GBS Gold Approves Tom's Gully Start-Up and Declares Initial Mineral Reserve

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Dec 18 (MARKET WIRE) --
GBS Gold International Inc. (TSX: GBS) ("GBS Gold" or the "Company") is
set to commence gold production at its Tom's Gully Project in the
Northern Territory of Australia next year after receiving Board approval
for the start of underground mining activities and plant commissioning
works required to bring the project on-line.

Tom's Gully will become GBS Gold's second operation, 100km north of its
existing Union Reefs operations, further consolidating its growing
regional production profile in the Northern Territory and supporting its
objective of increasing gold production to a targeted level of 300,000
ounces per year.

Key project highlights include (A$ represents Australian Dollars and US$
represents United States Dollars):

- Feasibility work on the Tom's Gully project has been completed
supporting an initial probablereserve of 740,000 tonnes at 7.1 grams per
tonne for 170,000 ounces of contained gold. The mineral reserve estimate
excludes certain parts of the existing indicated resource and, given the
Tom's Gully deposit is also open at depth and along strike, GBS Gold
considers that there is potential for future increases to reserves and
mine life.

- Targeted commencement of the underground operation in mid-2008.
Production is expected to build over two quarters to an average rate of
35,000-40,000 ounces per year, for an initial reserve life of
approximately 3.5 years.

- Forecast average cash operating costs in the range of A$520-550 per
ounce (approximately US$450-475 per ounce at the current A$/US$ exchange
rate of A$1.00:US$0.86). The current spot gold price is approximately
A$930 per ounce (US$804 per ounce).

- Initial project capital estimated at approximately A$8 million
comprising process plant modifications and recommissioning activities,
underground development works and other capital requirements. The
estimated payback period is approximately 1.5 years. Total sustaining
capital over the reserve life is estimated at approximately A$8 million.

- GBS Gold is investigating various financing strategies to supplement
its existing working capital resources for immediate commencement of the
development program.

Commenting on the announcement, Gil Playford, GBS Gold's Chairman and
CEO, said: "The detailed feasibility work undertaken on the Tom's Gully
project has confirmed our expectations for the operation to be a
high-grade and strong cashflow generator for the Company, with robust
economics based on the initial reserve estimate. Tom's Gully is the first
of a number of growth projects which are planned to come on-line over the
next few years, lifting the Company's targeted production at the Union
Reefs Operations Centre to over 300,000 ounces per year."

Tom's Gully Gold Project

The Tom's Gully Project is located in the Northern Territory of Australia
approximately 100km north of the Company's existing Union Reefs
processing plant. GBS Gold acquired the project in the third quarter of
2007 and, since that time, has undertaken further detailed feasibility
assessment and preparatory site work, leading to the decision to start
operations.

The project comprises approximately 1,000 square kilometres of mining and
exploration properties, the Tom's Gully gold deposit, existing
underground workings, a 250,000 tonne per annum carbon-in-leach (CIL)
processing plant and related on-surface and underground infrastructure.

Mineral Resource and Deposit Geology

The Tom's Gully mineral resource has been estimated in accordance with
National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") as follows:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reso
urce Tonnes Grade Contained Gold
Category (grams/tonne) (oz)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Indicated 1,276,000 8.4 346,000
Inferred 592,000 7.4 140,000
---------------------------------------------------------
1,868,000 8.1 486,000
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reported at a 5 grams/tonne x metres cut-off

This resource estimate is an update to the previous estimate and is
considered to better reflect the grade distribution within the deposit
boundaries. A revised technical report for this resource estimate will be
filed shortly.

The Tom's Gully gold deposit is hosted in siltstone and occurs as a
quartz reef in association with sulphide minerals, primarily arsenopyrite
and pyrite. The reef varies in thickness from 1 to 4 metres, striking
approximately east-west and dipping at around 30 degrees near surface and
then flattening to almost horizontal at a depth of approximately 280
metres below surface. The reef is 800 metres long at surface and extends
down-dip for at least 1.5km. The deposit has been subdivided into Block 1
and Block 2 for mining purposes, with only Block 1 having been part-mined
in the past.

The deposit is not closed off and there is potential to extend the
deposit to the east and west, and in particular down-dip to the south.

Feasibility Study and Initial Reserve

GBS Gold has completed a feasibility study on the Tom's Gully project.
Based on the results of this study, the Company has approved the
commencement of underground mining and processing operations in mid-2008.
Production is expected to ramp up over two quarters to an average rate of
35,000-40,000 ounces per year for an initial reserve life of
approximately 3.5 years.

An initial mineral reserve for the Tom's Gully project has been
calculated in accordance with NI 43-101. This reserve is based on the
indicated resource estimate for only Block 2 of the Tom's Gully deposit.
Accordingly, given the potential for mining of additional material from
Block 1 and also that the deposit is open at depth and along strike, GBS
Gold considers that there is good potential for future increases to
reserves and mine life.

The initial mineral reserve for the Tom's Gully project has been estimated
as follows:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reserve Ore Tonnes Grade Contained Gold
Category (Diluted) (oz)
(grams/tonne)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Probable Reserve 740,000 7.1 170,000
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Key assumptions and highlights of the Tom's Gully feasibility study and
reserve estimate are as follows:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gold price: A$750/oz (the current gold spot price
is A$930/oz)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plant throughput: 240,000 tonnes per annum
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metallurgical recovery: 85%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average annual production: 35,000-40,000 ounces per annum
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial project capital cost: A$8 million
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sustaining capital: Approximately A$8 million over the
reserve life
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unit costs:
Mining A$71/tonne (plus A$14/tonne sustaining
capital)
Processing/administration A$31/tonne
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash operating cost: A$520-550/oz
(US$450-475/oz at the current exchange
rate of A$1.00:US$0.86)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Breakeven grade: 5.9 grams/tonne gold
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Payback period (at A$750/oz): Approximately 1.5 years
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mine life of initial ore reserves: Approximately 3.5 years
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

GBS Gold will shortly file an independent NI 43-101 technical report
on the Tom's Gully reserve estimate.

Development and Operating Plan

Since acquisition, GBS Gold has completed detailed assessments of the
planned development of the mine and processing operations. While the
original development plan was based on the Tom's Gully ore being mined
and then hauled to the Union Reefs plant for processing, further detailed
review of historical performance and metallurgical testwork indicated
that with certain modifications to the existing Tom's Gully plant,
processing recoveries could be improved above historical levels. In
particular, processing recoveries are dependent upon the grind size of
the ore concentrate particles. Testwork has confirmed that with some
minor plant modifications, including the installation of a small ultra
fine grind mill, processing recoveries of 85% can be achieved. The
operating plan therefore involves the ore being processed through the
adjacent Tom's Gully plant.

The mine design is based on extending the existing underground workings
into the main Block 2 of the Tom's Gully orebody. The part-mined Block 1
component of the orebody has not been considered in the feasibility study
or mineral reserve estimate. This zone, along with the portions of Block
2 not currently included in the reserve estimate, is therefore considered
to offer upside potential as it is expected that GBS Gold will be able to
mine some of this material.

The mining method for Block 2 is a modified "room and pillar" method. Ore
will be accessed by primary and access decline headings, with lateral ore
drives developed across the full width of the orebody (up to 200 metres
in length). In order to minimize mining dilution, ore drives are planned
to be mined using a two-phase process (known as "resue" mining) whereby
waste in the lower section of the drive face is blasted and mined first,
followed by a second blasting and mining cycle to separately remove the
largely undiluted ore. Between each ore drive, the stopes will be drilled
and blasted with pillars appropriately placed to provide ground
stability. The ore from each stope will be extracted using standard
remote-controlled mining equipment, and will be trucked to surface for
processing through the Tom's Gully plant.

GBS Gold has received the majority of the required permits for the
operation, and expects shortly to receive full authorisation for the
proposed development and operating activities.

Capital Expenditure

Initial project capital is estimated at approximately A$8 million
comprising process plant modifications and recommissioning activities,
underground development works and other capital requirements. The
estimated payback period is approximately 1.5 years. Total sustaining
capital over the reserve life is estimated at approximately A$8 million,
relating primarily to ongoing underground development activities.

GBS Gold has sufficient internal cash resources to commence the initial
development requirements. In addition, the Company is investigating
various financing strategies to supplement its working capital resources
for the planned development program.

About GBS Gold International Inc.

GBS Gold is an emerging gold producer with 2.6Moz of Indicated Resources
and 1.6Moz of Inferred Resources of gold at its Union Reefs Operations
Centre located in historically productive goldfields in the Northern
Territory of Australia. GBS Gold produces gold through its modern
dual-mill 2.5Mtpa Union Reefs processing plant. The Company expects to
commence production at its Tom's Gully and Cosmo Deeps free-milling
projects in 2008-09 and then construct a flotation plant and biooxidation
heap leach facility using the GEOCOAT(R) technology at the Union Reefs
plant to process refractory ores and increase gold production from all
sources to a targeted annualized rate of 300,000 ounces in 2009-2010. The
Union Reefs plant is adjacent to the main Stuart Highway and the
trans-continental Adelaide-Darwin railway line, and is on the Northern
Territory power grid. Within 125km trucking distance of the Union Reefs
plant, GBS Gold has consolidated over 3,500km2 of prospective tenements
and gold deposits and also holds gold exploration properties in Western
Australia and Canada. GBS Gold trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under
the symbol "GBS".

The technical disclosures in this news release regarding the Tom's Gully
resource estimate were approved by Paul Payne of Resource Evaluations Pty
Ltd and regarding the Tom's Gully feasibility study and reserve estimate
were approved by Heath Gerritsen of HG Mine Design Pty Ltd. Technical
disclosures regarding GBS Gold's other properties and resources were
approved by Peter Harris, a consultant to GBS Gold. Each of Messrs Payne,
Gerritsen and Harris is a qualified person under National Instrument
43-101.

The Company's mineral resources comprise measured resources of 84,800
tonnes at 20.6g/t for 56,100 ounces of contained gold, indicated
resources of 24.6 million tonnes at 3.2g/t for 2.6 million ounces of
contained gold and inferred resources of 21.2 million tonnes at 2.4g/t
for 1.6 million ounces of contained gold. The resource estimates are
reported at a range of cut-off grades as set out in the technical report
entitled "Independent Technical Review of the Burnside, Union Reefs, Pine
Creek and Maud Creek Gold Projects, Northern Territory, Australia", dated
effective October, 2005 and filed on January 5, 2006, an addendum
technical report entitled "Addendum to the Technical Review of the
Burnside Gold Project, Union Reefs Gold Project, Pine Creek Gold Project
and Maud Creek Gold Project, Northern Territory, Australia - Resource
Update, Maud Creek Gold Project" dated February 2006 and filed on
February 8, 2006, the technical report entitled "Form 43-101 Technical
Report on the Tom's Gully Project" dated June 13, 2007 and filed on June
14, 2007 (collectively, the "Technical Reports"), and news releases filed
on January 20, July 10, September 14, October 26, November 27 and
December 13, 2006 and January 9 and May 10, 2007, all of which may be
viewed on the SEDAR website, www.sedar.com. Other than the feasibility
study completed on the Tom's Gully project, the Company has not completed
a feasibility study and there is no certainty that its projects will be
economically successful. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves
do not have demonstrated economic viability. Any potential updates to GBS
Gold's mineral resources discussed in this news release are conceptual in
nature and subject to further drilling, analytical and test work and/or
data verification. All estimates of updates to mineral resources are
based on the drilling results and resource modeling described herein.

Certain disclosures in this release, including management's assessment of
GBS Gold's plans and projects, constitute forward-looking statements that
are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors relating
to GBS Gold's operation as a mineral development company that may cause
future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in
such forward-looking statements. The following are important factors that
could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward looking statements: fluctuations in
gold prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties relating to
interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of
mineral deposits; uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating
costs, recovery rates, production estimates and estimated economic
return; general market conditions; the uncertainty of future
profitability; and the uncertainty of access to additional capital. Full
descriptions of these risks can be found in the Company's Annual
Information Form available on the SEDAR website, www.sedar.com. Readers
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
GBS Gold expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.

TSX does not accept responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of the information contained herein.

Contacts:
In Toronto, Canada:
GBS Gold International Inc.
Marie Inkster, Vice President, Finance
(416) 777-1508

In Perth, Australia:
GBS Gold International Inc.
Peter Kerr, Chief Financial Officer
+61 8 9492 2500
Email: gbs@gbsgold.ca
Website: www.gbsgold.com

Copyright 2007, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

-0-