Golden Queen reaches 95% construction completion

Jan. 4, 2016 - Golden Queen Mining Co. Ltd. (the "Company" or "Golden Queen") is pleased to report that mining and construction activities at its 50%-owned Soledad Mountain gold-silver project located just south of the town of Mojave, California are proceeding on schedule with the inaugural gold pour anticipated to occur in February. Commissioning activities have commenced and the first ore has been fed through the crushing circuit.

Development Highlights

• Project construction has reached the 95% completion mark.

• Commissioning of the Crushing-Screening plant commenced in November and continued through early December.

• Commissioning of the Conveying-Stacking system commenced in early December.

• Full power was provided to the project on Dec. 4.

• Pad loading of agglomerated ore was initiated on Dec. 15.

• The Merrill-Crowe facility commissioning is anticipated to commence in mid-January.

• Ore stockpiling is ongoing.

• Leaching is anticipated to commence in mid-January with first gold production targeted for early February 2016.

• There are now 91 full-time employees in Mojave and all of the senior management positions have been filled.

Thomas M. Clay, Chairman and Interim CEO, commented, 'We have almost completed construction, and I am proud of the progress that our team has made over the past 24 months. I would like to thank all of our employees and contractors for their dedication and commitment. The first gold pour is expected to occur in February and will signify a new chapter in Golden Queen's long history as we transition from development to production.'

At Soledad Mountain construction progress has achieved the 95% mark and the mining operation has stockpiled sufficient ore to support first gold production in the first quarter of 2016. At the processing facility, the mechanical work is 98% complete, which has allowed commissioning activities to proceed. The focus on site is to complete the electrical and instrumentation work and to stack sufficient ore to start leaching.

The Golden Queen Mining Co. Ltd.: is developing a gold-silver, open pit, heap leach operation on its fully-permitted 50%-owned Soledad Mountain property, located just outside the town of Mojave in Kern County in southern California.

Technical information in this news release was approved by Sean Ennis, P.Eng., P.E., a qualified person under NI 43-101, and a consultant to the Company.