Highlights of the PFS (based on $1,400 per ounce gold price) are, as follows:

• Proven & Probable Mineral Reserves of 2.37 million ounces of gold at 1.41 g/t.
• Robust project economics with an after-tax IRR of 23.2% and an NPV (5%) of $354.7 million.
• Strong cash flow generation with average annual free cash flow of $87 million.
• Mine life ('LOM') in excess of 10 years with strong potential to increase.
• Average annual gold production of 200,000 ounces from a 5 million tonne per annum ('Mtpa') operation at a fully diluted LOM average plant feed grade of 1.41g/t and a LOM strip ratio (waste:ore) of 4.28:1.
• Installation capital of $286.4 million, including all associated infrastructure and a 10% contingency.
• LOM cash operating costs¹ of $736/oz with steady state cash operating costs of $724/oz.
• LOM total cash costs² of $813/oz with steady state total cash costs of $801/oz.
• LOM all-in sustaining cash costs³ of $843/oz (pre-tax). LOM all-in sustaining cash costs of $990 (post tax).
• Highly competitive all-in sustaining cash costs equate to an ability to generate positive returns and free cash flow in a lower gold price environment (for example average annual free cash flow is $65 million at $1,200/oz gold price).
• Definitive Feasibility Study ('DFS') to commence immediately, targeting completion in Q4 2013.
• An 18-month project construction schedule with first gold in H1 2015 and steady-state production in H2 2015.

PFS Overview

A detailed LOM plan was developed for the project using the October 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE') comprising 4.41 million ounces of gold in the Measured and Indicated category with an average grade of 1.45 g/t gold at a 0.6 g/t gold cut-off. The positive PFS has converted a portion of these Mineral Resources into Proven and Probable Reserves of 2.37 million ounces of gold at 1.41 g/t. The mine plan provides sufficient ore to support an annual production rate of approximately 200,000 ounces of gold for over 10 years.

The PFS mine plan was developed using Whittle mine optimisation software and applying LOM modifying factors developed during the completion of the Project Review Update ('PRU') published on September 6, 2012. A detailed mine design and plan was developed from the selected whittle pit using Studio 5 Planner and EPS Scheduling software. The outcome of this PFS clearly demonstrates that the modifying factors applied during the initial whittle optimisation and subsequent detailed mine design were overly pessimistic (specifically in the processing and mining areas). A whittle run was recently performed by DRA mining using the PFS confirmed modifying factors. The outcome of the whittle run shows good potential to increase mine life by including measured and indicated material which was excluded in the PFS mine design as a result of being classified as uneconomic. This opportunity will be investigated extensively during the DFS.

The PFS is based on contract mining and the processing plant is based on the final metallurgical flow sheet developed earlier this year (see news release dated February 21, 2013). The flow sheet envisages flotation, a gravity recovery circuit followed by concentrate regrinding and a standard carbon-in-leach ('CIL') circuit. This flow sheet is common in the gold processing industry. The LOM cash operating cost averages $724/oz at steady state production.

The capital costs for the Project (determined to a nominal accuracy of -15% to +25%) and including a 10% contingency, is estimated at $286.4 million. This is a 10% increase over the PRU which envisaged a 4 million tonne per annum process plant (25% smaller than the PFS design). The capital cost breakdown is $102.5 million for the process plant, $122.0 million for project infrastructure and $61.9 million for project indirects, services and owners' team. Excluded from the PFS is the ability of the plant to increase throughput rates by +/-10% whilst processing softer oxides ores early in the mine life. This will be included in the DFS.

The project has the capacity to generate pre-tax cash flow of $115 million per annum at an average gold price of $1,400/oz over the life of mine. The project will deliver an average annual free cash flow of approximately $87 million after taxes, royalties and sustaining capital.

The Company will file a Technical Report as defined by NI 43-101 on www.sedar.com within 45 days of the date of this release.

Commencement of a DFS

The Company will commence the DFS immediately and has awarded the study to DRA Mineral Projects in South Africa with the view to completing the study in the fourth quarter of 2013. As a significant amount of work has already been done on the Project, only three key elements remain for DFS completion, as follows:

• A metallurgical testwork program focusing on the optimisation of the flotation reagent suite which could result in the reduction of the concentrate mass pull through the float plant to further optimize the process flow sheet and associated costs.
• Detailed mine design using the PFS developed modifying factors to improve the conversion of Mineral Resources to Mineral Reserves.
• Detailed engineering design to estimate the capital cost to +/-10% accuracy.

Metallurgical testwork will commence immediately on representative samples, previously shipped to the Amdel testing facility in Australia. The test campaign is to be conducted at the ALS laboratories in Perth. The results from the program will be used in the detailed design phase of the project.

The detailed mine design has already commenced at DRA Mining with the objective to include the deeper sections of the ore body, classified as Measured and Indicated Resources, in the next phase of the project. This is anticipated to extend the life of mine and therefore improve the project economics further.

Permitting

The Esaase permitting process is well advanced and is anticipated to be completed before the end of this year. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is well advanced and Asanko anticipates the lodgement of the draft EIS to the Ghanaian Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the coming weeks.

Commenting on the PFS, Asanko's President & CEO Peter Breese said, "The positive PFS continues to de-risk the Project and move Asanko closer to fulfilling its objective of near-term, low cost gold production and cash flow generation. The financial results of the PFS clearly demonstrate that the Esaase project will be a mine that will generate significant cash flows into the future at a range of gold prices. We believe that there is strong potential to increase the life of mine and the economics of the project further.

During the past six months we have recruited a high-caliber management team capable of building and commissioning the mine on time and within budget. In addition to this considerable strength we already have approximately $195 million in cash in our treasury. These two strengths together with the now clearly robust Esaase Gold Project places Asanko in an enviable position considering the challenging state of the capital markets. We are well placed to take the project to the next level and have commenced negotiations with various funding institutions with a view to having a fully financed Project by completion of the DFS."

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Peter Breese, President & CEO

About Asanko Gold Inc.

Asanko's vision is to become a mid-tier gold mining company that maximizes value for all its stakeholders. Our immediate focus is on near term gold production at our multi-million ounce Esaase Gold Project located in Ghana, West Africa; a highly favourable and prospective jurisdiction. Asanko is managed by highly skilled and successful technical, operational and financial professionals. The Company is well financed with no debt, and is strongly committed to the highest standards for environmental management, social responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and neighbouring communities.

Asanko trades on the TSX and the NYSE MKT under the symbol AKG.

Pre-Feasibility Study Executive Summary

Introduction

The Company engaged DRA Mineral Process South Africa to manage a PFS on the Esaase Gold Project based on the October 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE') prepared for Asanko by Minxcon. The PFS was completed using the following parameters:

The key considerations in the PFS were the preferred mining and processing route, the scale of the operation, throughput rate, project life and community and environmental impacts. The minimum life of the project is in excess of 10 years, but has the potential to be significantly increased, given the number of untested targets within close proximity to the current resource base as well as improved modifying factors that emerged at the end of the PFS. The PFS is therefor considered as a base case scenario.

The Esaase Gold Project is located in Ghana, West Africa (Figure 1). Ghana is Africa's second largest gold producer and has been producing gold on a large scale for many years. Ghana has many internationally recognised Gold mining companies operating in the country including but not limited to AngloGold Ashanti, Newmont, Goldfields and Perseus.

To view Figure 1, visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/AsankoProject_Location.jpg

Mineral Resource Estimation (MRE)

The Company engaged Minxcon, a South African based mineral resource consultancy firm to complete the MRE for the Esaase project in Ghana. Minxcon has many years of Ghanaian experience and has worked extensively in Ghana on the Tarkwa and Damang deposits for Goldfields. Minxcon was engaged to review the mineral resource estimate and mine plan for opportunities to improve the minable ore grade and/or reduce the strip ratio during the early years of production. Minxcon concluded that there is an opportunity to improve the minable ore grade by using selective mining methods rather than the bulk mining method as proposed in the September 2011 Pre-Feasibility Study ('2011 PFS').

Minxcon updated the refined block model utilizing existing data to more precisely delineate the mineralized zones within the resource area and produced a MRE for selective mine planning. The Company released the results of the revised resource estimate dated November 23, 2012 (Table 1).

Note: Esaase's MRE is now stated at a 0.6g/t cut off which is in line with the PFS selected whittle shell and detailed mine plan schedules and is also included in the MRE published by Minxcon in November 2012.

Mining

The mining capital and operating cost estimates, mining schedule and Mineral Reserve Estimate were prepared by independent consultants DRA (Mining Division) with the assistance of mine design specialists, CAE Mining Africa (Pty) Ltd from Johannesburg, South Africa and based on productivity and cost estimates received from Mining Contractors during the previous study phase.

As part of the PFS, a series of whittle pit optimisations were completed. Material classified in the Measured and Indicated categories were used in the whittle pit optimisation processes. Inferred Resources were excluded. A series of pits generated from a series of cutoff grades were run through Whittle and a financial model to generate the optimum mine plan for the Project. Once the optimal Whittle shell was selected, detailed mine designs, waste dump designs and LOM mining schedules were then completed using Studio 5 Planner and EPS Scheduling to determine the optimal long term mine plan (Table 2).

As a result of the positive PFS, a portion of the Mineral Resources were converted to Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves (Table 3).

Notes:

A 'Mineral Reserve' is the economically mineable part of a Measured or Indicated Mineral Resource demonstrated by at least a Preliminary Feasibility Study. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses that may occur when the material is mined. DRA is of the opinion that the classification of Mineral Reserves as reported herein meets the definitions of Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves as stated by the CIM Definition Standards (2005). Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves have not demonstrated economic viability. Inferred Mineral Resources are excluded from the Mineral Reserve Estimate. All figures are rounded to reflect appropriate levels of confidence. Apparent differences may occur due to rounding.

The stripping ratio (waste:ore) for the life of mine ('LOM') is estimated to be 4.28:1. 52.3Mt of ore will be fed to the plant over the more than 10-year mine life at an average fully diluted grade 1.41g/t gold.

The PFS is based on contract mining utilizing truck and shovel surface mining. The basic mining fleet will comprise four 18m³ excavators (CAT 6030) and twenty-eight 100 tonne rigid dump trucks (CAT 777G). The trucks will be loaded by hydraulic shovels in a backhoe configuration for dispatch of ore and waste to the relevant dumping positions.

Distances and haul road profiles have been used to calculate hauling productivities of the mining fleet, fleet size and to meet the mining schedule requirements. The haul road maintenance will be supported by two large graders (CAT 16M) and one smaller grader (CAT 14H/M) and two water carts (CAT 773D WT). The fleet will be supported by dozers, service trucks, tractors, workshop infrastructure and tyre handlers.

The run of mine ('ROM') ore will be tipped onto the ROM pad stockpiles with flexibility of direct tipping into the primary crusher. The ROM pad is situated 1.3km from the pit exit. Waste will be hauled to three strategic waste dump positions situated in close proximity to the pit to reduce operating costs.

Bench heights employed are based on geotechnical recommendations and practical fleet considerations for the project. Oxide material will be mined with 10m benches, while fresh material will have 20m bench heights.

Pit dewatering has been provided for each pit and is integrated with the overall storm water management philosophy developed for the Project.

The average mining cost over the LOM is estimated at $3.20 per tonne mined (ore and waste), which equates to a total mining cost of $414.06 per ounce of gold produced. Waste mining and haulage costs are $2.86/tonne whilst ore mining and haulage costs are $4.64/tonne. The major difference between the two being for the design of grade control for selective mining purposes of ore.

Mining capital requirements for initial contractor mobilisation, establishment of the contractor, and site clearing is estimated to be $13.7 million. As the Esaase deposit is a green field site which starts with the mining of a ridge of approximately 100 metre high hills, there is very little pre-stripping to be done. A clearing and topsoil stripping cost has been included in the capital in the sum of $6.9 million. Most of the pre-strip material will be used for initial tailings dam wall construction.

Processing

Under the supervision of Lycopodium in Australia four extensive phases of test work were completed for the Esaase Gold project up to an including the Esaase PFS that was published in 2011. Based on a review of the phase I - IV test work, a phase V test work programme was initiated by DRA in the last quarter of 2012 and completed in Q1 2013. By doing additional test work on composite samples made up of the left over material from the phase III and IV test work, an optimal plant configuration was developed (Figure 2).

To view Figure 2, visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Process_Flow_Sheet.jpg

The plant is a conventional crushing, milling, gravity recovery followed by flotation, with the flotation concentrate being reground and then leached in a standard CIL circuit using AARL elution technology. The flotation tails are low enough in grade to be discarded.

ROM ore will be treated in an open circuit primary crushing system consisting of ROM bin and gyratory crusher. Product from the primary crusher will be conveyed to a secondary cone crusher. Secondary crusher product will be routed onto a 10,000t mill feed stockpile. Material will be withdrawn from the stockpile using belt feeders that feed directly onto the mill feed conveyor.

The ball milling circuit is designed to a feed rate of 635t/h dry solids. The mill will operate in closed circuit with a cluster of hydrocyclones. The ball mill will be a 13MW dual motor configuration producing a p80 grind of 75 micrometre. The cyclone overflow will be gravity fed to a flotation circuit. The cyclone underflow will be sent to a primary gravity concentration circuit, with the tails being recycled to the mill feed.

The primary gravity concentrator circuit will include two independent Knelson XD-48 concentrators with capacity to each treat 400t/h. The gravity concentrate will report to a high intensity batch dissolution reactor. The pregnant solution from the intensive dissolution reactor will be pumped to the electrowinning cell feed tank.

The flotation circuit will comprise of a single bank of seven 130m3 forced air rougher flotation cells in series. The flotation tailings will be pumped to flotation tailings storage facility while the flotation concentrate will be fed to de-sliming cyclones on a regrind circuit. The cyclone overflow will be routed to a pre-leach thickener while cyclone underflow will be treated in a Vertimill to achieve a P80 of 20 micrometre. Regrind mill product will be pumped to a secondary gravity concentration unit; the concentrate will be routed along with concentrate from the primary gravity concentrator to the intensive dissolution reactor. Pre-leach thickener underflow will be pumped to the CIL circuit.

The CIL circuit will consist of seven 330m³ tanks in series. Slurry will flow from one CIL tank to another via Kemix inter-tank pumping screens and launders. CIL tailings will be screened for carbon and pumped to the cyanide and arsenic detoxification circuits. Detoxification will be achieved by the SO2/Air process in two detox tanks. Copper Sulphate will be added to catalyse the reaction. The detox circuit will be operated to achieve a cyanide concentration in the final tailings stream of <50ppm CNWAD. Chloride addition in a third tank will be used to facilitate the precipitation of the arsenic, present in the tailings stream. The arsenic concentration, in solution, will be reduced to <0.1ppm As.

The CIL carbon will be batch treated in a split AARL elution circuit consisting of an acid wash vessel and 5 tonne elution column with a heater facility. Eluate produced during elution cycle will be pumped to electrowinning circuit feed tanks. Eluted carbon will be removed from the column and transferred to the carbon regeneration kiln and after regeneration back to the CIL circuit.

Pregnant solution from the CIL elution circuit as well as the intensive leach reactor will be circulated through an electrowinning circuit. Loaded cathodes will be removed periodically from the cells, the gold sludge will then be washed, dried and smelted. The gold produced will be in a form of Dore bars. The Dore bars will be cleaned, labeled, assayed and prepared for shipping to Rand Refineries. Ownership will transfer upon loading to Rand Refineries transporters at the mine.

The phase V testwork also confirmed the plant recoveries (Table 5) and operating costs (Table 6) that could be expected from this plant configuration. The testwork also compared the performance of a flotation circuit against a whole ore leach circuit for trade off purposes. The flotation circuit was selected as it gave similar LOM recoveries at significantly lower operating costs. The recoveries below include a 1.09% recovery discount over and above the final recoveries received from the recently completed metallurgical test program. This is considered prudent as it allows for practical processing limitations in a live operating environment.

Capital Costs

The initial capital cost of the mine, process plant and associated infrastructure is estimated at $286.4 million. The cost is inclusive of all infrastructure and indirect costs required for the Project including a 10% contingency amounting to $26 million. The engineering has been developed to support a capital and operating cost estimate to a nominal accuracy of -15% to +25% (Table 7).