AR Argonaut Gold Inc

Argonaut Gold Inc. (the "Offeror"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Argonaut Gold Ltd. (TSX: AR), is pleased to announce that on January 19, 2010 it commenced the compulsory acquisition process under the Canada Business Corporations Act (the "Act"), to acquire the remaining issued and outstanding common shares of Castle Gold Corporation ("Castle") (TSX VENTURE: CSG) not acquired pursuant to the Offeror's take-over bid dated November 23, 2009 to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares Castle (the "Offer").

On December 30, 2009, the expiry date of the Offer, the Offeror took up and paid for approximately 78 million common shares of Castle, representing over 91% of the common shares of Castle. Pursuant to the compulsory acquisition provisions of the Act, the Offeror now intends to acquire all of the remaining outstanding shares of Castle for the same price and on the same terms contained in the Offer.

Under the provisions of the Act, remaining shareholders of Castle are entitled to receive the same consideration per share paid under the Offer, being Cdn.$1.29 in cash per share. Upon payment by the Offeror to Castle of the full amount payable in respect of the remaining outstanding shares, Castle must register the Offeror as the holder of all of the remaining shares of Castle and shareholders will no longer hold any shares. The Offeror intends to make payment to Castle, and hence become the holder of all remaining outstanding shares, on or about February 9, 2010. As soon as reasonably practicable thereafter, it is expected that Castle's common shares will be de-listed from the TSX Venture Exchange and Castle will apply to cease to be a reporting issuer in Canada.

On January 20, 2010, the Offeror mailed a notice of compulsory acquisition and letter of transmittal to each of the remaining shareholders of Castle. The notice sets out certain rights of remaining shareholders to receive payment for their common shares. In order to receive prompt payment for their shares, shareholders are encouraged to complete and deliver the transmittal, along with the certificates representing their common shares, in accordance with the instructions set out in the letter of transmittal. Copies of the notice of compulsory acquisition and transmittal are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com Shareholders are urged to read these materials carefully, as they describe certain legal rights and obligations enjoyed by or imposed upon the Offeror, Castle and remaining shareholders of Castle.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from management's current expectations. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors. Except as required by law, Argonaut Gold Inc. assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this news release.

Contacts: Argonaut Gold Ltd. Nichole Cowles Investor Relations Manager 775-284-4422 ext. 101 nichole.cowles@argonautgoldinc.com