Golden Star Reports Record Gold Sales for 2009

DENVER, COLORADO--(Marketwire - Jan. 21, 2010) - Golden Star Resources Ltd. (TSX:GSC)(NYSE Amex:GSS)(GSE:GSR) today announced its fourth quarter and 2009 operational results. All currency in this news release is expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.

Golden Star is pleased to announce that it sold 409,902 ounces of gold in 2009, an increase of 38.5% over the gold sales of 2008. For 2009, the Wassa mine sold a total of 223,848 ounces, an increase of 78.5% over gold sales in 2008. At the Bogoso mine, 2009 gold sales totaled 186,054 ounces, an increase of 9.1% over gold sales in 2008. The costs associated with this production are subject to audit, and are in line with our previously released 2009 guidance of $565 per ounce for the year.

Tom Mair, President and CEO, said, "Golden Star surpassed its production guidance with nearly 410,000 ounces sold during the year. We are very pleased with the progress that has been made. In addition, during the fourth quarter of 2009, the Company has now produced over two million ounces of gold since becoming a producer in 1999. This is a significant milestone in our development and we have struck gold and silver commemorative coins to mark this achievement."

For 2010, the Company forecasts production of 400,000 ounces of gold at a cash operating cost of $585 per ounce. Bogoso/Prestea is estimated to produce 200,000 ounces of gold, all from sulfide operations, at an average cash operating cost of $650 per ounce, and Wassa is estimated to produce 200,000 ounces of gold at a cash operating cost of $520 per ounce for 2010.

During the fourth quarter of 2009, Golden Star historic gold production exceeded two million ounces of gold since the Company commenced production in 1999. This milestone will be commemorated by the production of gold and silver coins that will soon be for sale to the public on the home page of the Company's website.

COMPANY PROFILE

Golden Star holds a 90% equity interest in Golden Star (Bogoso/Prestea) Limited and Golden Star (Wassa) Limited, which respectively own the Bogoso/Prestea and Wassa open-pit gold mines through subsidiaries in Ghana. In addition, Golden Star has an 81% interest in the currently inactive Prestea Underground mine in Ghana, as well as gold exploration interests elsewhere in Ghana, in other parts of West Africa and in the Guiana Shield of South America. Golden Star has approximately 257 million shares outstanding.

Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information: Some statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such statements include comments regarding our 2010 production and cash operating cost estimates. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include timing of and unexpected events at our mines and processing facilities; variations in ore grade, tonnes mined, crushed, or milled; variations in relative amounts of refractory, non-refractory and transition ores; the availability and cost of electrical power and other production inputs; technical, permitting, mining or processing issues; fluctuations in gold price; and general economic conditions. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. Please refer to the discussion of risk factors in our Form 10-K for 2008 and the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed in 2009.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures: in this news release, we use the terms "cash operating cost per ounce." Cash operating cost per ounce is equal to total cash costs less production royalties and production taxes, divided by the number of ounces of gold sold during the period. We use cash operating cost per ounce as a key operating indicator. We monitor this measure monthly, comparing each month's values to prior period's values to detect trends that may indicate increases or decreases in operating efficiencies. This measure is also compared against budget to alert management to trends that may cause actual results to deviate from planned operational results. We provide this measure to our investors to allow them to also monitor operational efficiencies of our mines. We calculate this measure for both individual operating units and on a consolidated basis. Cash operating cost per ounce should be considered as Non-GAAP Financial Measures as defined in SEC Regulation S-K Item 10 and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are material limitations associated with the use of such non-GAAP measures. Since this measure does not incorporate revenues, changes in working capital and non-operating cash costs, it is not necessarily indicative of operating profit or cash flow from operations as determined under GAAP. Changes in numerous factors including, but not limited to, mining rates, milling rates, gold grade, gold recovery, and the costs of labor, consumables and mine site general and administrative activities can cause these measures to increase or decrease. We believe that these measures are the same or similar to the measures of other gold mining companies, but may not be comparable to similarly titled measures in every instance.