HDG High Desert Gold Corporation

High Desert Gold Corporation ("HDG" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:HDG)
announced today that the Company has signed an option agreement with Norvista
Resources Corporation ("Norvista"), a private Canadian corporation headquartered
in Toronto, on the Company's Canasta Dorada project located in Sonora, Mexico.
Under the agreement, Norvista will commit a minimum expenditure of US$250,000
and maintain the property for six months. Prior to the end of this option
period, Norvista can elect to purchase a 51% interest in a wholly- owned
subsidiary of HDG, to be established ("Newco"), for US$1.5 million. Newco would
be set up to hold all the HDG property interests in the Canasta Dorada Project.
Norvista would be manager of the project under the direction of Mr. Rick Adams,
most recently a founder and director of Castle Gold Corporation ("Castle Gold").
Under the agreement, Norvista will then be obligated to take Newco public within
one year or risk losing operatorship.


Ralph Fitch, President and CEO, stated, "I believe this is an excellent
opportunity for the Company and for our shareholders. The Newco will be led by
several former members of the Castle Gold management team. Castle Gold
successfully developed and operated two open-pit, heap-leach gold mines in
Mexico and Guatemala, and was acquired by Argonaut Gold Corp. for gross proceeds
of approximately Cdn$110 million during the first quarter of this year.
Norvista's immediate focus will be to drill extensions of the mineralization
already defined by HDG's initial drill program. This affords the Company the
opportunity to advance Canasta Dorada without further expense to HDG or share
dilution, while at the same time, allowing our management team to focus on
advancing the two very promising new gold projects in our portfolio, Gold
Springs in the US and San Antonio in Mexico."


Previous drilling by HDG at Canasta Dorada (see HDG PR 08-08, May 20, 2008)
delineated an open-ended block of approximately 350 by 150 metres in the "Big
Pit" area. The average of the grade and thickness of the holes in this block is:




----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Average Width                                        
                            (metres)                      Average Gold (g/t)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Big Pit                                                                     
 Mineralization                 15.7                                   0.614
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Includes Drill                       CD-07-001,2,6,7,8,10,11,12,13,13A,14,27
 Holes               The average width in these holes varies from 8-31 m and
                                  the average grade from 0.2 to 2.1 gpt gold
----------------------------------------------------------------------------



It is important to note that a "nugget effect" is seen in drill hole assays,
such that large 3 kg cyanide bottle roll assays are typically higher grade than
the 30 gram fire assay results reported above. This coarse gold is seen in the
twin holes CD-07-13 and 13a, where the assays from individual samples in these
holes were typically 42% to 151% higher in the large bottle roll samples than in
the smaller fire assay samples. The mineralized intercepts from these two holes
were re-analyzed. The 3 kg bottle roll analyses increased the average grade in
DDH 13 from 0.32 grams per tonne ("g/t") to 0.73 g/t over 21 metres, a 90.3%
increase in grade, and in the second drill hole, DDH 13A, the grade increased
9.4% from 1.14 to 1.25 g/t over 23.5 metres (see HDG PR 08-26, dated December 5,
2008).


Approximately one kilometre to the southeast of the "Big Pit" area, drill hole
CD-07-016, located in the "Placer Area" target, intersected the same flat-lying
structural zone and exhibits strong alteration over greater thicknesses. This
hole was located on the eastern edge of the very strong 800 metre by 800 metre
gold anomaly in the soil that was previously reported (see HDG PR 08-01, January
18, 2008). The initial drill program will test whether the "Big Pit"
mineralization extends in a semi-continuous zone to the "Placer Area"; a zone
large enough to host an important resource should mineralization be confirmed by
drilling.


HDG EXPLORATION UPDATE

Drilling is in progress at the Gold Springs project as was previously announced
(see HDG PR10-12, June 7, 2010). Samples have been submitted to the assay lab in
Reno, Nevada and the first results are expected back from the lab in July.


As previously reported, the Qualified Person on the Canasta Dorada project for
the Company is Randall Moore, Executive VP of Exploration, and a certified
professional geologist. Please see High Desert Gold Corporation's website,
www.highdesertgoldcorp.com, for maps and drill hole locations.


ABOUT NORVISTA

Norvista Resources Corporation, founded by noted Canadian mining company
executive, Gerry McCarvill, is a private merchant bank dedicated to making
investments in the natural resource sector. Mr. McCarvill has been instrumental
in the founding of a number of international mining companies with a value into
several billions of dollars. Norvista is building a portfolio of mining
companies designed to provide investors with a broad exposure to the sector.
www.norvistaresources.com


ABOUT HIGH DESERT GOLD

The Company is a mineral exploration company that acquires and explores mineral
properties, primarily gold, copper and silver, in North America. The major
properties held by HDG are the Canasta Dorada gold property in Sonora, Mexico,
the Gold Springs gold project situated along the border between Utah and Nevada
and the recently announced San Antonio project in Sonora, Mexico. The Company is
currently well funded for the planned exploration programs in 2010 and has only
22.9 million shares outstanding.


Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking statements".
Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the
effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements
may include words such as "will," "would," "plans," "intends," "anticipates,"
"should," "estimates," "expects," "believes," "indicates," "exhibits,"
"targeting," "suggests," "potential," "interpretation" and similar expressions.
Information concerning the interpretation of drill results also may be
considered forward-looking statements, as such information constitutes a
prediction of what mineralization might be found to be present if and when a
project is actually developed. These forward-looking statements are based on
current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results
may materially differ from expectations, if known and unknown risks or
uncertainties affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions prove
inaccurate. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Except as required
by law, HDG assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other
reason. Additional information regarding risks and uncertainties that could
affect the Company's business is contained in the Company's Management
Discussion & Analysis of Financial Position and Results of Operations, which is
available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

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