NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CCNMatthews

FOR:  HIGH RIVER GOLD MINES LTD.

TSX SYMBOL:  HRG

MAY 18, 2004 - 08:35 ET

High River Gold Announces First Quarter Results

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - May 18, 2004) - High River Gold 
Mines Ltd. (TSX:HRG) today reported production and consolidated 
financial results for the three month period ending March 31, 
2004. All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise 
stated. 

CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS 

- Attributable gold production for the quarter was 25,604 ounces 
at a total cash cost of US $286 per ounce 

- Consolidated net income for the quarter was $1.4 million 

- Consolidated operating cash flow, before changes in non-cash 
working capital, for the quarter was $5.2 million 

- Appointment of Daniel Vanin as Executive Vice President and 
Chief Operating Officer for the Company 

- Bankable feasibility studies nearing completion on two 
development projects 

- Discussions with banks for project financing on Taparko are 
well advanced 

High River's consolidated financial and production results 
continue to benefit from the excellent operating performance of 
the Russian company, OJSC Buryatzoloto ("Buryatzoloto"). 
Continued operating difficulties at the New Britannia Mine ("New 
Britannia") and higher operating costs at Buryatzoloto negatively 
impacted earnings for the quarter. 

High River is well funded with available cash of approximately 
$8.7 million and continues to pursue new, advanced projects and 
growth opportunities in both Russia and West Africa. 

PRODUCTION RESULTS 

As at March 31, 2004, the Company's gold production interests 
consisted of a 54.1% equity interest in Buryatzoloto and a 50% 
joint venture interest in the New Britannia Mine. High River's 
attributable gold production for the first three months of 2004 
was 25,604 ounces at a total cash cost of US $286 per ounce, 
compared to the 30,992 ounces at a total cash cost of US $213 per 
ounce for the same period in 2003. 


/T/

For the three months ended      Buryatzoloto Mines New Britannia Mine
                              -------------------- ------------------
March 31                           2004       2003     2004      2003
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Gold Production (oz, 100%)       34,930     37,265   13,414    21,669
High River Share (oz)            18,897     20,157    6,707    10,835
Tonnes Milled                   121,366    119,386  134,977   166,159
Head Grade (Au g/t)                9.50      10.22     3.36      4.29
Recovery (%)                       94.3       94.0     92.1      94.6
Total Cash Cost (US $/oz)          $237       $175     $425      $285
Realized Gold Price (US $/oz)      $405       $349     $418      $336
---------------------------------------------------------------------

/T/

Buryatzoloto Operating Results 

Total cash cost for the first quarter of 2004 at Buryatzoloto 
increased to US $237 per ounce (cash operating cost of US $211 
per ounce) from US $175 per ounce (cash operating cost of US $153 
per ounce) in the first quarter of 2003. The increased cost 
reflects substantial advanced mine development and preparatory 
work charged to operating expense in the first quarter at the 
Zun-Holba mine, the transition to shaft mining at Zun-Holba using 
a cut-and-fill method, as well as a stronger Russian rouble. 
Buryatzoloto is projecting total cash costs for the year to 
average in the range of US $210 to US $220 per ounce, which is in 
line with the budget forecast. 

New Britannia Operating Results 

The mine continued to experience production shortfalls (both 
tonnage and grade) in the first quarter due to a thinning and 
flattening of the orebody. Cash operating costs exceeded the 
selling price in the quarter. Subsequent to the quarter end, the 
Company and Kinross Gold Corporation (the mine operator) 
announced they had suspended underground development at the mine 
(press release dated May 10, 2004). The mine will continue to 
produce until approximately the end of the third quarter using 
the developed ore. The mine is expected to close at the end of 
the third quarter of 2004. 

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL RESULTS 

For the quarter ended March 31, 2004, the Company earned $1.4 
million, or $0.01 per share, on gross revenue of $24.1 million. 
This compares to consolidated net income of $702,000, or $0.01 
per share, on gross revenue of $25.2 million for the same period 
in 2003. Cash flow from operating activities, before changes in 
non-cash working capital, for the quarter increased to $5.2 
million from $5.0 million for 2003. 

High River's unaudited first quarter consolidated financial 
statements and management's discussion are available on SEDAR and 
at www.hrg.ca 


/T/

                                           Three Months Ending
(Thousands of $ Cdn except per       --------------------------------
 share amounts and # of shares)       March 31, 2004  March 31, 2003
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Revenue                                      $24,132         $25,163
Net Income                                     1,443             702
Net Income per Share (basic)                    0.01            0.01
Cash Flow from Operations(a)                   5,195           5,006
Weighted Average Shares Outstanding      105,973,788      97,435,371
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Before change in non-cash working capital

/T/

High River's consolidated working capital position at March 31, 
2004 was $24.3 million compared to $27.0 million as at December 
31, 2003. The consolidated cash position at March 31, 2004 was 
$11.8 million, of which High River Canada's portion was $8.7 
million. 

PROJECT ACTIVITY 

High River has two development projects, the Berezitovy Gold 
Project located in the Amur Oblast in southern Siberia, Russia, 
and the Taparko Gold Project in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Both 
of these projects are being developed as open-pit mines with 
conventional mills and are scheduled to start production during 
the fourth quarter of 2005. The successful development of the 
Taparko and Berezitovy projects would result in approximately 
200,000 ounces of annual gold production. 

Taparko Gold Project 

On October 31, 2003 High River announced a decision to commence 
development of the Taparko Gold Project in Burkina Faso. The 
feasibility study evaluated the construction of a mill and 
infrastructure on High River's Taparko property to process ore 
from both the Taparko Gold deposit and Axmin's Bouroum Gold 
deposit located 49 kilometres northwest of the Taparko property. 

The combined operation would process one million tonnes per year 
and produce approximately 680,000 ounces of gold over a 7 1/2 
year mine life. Annual production would average 91,000 ounces but 
would be approximately 100,000 ounces in the first few years. The 
feasibility study considered mining from three pits on each 
property. Reserves, totalling 605,000 ounces of gold, have been 
established for the three pits on the Taparko property and High 
River expects that ore containing a minimum of 110,000 ounces of 
gold would be available from the Bouroum property, resulting in 
total contained gold of approximately 715,000 ounces for the 
project. A sensitivity study, using a gold price of US $400 per 
ounce, more than doubles the gold resource to 1.3 million ounces 
for the three Taparko pits. 

At a gold price of US $350 per ounce, the project is expected to 
generate an IRR in excess of 15%. A bankable feasibility study is 
scheduled to be completed by the end of May. Talks are at an 
advanced stage with financial institutions to secure funding for 
the project. 

High River has designed the Taparko facility with a longer term 
operation in mind as there is excellent potential to define 
additional satellite deposits. Previous exploration has defined a 
total of 16 prospective gold targets within the Taparko property. 
During the quarter, High River entered into a strategic alliance 
with Jilbey Gold Exploration Ltd. ("Jilbey") that established 
Jilbey as the Company's exploration arm in Burkina Faso. High 
River has back-in and operatorship rights on gold discoveries 
within trucking distance of High River's planned Taparko mill and 
a right of first refusal on discoveries outside trucking 
distance. High River and Jilbey currently control in excess of 
3,500 square kilometres within a 100 kilometre radius of the 
planned Taparko mine and mill facility. Jilbey also controls 
another 1,900 square kilometres in other prospective locations in 
Burkina Faso. Jilbey recently reported excellent drill results 
from the first 16 holes of an 80 hole programme on its newly 
acquired Bissa property. 

Berezitovy Gold Project 

In 2002, High River acquired a 100% interest in the Berezitovy 
Gold Project, located in the Amur Oblast of southern Siberia, 
Russia. The gold-polymetallic deposit is approximately 900 metres 
in length and up to 150 metres in width at its thickest portions. 
The project has excellent logistics and High River is planning to 
develop the project jointly with Buryatzoloto. Buryatzoloto will 
be the operator. 

During 2003, High River reported results of an audit of the 
resource of the Berezitovy Gold deposit, conducted according to 
CIM standards by Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. The audit resulted 
in a CIM classified "indicated in-pit resource" of 907,000 ounces 
of gold using a cut-off grade of 1.22 g/t. Based on this resource 
estimate, the Berezitovy operation would process approximately 
1.5 million tonnes per year from a single pit with gold 
production expected to approximate 100,000 ounces per year for a 
ten-year period. The Berezitovy property also contains a number 
of exploration targets that could enhance production or extend 
the mine life. 

During 2003, High River and Buryatzoloto initiated a feasibility 
study utilizing a combination of International and Russian 
engineering expertise to meet international standards as well as 
Russian regulatory and permitting requirements. The Russian 
feasibility study is complete and the bankable study will be 
released shortly. At a gold price of US $350 per ounce, the 
project is expected to generate an IRR of approximately 17%. 
Talks have begun with financial institutions to secure funding 
for the project. 

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE UPDATE 

In order to extend its influence in greenfields areas or other 
areas of exceptional exploration merit and to create a pipeline 
of potential projects for the future, High River has established 
preferred status relationships and/or strategic alliances with 
well-managed exploration companies. 

During the quarter the Company increased its investment in 
Pelangio Mines Inc. by $1.9 million, raising its interest to 19%. 
Subsequent to quarter end, High River invested a further $338,000 
in Jilbey and plans to exercise 437,313 warrants of Intrepid 
Minerals Corporation in May at a cost of $328,000. 

Each of these companies is well-funded and has recently announced 
exciting results from their current drill programmes. 

Forward-Looking Statements 

This report contains forward-looking statements based on current 
expectations. These forward-looking statements entail various 
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ 
materially from those reflected. Risk and uncertainties about the 
Company's business are more fully discussed in the Management's 
Discussion and Analysis published in the Company's Annual Report 
and Annual Information Form. 

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