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Cortez Intersects 26m of 1.2 g/t Gold at the Petla

[royalton]

Cortez Intersects 26m of 1.2 g/t Gold at the Petlacala Gold-Silver Project, Mexico

09:00 EST Monday, Jan 31, 2011

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 31, 2011) –

Cortez Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CUT) (the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its Petlacala Gold-Silver Project in Mexico. For further details and property maps, please visit the Company's website at www.cortezgoldcorp.com.

Petlacala Project

Cortez Gold is pleased to release final drill core assay results from 14 diamond drill holes (2516m) from its 2010 Phase I drill program at Petlacala. The drill program at Petlacala targeted a low-sulphidation vein system comprised of the Astro, Karla-Guadalupe, Armazon, Ninfas, Madre and California veins (see news releases of April 12, August 11, Oct. 19 and Dec. 15, 2010).

Drill hole Pet-6 Gu intersected 1.04m of 16.67 g/t gold and 10 g/t silver within a 25.77m wide zone of 1.16 g/t gold and 3.42 g/t silver. Several other significant drill hole intersections have been encountered including the discovery of a new vein intercepted by drill hole Pet-7 Ni that assayed 3.46 g/t gold and 16.7 g/t silver over 1.65m.

Please see the table below for the most significant assays.

At the Karla-Guadalupe vein, significant assay results were obtained in two holes. Drill holes Pet-5 Gu and Pet-6 Gu intersected two zones of low-grade gold-silver mineralization located close to the surface. Hole Pet-5 Gu intersected a 35.5m zone, starting at 39m, of 0.57 g/t gold and 55.5 g/t silver, including 2.83m of 2.53 g/t gold and 166.23 g/t silver, and a 15.59m zone of 0.49 g/t gold and 44.2 g/t silver, including 0.49m of 8.03 g/t gold and 430.5 g/t silver.

Hole Pet-6 Gu intersected, starting from 144.05m, a 25.77m zone of 1.16 g/t gold and 3.42 g/t silver including 1.04m of 16.67 g/t gold and 10 g/t silver, and a 15.37m zone of 0.3 g/t gold and 2.68 g/t silver.

These intersections indicate the possibility of bulk tonnage low-grade gold mineralization located close to the surface as well as the possible presence of a high-grade gold-silver vein system at depth.

At the Ninfas vein, drill hole Pet-7 Ni intersected, starting at a depth of 67.7m, a new vein (Ninfas West vein). The Ninfas West vein possesses all the characteristics of an epithermal low-sulphidation vein with abundant open spaces, bladed quartz textures, presence of amethyst, and several generations of silica. The drill intersection of the Ninfas West vein is 1.65m wide and returned 3.46 g/t gold and 16.7 g/t silver within a wide iron-oxidized altered zone. This new discovery demonstrates that at the Petlacala project there is the potential of discovering more veins through systematic surface exploration and drilling.

At the Astro vein system, drill hole Pet-9 As intersected 2.7m grading 2.12 g/t gold and 41.69 g/t silver.

Significant Drill Intersections from Phase I Drill Program at the Petlacala Project

Vein	Drill Hole	From	To	Drill Interval	True Width	Au	Ag
		[m]	[m]	[m]	[m]	[g/t]	[g/t]
Karla-Guadalupe	Pet-5 Gu	32.50	32.65	0.15	0.13	1.66	186.00	**
		39.00	78.95	39.95	35.50	0.57	55.50	*
	including	64.07	67.25	3.18	2.83	2.53	166.23	**
		97.36	114.90	17.54	15.59	0.49	44.20
	including	106.80	107.35	0.55	0.49	8.03	430.50
Karla-Guadalupe	Pet-6 Gu	9.85	10.15	0.30	0.27	2.18	16.00
		144.05	172.80	28.75	25.77	1.16	3.42
	including	155.27	156.43	1.16	1.04	16.67	10.00
		185.25	202.40	17.15	15.37	0.30	2.68
	or	144.05	202.40	58.35	52.31	0.70	2.68
		218.10	219.30	1.20	1.07	1.31	1.00
Karla-Guadalupe	Pet-8 Gu	178.00	178.20	0.20	0.18	1.88	10.00
Ninfas	Pet-7 Ni	67.70	69.70	2.00	1.65	3.46	16.70
Astro	Pet-1 As	39.95	40.20	0.25	0.24	13.31	68.00	**
Astro	Pet-9 As	59.05	62.60	3.55	2.70	2.12	41.69
Astro	Pet-10 As	181.15	181.75	0.60	0.45	2.29	47.00
California	Pet-2A Ca	38.00	38.40	0.40	0.27	0.61	75.00	*
California	Pet-3 Ca	126.45	129.60	3.15	2.18	0.23	6.18
	Pet-3 Ca	140.70	147.78	7.08	4.89	0.24	31.99	***
California	Pet-13 Ca	64.30	66.10	1.80	1.25	0.86	40.70
California	Pet-14 Ca		No significant assay results
Madre	Pet-12 Ma	114.90	119.25	4.35	4.15	0.53	16.97
Armazon	Pet-11 Ar		No significant assay results
* Results reported in Oct. 19, 2010 NR.
** Average of two FA results.
*** Silver results reported in Oct 19, 2010 NR were based on CP assay values; currently reported results are based on fire assay.

The Company is currently analyzing drill hole data and waiting for assay results from surface soil samples collected at the end of 2010. The first objective of the 2011 Phase II drill program is to define the horizontal extension of the low-grade mineralization encountered by holes Pet-5 Gu and Pet-6 Gu. Additional objectives include following up on the higher grade drill intersections encountered in holes Pet-5 Gu, Pet-6 Gu, and Pet-7 Ni, and the search for new veins similar to the newly discovered Ninfas West vein.

Drill core samples were submitted to ACME preparation laboratory in Guadalajara, Mexico, and were shipped to Vancouver for analysis. The Company has implemented a quality assurance and quality control program (including insertion of standard and blank samples into the sample stream) to ensure that the sampling and analysis of all samples are conducted in accordance with industry best practices.

The Petlacala property covers approximately 3,200 hectares. It is located 220 kilometers southwest of Mexico City, 70 kilometers west of Gold Corp.'s Los Filos and El Bermejal gold deposit, and approximately 200km south of the El Oro – Tlalpujahua epithermal vein system, which is judged to be similar to Petlacala (see the technical report entitled "TECHNICAL REPORT on the PETLACALA PROPERTY, GUERRERO STATE, MEXICO" dated July 16, 2010, by Piotr Lutynski, P.Eng., as filed on www.sedar.com).

Exploration work on the Petlacala project is being conducted by Reyna Mining. On behalf of Cortez Gold, Piotr Lutynski, P.Eng., is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the Petlacala exploration program who supervised the preparation of the technical information in this release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF CORTEZ GOLD CORP.

Robert Eadie, President & Chief Executive Officer

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Robert Eadie

Cortez Gold Corp.

President and CEO

[phone]

[phone] (FAX)

[e-mail]

www.cortezgoldcorp.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.