Asanko Gold Mine Phase 1 Project Update

Highlights:  

• Early  works  program  at  the  Asanko  Gold  Mine  and  detailed  engineering  advancing  on  schedule  with  a full  investment  decision  planned  for  July.
• Mineral   Resource   Estimate   revision   for   Nkran   and   Adubiaso   deposits   complete   with   no   material change  and  detailed  mine  planning  underway
• Definitive  Project  Plan  to  be  published  as  an  NI  43-­‐101  compliant  technical  report  by  Q4  2014.
• Environmental  permit  conditions  continue  to  be  removed  –  official  moratorium  declared  over  mining area  in  preparation  for  breaking  ground  in  Q3  2014.
• New  General  Manager  appointed  and  recruitment  of  key  operating  personnel  underway.

Vancouver,  British  Columbia,  June  18,  2014  –  Asanko  Gold  Inc.  (“Asanko”  or  the  “Company”)  (TSX,  NYSE   MKT:   AKG)  is  pleased  to  provide  an  update  on  activities  at  the  fully  funded  and  permitted  Asanko  Gold Mine  (the  “AGM”  or  the  “Project”)  in  Ghana.    In  early  April,  the  Company  engaged  DRA  as  the  Engineering, Procurement,  Construction  and  Management  (“EPCM”)  contractor  for  the  design  and  construction  of  Phase 1   of   the   Project   as   well   as   Knight   Piesold   to   design   the   Tailings   Storage   Facility   and   carry   out   detailed geotechnical   engineering   works   for   the   site.     Shortly   thereafter,   the   Company   initiated   an   early   works program   designed   to   advance   the   critical   activities   that   will   allow   the   Company   to   maintain   its   project schedule,  targeting  first  gold  in  Q1  2016.

Detailed  engineering  and  early  works  programs  are  proceeding  on  schedule,  ground  breaking  at  the  plant site  is  expected  to  commence  in  August  2014,  pending  a  positive  investment  decision  on  the  Project  by  the Board  in  July.

Asanko  Gold  Mine  Site  Early  Works

The  site  early  works  program,  which  began  in  April  2014  with  a  budget  of  approximately  US$16  million,  has been  progressing  on  schedule  and  on  budget.    For  photos  of  the  early  works  progress  at  AGM,  please  click on  the  following  link:  http://www.asanko.com/s/photogallery.asp

• Upgrading  of  the  site  access  road  is  nearing  completion  with  8km  out  of  11  km  completed.
• Refurbishment  of  the  mining  village  is  80%  complete.
• The  plant  medical  clinic  construction  is  nearing  completion  and  will  be  operational  in  early  July.
• Mobile  equipment  orders  have  been  placed  and  delivery  of  key  equipment  is  scheduled  for  July.
• Refurbishment   and   upgrades   to   the   site’s   airstrip   have   been   completed   and   inspected   by   the regulatory  authorities.
• Construction  of  the  communication  tower  and  office  potable  water  systems  have  commenced.

Detailed  Engineering

Since  commencing  work  in  early  April,  DRA  have  advanced  several  key  front-­‐end  engineering  and  design activities,  including:

• Plant  layout  is  now  complete,  revised  to  incorporate  a  potential  Phase  2  expansion  to  the  plant.
• An   initial   order   is   expected   to   be   placed   shortly   for   the   detailed   design   of   the   161kV   electrical infrastructure.
• Various  structural  and  civil  designs  are  underway  to  allow  bulk  earth  works  to  commence  at  the  plant site  in  August  2014.
• Mechanical   equipment   list,   process   and   instrumentation   diagrams   and   process   design   criteria   have been  completed.
• Operating  costs  are  in  the  process  of  being  updated.
• Civil,   mechanical,   electrical   and   infrastructure   designs   have   been   completed   to   sufficient   detail   to allow  the  detailed  capital  cost  to  be  estimated.
• The  Control  Base  Estimate  (“CBE”)  or  detailed  capital  cost  estimate  for  the  Project  is  in  the  final  stages of  completion  with  all  tenders  closed.

Knight   Piesold   have   advanced   geotechnical   engineering   with   some   additional   geotechnical   drilling completed  over  the  past  two  months  to  support  the  detailed  mine  plan  for  the  Nkran  pit.

Resource  Update  &  Mine  Planning

Asanko’s  independent  Qualified  Person  with  respect  to  NI  43-­‐101  has  completed  revisions  to  the  Mineral Resource  Estimate  (“MRE”)  for  the  Nkran  and  Adubiaso  pits,  which  are  currently  being  used  for  detailed mine  planning.

While  the  overall  MRE  has  not  changed  materially  since  the  previous  estimate  (announced  in  September 2012   and   the   basis   for   the   Company’s   current   disclosure),   the   revised   estimate   incorporates   a   more detailed  geological  model  and  utilises  a  combination  of  Indicator  Kriging  and  Ordinary  Kriging  to  bring  a higher  level  of  confidence  and  detail  to  the  MRE  which  makes  it  more  suitable  for  detailed  mine  planning.

DRA  are  currently  working  on  the  detailed  mine  plan,  with  a  preliminary  plan  to  be  ready  for  the  Board’s investment  decision  in  July  and  the  final  plan  to  be  finalised  during  Q3  2014.

The  revised  MRE,  detailed  mine  plan  and  CBE  will  all  be  combined  into  a  Definitive  Project  Plan  which  is expected  to  be  completed  by  Q4  2014  and  filed  as  a  NI  43-­‐101  compliant  technical  report.

The   contract   tendering   process   has   begun   for   the   pre-­‐strip   component   of   the   Nkran   pit,   which   the Company  expects  to  begin  in  Q4  2014.    The  pre-­‐stripping  of  Nkran  involves  cutting  back  the  existing  pit from   historical   mining   operations.     Total   pre-­‐strip   requirements   are   approximately   26   million   tonnes   of material  to  be  moved  to  access  the  Nkran  ore  for  the  commencement  of  mining  operations  in  Q3  2015. The   cost   of   the   pre-­‐strip   has   been   included   in   the   Project’s   capital   cost,   as   per   the   Company’s   current disclosure.

Permitting

Phase  1  of  the  Project  is  fully  permitted  for  the  commencement  of  construction.    In  early  June,  the  Minerals Commission  declared  a  moratorium  over  the  expected  mining  and  infrastructure  areas.    The  declaration  of a   moratorium   is   an   important   precursor   to   construction   activity   and   will   establish   the   basis   for   crop compensation  and  land  use  deprivation  processes  to  commence  with  the  local  communities.    In  addition, work   is   underway   on   a   Resettlement   Action   Plan   (“RAP”)   which   will   be   reviewed   and   approved   by   the Ghanaian  Environmental  Protection  Agency  in  Q4  2014.

The  Company  continues  to  advance  the  permitting  required  to  mine  both  Dynamite  Hill  and  the  Phase  2 mining  operations  at  Esaase.    In  early  June,  a  Temporary  Mining  Permit  was  received  for  the  Esaase  deposit which  would  allow  mining  operations  to  commence  at  Esaase.    Full  environmental  permitting  at  Esaase  is ongoing.

Organisational  Capability

On   June   1^st,   the   Company   officially   appointed   Jonathan   Ebo   Collins   as   General   Manager   -­‐   Asanko   Gold Mine.     Charles   Amoah,   the   current   acting   General   Manager   and   a   metallurgist,   will   continue   with   the Company   as   Manager   –   Processing.     Recruitment   is   underway   for   other   key   operating   positions   as   the Company  continues  to  build  its  organisational  capability  in  Ghana.

Jonathan  is  a  Ghanaian  national  and  a  mining  engineer  with  over  25  years  of  operational  experience  in  the African  mining  sector.    He  has  worked  in  Ghana,  South  Africa  and  Liberia,  predominantly  for  major  natural resources  companies  such  as  Xstrata  Coal,  Anglo  American,  Arcelor  Mittal,  Total,  and  Sasol.    He  began  his career  with  Ashanti  Goldfields,  now  AngloGold  Ashanti,  at  the  Obuasi  mine  before  moving  to  South  Africa to  work  in  the  coal  industry.    During  his  career,  he  has  been  Mine  Manager  and  General  Manager  of  several large   coal   operations   with   both   open   pit   and   underground   mines   and   he   has   overseen   projects   from construction   and   commissioning   through   to   operations.     He   has   won   multiple   national   safety   awards   in recognition  of  the  outstanding  safety  performance  of  the  mines  under  his  management.  Jonathan  holds  a Bachelor   of   Science   and   a   Postgraduate   Diploma   in   Mining   Engineering   and   is   a   member   of   the   South African  Institute  of  Mining  and  Metallurgy  (SAIMM).

Enquiries:  

For  further  information  please  visit  www.asanko.com  or  contact:

Alex  Buck,  Manager  –  Investor  Relations   Greg  McCunn,  Chief  Financial  Officer Telephone:  +44-­‐7932-­‐740-­‐452   Telephone:  +1-­‐778-­‐729-­‐0604 Email:  [email protected]   Email:  [email protected]

General  [email protected]

About  Asanko  Gold  Inc.  

Asanko’s  vision  is  to  become  a  mid-­‐tier  gold  mining  company  that  maximizes  value  for  all  its  stakeholders. Asanko’s   flagship   project   is   the   fully   financed,   multi-­‐million   ounce   Asanko   Gold   Mine   Project   located   in Ghana,  West  Africa.

Asanko  is  managed  by  highly  skilled  and  successful  technical,  operational  and  financial  professionals.  The Company   is   strongly   committed   to   the   highest   standards   for   environmental   management,   social responsibility,  and  health  and  safety  for  its  employees  and  neighbouring  communities.

Forward-­‐Looking  and  other  Cautionary  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  estimated  resource  quantities,  grades  and  contained   metals,  possible  future  mining,  exploration  and  development  activities,  are  forward-­‐looking  statements.  Although  the   Company  believes  the  forward-­‐looking  statements  are  based  on  reasonable  assumptions,  such  statements  should  not   be  in  any  way  construed  as  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   market   prices   for   metals,   the   conclusions   of   detailed   feasibility   and   technical   analyses,  lower  than  expected  grades  and  quantities  of  resources,  mining  rates  and  recovery  rates  and  the  lack  of   availability  of  necessary  capital,  which  may  not  be  available  to  the  Company  on  terms  acceptable  to  it  or  at  all.  The   Company   is   subject   to   the   specific   risks   inherent   in   the   mining   business   as   well   as   general   economic   and   business   conditions.  For  more  information  on  the  Company,  Investors  should  review  the  Company's  annual  Form  20-­‐F  filing  with   the  United  States  Securities  Commission  and  its  home  jurisdiction  filings  that  are  available  at  www.sedar.com.  

Neither  Toronto  Stock  Exchange  nor  the  Investment  Industry  Regulatory  Organization  of  Canada  accepts  responsibility   for  the  adequacy  or  accuracy  of  this  release.  

Cautionary  Note  to  US  Investors  Regarding  Mineral  Reporting  Standards:  

Asanko  has  prepared  its  disclosure  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  securities  laws  in  effect  in  Canada,  which   differ  from  the  requirements  of  US  securities  laws.  Terms  relating  to  mineral  resources  in  this  press  release  are  defined   in  accordance  with  National  Instrument  43-­‐101  -­‐  Standards  of  Disclosure  for  Mineral  Projects  under  the  guidelines  set   out   in   the   Canadian   Institute   of   Mining,   Metallurgy,   and   Petroleum   Standards   on   Mineral   Resources   and   Mineral   Reserves.    The  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission  (the  “SEC”)  permits  mining  companies,  in  their  filings  with  the  SEC,   to  disclose  only  those  mineral  deposits  that  a  company  can  economically  and  legally  extract  or  produce.    Asanko  uses   certain  terms,  such  as,  “measured  mineral  resources”,  “indicated  mineral  resources”,  “inferred  mineral  resources”  and   “probable  mineral  reserves”,  that  the  SEC  does  not  recognize  (these  terms  may  be  used  in  this  press  release  and  are   included   in   the   public   filings   of   Asanko   which   have   been   filed   with   securities   commissions   or   similar   authorities   in   Canada).