Upon completion of the transaction, Angkor will have no residual rights or obligations under the current Oyadao licence or the Allsol Licence

Mike Weeks, CEO & Chairman, commented, " When we met with investment advisors and analysts in the 4 ^th quarter of 2012, we made it clear that our ACTION strategy included deal-making and that it would be our focus in the very short-term. I'm pleased to report that we've delivered on that promise; we wanted to move Angkor from a junior explorer to a company with a history of generating viable, successful mineral development projects in Cambodia. This initial transaction accomplishes just that at a value that is in-line with other recent transactions we have observed in frontier opportunities. We hope to soon add to this initial success.

Completing this transaction is the right thing at this time and enables us to focus on growing into our role as Cambodia's Premier Gold Explorer. I invite the investment community to get to know us better as we continue to create value for our shareholders by developing our multiple prospects."

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The transaction represents important milestones for Angkor Gold and its shareholders, which include:

• A significant return on exploration investment.
• A transaction in-line with other recent deals in frontier opportunities.
• A transaction with a company that fully intends to move into production and which therefore will set a useful precedent for Angkor's surrounding prospects.
• Cash provisions in excess of Angkor's 2012 annual operating expenditures.
• Secured funding to continue Angkor's 2013 drill and exploration programs (see separate announcement in due course).
• Opportunity for Angkor Gold to focus on its other major projects.

About Cambodia and Angkor Gold's Prospects:

Cambodia is relatively unexplored and yet is already known to contain multiple deposits with grades that are suggestive of economic viability. The transaction with Allsol underlines this opportunity, and the participation of Allsol in Cambodia confirms that others are now recognizing our valuation of Cambodia's potential for gold and other mineral opportunities.

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