Asia Gold Expands Option Agreement for Copper and Coal in Southern Mongolia With World's Largest Diversified Resources Company; Share Purchase Warrants to be Exercised.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Asia Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:ASG) is pleased to announce the signing of an Amended Option Agreement (the Amended Agreement) with BHP Billiton World Exploration Inc. (BHP Billiton) that significantly expands the area and scope of the original West Falcon Gobi agreement signed between the parties on June 30, 2005. (see News Release dated July 5, 2005). BHP Billiton has also committed to exercising all of its Asia Gold share purchase warrants on or before July 4, 2006 for net proceeds to the company of C$804,913. The Amended Agreement covers an area of 7,648 square kilometres (km2) in southern Mongolia and includes ground prospective for both world class porphyry copper-gold and metallurgical coal deposits.

The Amended Agreement expands the original Option Agreement as follows:

The West Falcon Gobi Property (see Asia Gold's website for map)

The license area optioned by BHP Billiton is the West Falcon Gobi Property. The size of this property is now increased by 3,969 km2 to a new area of 7,648 km2. This area is a sub-division of Asia Gold's 12,662-sq-km West Gobi Property in southern Mongolia, where the company discovered the Khongor porphyry copper-gold system in 2005 (see News Releases dated October 18, 2005 and January 9, 2006).

Coal - A New Exploration Target

The expanded West Falcon Gobi Property includes an area of about 2,218 km2, or about 30% of the total area, where Asia Gold owns a 100% interest in the coal rights. The area includes parts of large, unexplored sedimentary basins that are prospective for Permian age coal. BHP Billiton plans to initially explore these basins using the proprietary Falcon(TM) airborne gradiometer system. This is proven technology for the discovery of buried coal deposits. Tavan Tolgoi, a large metallurgical and thermal coal deposit, is 60 kilometres northeast of the West Falcon Gobi Property's eastern boundary.

Copper-Gold Targets

In addition to the area prospective for coal, the expanded West Falcon Gobi Property also includes an area of 5,431 km2, or about 70% of the property, that is prospective for porphyry copper-gold deposits. In 2005 Asia Gold discovered the Khongor porphyry copper-gold prospect on the boundary of the original West Falcon Gobi Property and Oyu Tolgoi, the giant porphyry copper-gold deposit owned by Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., is located about 300 kilometres east of the property.

The northern half of Asia Gold's Khongor porphyry copper-gold prospect (Khongor North) is in the West Falcon Gobi Property. In the Amended Agreement the parties have now agreed that Asia Gold can continue the exploration of Khongor North at its own expense subject to a back-in right in favour of BHP Billiton. This back-in right allows BHP Billiton to include Khongor North in the joint venture company to be established after BHP Billiton has exercised the first option and fully vested a 50% interest in the West Falcon Gobi Property. In addition, BHP Billiton must also pay Asia Gold an amount equal to the Khongor exploration costs incurred by Asia Gold.

Exercise of Asia Gold Share Purchase Warrants

BHP Billiton owns 1,153,998 Asia Gold share purchase warrants. For each two warrants held by BHP Billiton, they can purchase one common share of Asia Gold at an exercise price of C$1.395 per share. Pursuant to the Amended Agreement BHP Billiton has committed to exercise all of these warrants on or before July 4, 2006 for net proceeds to Asia Gold of C$804,913. BHP Billiton currently owns about 7% of Asia Gold's issued and outstanding common shares.

Exploration Expenditures

The Amended Agreement requires BHP Billiton to increase exploration expenditures from US$2,000,000 to US$3,500,000 during the earn-in period which terminates on December 31, 2007. The expenditures include an initial commitment to conduct a Falcon(TM) airborne gradiometer and magnetic survey over the property before December 31, 2006. This survey is scheduled to begin in March 2006, with ground follow-up of priority targets to follow in the second half of the year.

BHP Billiton will earn a 50% interest in the West Falcon Gobi Property upon completion of the US$3,500,000 earn-in expenditures. A second option gives BHP Billiton the right to earn an additional 20% interest by funding up to a US$45,000,000 Feasibility Study on one exploration target.

"BHP Billiton's decision to boost its investment in Asia Gold, through higher exploration funding and increased ownership of the company, is excellent news for the company's shareholders" said Mr. Owens, President of Asia Gold. "This is also the first step in realizing full value for the coal rights owned by Asia Gold in the highly prospective and strategic coal basins of southern Mongolia."

West Gobi Property Coal Rights (see Asia Gold's website for map)

The West Falcon Gobi Property (7,648 km2) optioned to BHP Billiton is a sub-division of Asia Gold's larger West Gobi Property (12,662 km2). Asia Gold owns the metallic mineral rights to all of the West Gobi Property and coal rights to an area of 6,255 km2 which is about one half of the total West Gobi Property area. Coal rights to the other half of the West Gobi Property are owned by Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. pursuant to a Coal Rights Retention Agreement dated July 2003 and amended in January 2005.

Asia Gold's Chief Geologist, Dr. Mark Hinman, has evaluated the potential for the presence of the coal bearing stratigraphy in the areas where the company owns coal rights within the West Gobi Property. High quality coal bearing Upper Permian Deliin Shand stratigraphy has been interpreted in these areas using 1:200,000 geology and data from Landsat and Aster satellite imagery. The favorable stratigraphy outcrops and is also interpreted to extend below Cretaceous and Quaternary sequences within the sedimentary basins.

Following the Amended Agreement with BHP Billiton and an option agreement with Gobi Gold Inc. (see News release dated February 13, 2006), Asia Gold now retains control of coal rights to an area of about 3,827 km2. The company is currently evaluating all options for the exploration of this large and prospective area.

David C. Owens, President, and Richard Gosse, Vice President Exploration, both qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this release and verified the scientific and technical information and opinions contained herein by reviewing the underlying data.

Ivanhoe Mines and BHP Billiton own approximately 47% and 7% respectively of the issued and outstanding shares of Asia Gold.

Forward-Looking Statements: Statements in this release that are forward-looking statements, including the planned exploration of the company's Mongolian mineral properties and the exercise of Asia Gold share purchase warrants by BHP Billiton, are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy or this release.