Nighthawk Announces Graduation to TSX and Appointment of Non-Executive Chairman of the Board

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 17, 2017) - Nighthawk Gold Corp. ("Nighthawk" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:NHK) is pleased to announce that it has received conditional approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") to graduate from the TSX Venture Exchange and list its common shares on the TSX. The Company will continue to use the stock symbol NHK for trading on the TSX.

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Morris Prychidny as non-executive chairman of the board of directors of the Company. Mr. Prychidny has served as a member of the board since February 2013 providing financial and capital markets expertise as well as serving as the Chairman of the Audit Committee.

Nighthawk's President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Byron said: "Nighthawk's graduation to the TSX reflects our development as a company and signals the market's confidence in our management team and track record of delivering on our objectives. The TSX listing is another major milestone for Nighthawk, and one that is expected to expand our investor base, improve liquidity, provide access to new sources of capital, and reduce our cost of capital - all of which will benefit our shareholders as we continue to advance Nighthawk's flagship Colomac Gold Project, and our many other exciting prospects within the Indin Lake Property. On behalf of the board of directors I would like to thank Mr. Prychidny for accepting this new role as Chairman of the Board as we embark on an exciting year at Nighthawk."

About Nighthawk

Nighthawk is a Canadian-based gold exploration company with 100% ownership of a district scale land position within the Indin Lake Greenstone Belt, located approximately 200 kilometres north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Nighthawk is focused on advancing the Colomac Gold Project with a current inferred mineral resource of 2.1 million ounces of gold (39.8 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.64 grams per tonne), as well as advancing its other regional gold deposits and showings within this Archean gold camp.

The Company has an experienced and dedicated team and is well funded to complete its goals and objectives over the next 18-24 months.

Qualified Person

Dr. Michael J. Byron, Ph.D., P.Geo., President & Chief Executive Officer of Nighthawk, who is the "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") for the Colomac Gold Project, has reviewed and approved of the technical disclosure contained in this news release.

Please refer to the NI 43-101 technical report entitled "Technical Report and mineral resource estimate update on the Colomac Property of the Indin Lake Project", dated June 17, 2013, as filed under the company's profile on www.sedar.com for further details on the Colomac Gold Project.

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 news release.