NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CCNMatthews

FOR:  HIGH RIVER GOLD MINES LTD.

TSX SYMBOL:  HRG

AUGUST 17, 2004 - 08:31 ET

High River Gold Announces Second Quarter Results

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - Aug. 17, 2004) - (TSX:HRG) High 
River Gold Mines Ltd. today reported consolidated financial 
results for the three month period ending June 30, 2004. All 
figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. 

CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS 

- Consolidated net income for the quarter increased to $1.7 
million compared to a loss of $816,000 for the second quarter of 
2003 

- Attributable gold production for the quarter was 28,468 ounces 
(54,072 ounces ytd) at a total cash cost of US $247 per ounce (US 
$265 per ounce ytd) 

- A bankable feasibility study was completed and filed for the 
Taparko-Bouroum Project which projects annual gold production to 
exceed 90,000 ounces with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 
24.6% at US $400 gold 

- A bankable feasibility study was completed and filed for the 
Berezitovy Project which projects annual gold production of 
approximately 100,000 ounces and an IRR of 21.9% at US $400 gold 

- The "exploitation permit" was granted for the Taparko Project 

- A "sensitivity study" concluded the in-pit gold reserve at 
Taparko more than doubles to 1.3 million ounces at US $400 gold 

- High River purchased the Bouroum gold reserves from Axmin 
Limited 

- Buryatzoloto initiated a dividend programme 

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL RESULTS 

For the quarter ended June 30, 2004, the Company achieved 
consolidated net income of $1.7 million, or $0.02 per share, on 
gross revenue of $26.1 million. Cash flow from operating 
activities for the quarter decreased marginally to $4.7 million. 

For the six-month period ended June 30, 2004, consolidated net 
income was $3.2 million, or $0.03 per share, on gross revenue of 
$51.0 million. Cash flow from operating activities before changes 
in non-cash working capital was $9.9 million. 

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


/T/

                         Three Months Ending        Six Months Ending
                                     June 30                  June 30
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                         2004           2003        2004         2003
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Revenue               $26,085        $24,816     $50,965      $50,007
Net Income              1,728          (816)       3,171        (114)
Net Income per
 Share (basic)           0.02         (0.01)        0.03       (0.00)
Cash Flow from
 Operations(1)          4,703          4,973       9,898        9,979
Weighted Average
 Shares
  Outstanding -
  Basic           105,977,838    105,580,868 105,976,133  101,428,062
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Before change in non-cash working capital

/T/

High River's consolidated working capital position at June 30, 
2004 was $16.1 million, compared to $27.0 million as at December 
31, 2003. The consolidated cash position at June 30, 2004 was 
$8.0 million, of which High River Canada's portion was $5.9 
million. 

PRODUCTION RESULTS 

High River's attributable gold production for the six month 
period ending June 30, 2004 declined by 10% to 54,072 ounces 
compared to 59,978 ounces in the 2003 period. The decreased 
production resulted from lower production at the 50%-owned New 
Britannia Mine which is nearing the end of its mine life. Total 
cash cost for the period was US $265 per ounce compared to US 
$222 per ounce in 2003. 


/T/

Production Highlights     Buryatzoloto Mines       New Britannia Mine
                         --------------------------------------------
(six months ended
 June 30)                 2004          2003       2004          2003
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Gold Production
 (oz, 100%)             73,011        73,529     29,146        40,398
High River
 Share (oz)             39,499        39,779     14,573        20,199
Total Cash Cost
 (US $/oz)                $236          $182       $345          $301
Tonnes Milled          250,490       242,305    273,095       336,044
Head Grade (Au g/t)       9.52         10.01       3.57          3.95
Recovery (%)              94.2          93.8       93.0          94.7
Realized Gold
 Price (US $/oz)          $400          $347       $402          $338
---------------------------------------------------------------------

/T/

Buryatzoloto Operating Results 

Buryatzoloto continues to achieve its production objectives and 
is one of Russia's leading gold producers. For the first six 
months of 2004, Buryatzoloto produced 73,011 ounces of gold 
(100%) at an estimated total cash cost of US $236 per ounce and 
remains on plan to achieve its full year objective to exceed 
150,000 ounces. The increased total cash cost reflects 
substantial advanced mine development and preparatory work 
charged to operating expense in the first six months at the 
Zun-Holba Mine, combined with the transition to shaft mining 
using a cut-and-fill method, as well as a stronger Russian 
rouble. Buryatzoloto is essentially unhedged and realized an 
average price of US $400 per ounce for gold sales during the 
period. 

New Britannia Operating Results 

New Britannia gold production for the six month period was 29,146 
ounces (100%) at a total cash cost of US $345 per ounce. The mine 
continued to experience production shortfalls, both in tonnage 
and grade. During the second quarter, High River and Kinross Gold 
Corporation (the mine operator) announced that underground 
development at the mine had been suspended and that the mine 
would continue to produce until approximately the end of the 
third quarter using the developed ore. Recent ore definition has 
indicated that the northwest trending portion of the Lower Dick 
Zone may extend further than previously believed. This 
possibility is currently being evaluated. New Britannia realized 
an average price of US $402 per ounce for gold sales during the 
period. 

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS UPDATE 

Taparko Gold Project (Burkina Faso, West Africa) 

On July 7, 2004, High River announced that the "exploitation 
permit" for the Taparko Gold Project had been granted by the 
Government of Burkina Faso. The recently completed bankable 
feasibility study evaluated the construction of a mill and 
infrastructure on High River's Taparko property to process ore 
from three Taparko pits and three pits on the nearby, recently 
acquired, Boruoum property. Annual gold production is expected to 
average approximately 91,000 ounces over a seven-year period, but 
should exceed 100,000 ounces in each of the first three years. 

The Company believes there is excellent potential to expand both 
the annual production rate as well as mine life and is designing 
the plant for expansion. Construction is to begin in the third 
quarter of 2004 with commercial production scheduled for the 
fourth quarter of 2005. High River has hired the Project Manager 
for Taparko and arranged for a US $36 million debt financing with 
Absa Bank Limited of South Africa. 

Berezitovy Gold Project (Amur Oblast, Russian Federation) 

In June, High River released details of a bankable feasibility 
study on the Berezitovy Gold Project. Based on gold reserves of 
1.04 million ounces, classified according to Canadian standards, 
and using a US $350 per ounce gold price, the Berezitovy plant 
would process approximately 1.5 million tonnes of ore per year 
from a single pit producing approximately 100,000 ounces of gold 
per year for a nine-year period. Construction has started on a 
power line to connect Berezitovy to the low-cost regional power 
grid. Discussions with banks have recently commenced with respect 
to the debt portion of the project financing. 

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE UPDATE 

The Company's strategy of establishing strategic alliances with 
well-managed junior exploration companies is performing well. All 
three alliance companies are well-funded and have recently 
reported excellent results from their on-going exploration 
programmes. 

Jilbey Gold continues to report excellent gold grades over 
significant widths from their Bissa Project in Burkina Faso. 
Drilling to date has been concentrated in one portion of a 25 
kilometre-long structure. A recent programme demonstrated that a 
significant geochemical anomaly is associated along the entire 
length of the structure. 

During the quarter, Intrepid Minerals completed a positive 
preliminary economic assessment of its Casposo property in 
Argentina and is continuing to evaluate additional targets in the 
area. Intrepid also conducted a trenching programme on their 
significant Oro Nuevo discovery in El Salvador in preparation for 
a drill programme which started in late July. 

Pelangio Mines recently reported numerous high grade gold 
intersections from two on-going drill programmes on their Detour 
Lake property, which covers more than 80 square miles of the 
Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Ontario. 

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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