Initial Gold Intercept for West Kirkland in the Long Canyon Trend, Nevada

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - July 19, 2011) - West Kirkland Mining Inc. (TSX VENTURE:WKM) ("West Kirkland" or the "Company") is pleased to report assay results from the Company's first core drilling on its TUG property, which is currently under option from Newmont Mining Corporation ("Newmont"). The first hole of the drill program returned 15.48 meters (50.8 feet) grading 3.08 grams per tonne gold (0.09 oz/t) and 94.75 grams/tonne silver (2.77 oz/t).

WT11-001 is the first core hole of our 2011 program and it compares well with previous reverse circulation ("RC") type drilling in the area by other operators, which graded 3.11 g/t Au over 22.9 meters (from 32.0 to 54.9 meters). The current drill core provides better insight into the geological controls for gold grades than the previous RC drilling that returns chips. This is particularly important as a result of the recognition of a new deposit model and structural setting for gold in the Long Canyon Trend.

At TUG, approximately 400 shallow RC type holes have been completed and a near surface historic resource has been calculated. The current West Kirkland drilling is designed to provide confirmation of the previous gold values for an updated compliant resource calculation, and to explore for the roots and controls on the better grades with the recent Long Canyon model in mind. Additional targets have been identified that have the potential to expand the deposit along strike and down dip.

The TUG property is contiguous with 900 square kilometers (220,000 acres) of mineral rights in the Long Canyon Trend that the Company has optioned through a recent transaction with Rubicon Minerals Corporation ("Rubicon"). The combined Newmont and Rubicon option agreements give West Kirkland a dominant land position within the Long Canyon Trend and will be the focus of the Company's exploration efforts in Nevada.

2011 Plans in Nevada

• Drilling of a minimum of five holes for 1,500 meters (5,000 feet) in the TUG deposit and area, Long Canyon Trend
• Drilling of up to 1,500 meters (5,000 feet) at the Bullion Mountain property, North of the Pipeline Mine Nevada (10 g/t surface assays- shallow and deep high grade target)
• Regional exploration across in the Long Canyon Trend in areas with little or no previous recorded work and no exploration with the Long Canyon model
• Targeted data review for future drill targeting in areas of previous gold drilling within the 1,100 square kilometer (420 square mile) package controlled by West Kirkland.

Qualified Person, Verification, Quality Control and Assurance

Samples of drill core were saw cut, with half the cut core placed in individual sealed polyurethane bags and half placed back in the original core box for permanent storage. Drill core samples were delivered directly by West Kirkland personnel to the ALS Chemex prep lab in Winnemucca Nevada. Prepared pulps were shipped by ALS Chemex to their North Vancouver Lab where gold was determined by fire assay fusion with Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) finish. Gold samples that assayed greater than 1 g/t were re-assayed using gravimetric analytical methods. Silver samples that assayed greater than 100 g/t were re-assayed using four acid digestion with ICP finish. ALS Chemex's North Vancouver Lab is ISO 9001:2008 certified and also is ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited by the Standards Council of Canada for the assay methods employed.

Michael G. Allen, Vice President of Exploration for West Kirkland, and a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the information contained in this news release and has also verified the analytical data for drill core samples disclosed in this release by reviewing the blanks, duplicates and certified reference material that the Company inserted into the sample stream and confirming that they fall within limits as determined by acceptable industry practice. He is the non-independent qualified person for this new release and has verified the data.

About West Kirkland Mining

West Kirkland Mining was formed in 2010 to focus on gold exploration along major trends in North America. The Company has consolidated significant mineral rights positions in the Kirkland Lake area of Ontario and within major gold trends of North Eastern Nevada - two of North America's premier gold jurisdictions. The founders and Board of West Kirkland Mining have successful gold discovery, development and mine operations experience in both Ontario and Nevada over the past 40 years.

For further information, please see the Company's website at www.wkmining.com or contact us by email at info@wkmining.com.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Such information includes, without limitation, information regarding proposed exploration activities. Although the Company believes that such information is reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking information as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the market for gold or other minerals that may be produced generally, recent market volatility; variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, the Company's ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies and other risks associated with the exploration and development of mineral properties. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.