Northern Lion Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:NL)(FRANKFURT:N3E) announces the start of a rotary drill program in the Republic of Cyprus, where the Company currently holds 19 permits over 70 km2. The 2012 drill program will test newly acquired permits, follow up on the successful drilling at St. Nikolas, which included 4.5 grams per tonne (\”g/t\”) gold, 19.08 g/t silver, and 1.04% copper over 28.6 metres in drill hole 11SN02 (reported April 6, 2011), and new targets defined by a recently completed airborne geophysical survey. Further details of this program will be released in the coming weeks.

The Company will begin the drill program by testing the recently acquired Pano Lefkara permit. Previous exploration work by the Company returned rock chip sample lines of 41 metres averaging 3.47 g/t gold, 25 metres averaging 1.10 g/t gold, and 24.5 metres averaging 1.06 g/t gold (reported April 25, 2012). The sample map showing the sampling is available on the Company\’s website at www.northernliongold.com.

The Pano Lefkara breccia zone consists of silicified argillically altered fragments in a variably limonite-kaolinite altered matrix. Historical drilling of the breccia zone intersected 30 metres of 0.42% copper and 0.91% zinc from within a wider zone of strong clay-pyrite alteration. Gold assays are not available from the earlier work, however; the Company believes there is the potential for gold mineralization. A large slag heap near the breccia zone attests to ancient mining in the vicinity. Further work by Northern Lion 450 metres south of the breccia zone has also revealed a gold geochemical anomaly and rock grab samples returned values up to 6.76 g/t gold.

Posted May 22, 2012