Bema Gold and Arizona Star - Aldebaran Property - Chile; New Drill Results Confirm Major Gold Copper Discovery at Cerro Casale Deposit.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 1996-- Bema Gold Corporation ("Bema") and Arizona Star Resource Corp. ("Arizona") are pleased to announce excellent assay results from several additional deep drill holes on the Cerro Casale deposit in northern Chile. These results from nine holes, combined with the previously released diamond drill holes 18 and 19, confirm the existence of a major gold copper porphyry deposit with a higher grade breccia zone, beneath the two million ounce oxide gold deposit at Cerro Casale. -0-

TABLE OF RESULTS

Hole  Interval  Length  Gold   Cu        Comments
No.      (m)     (m)   (g/t) percent

DD-21    0-230    230               Low grade porphyry
                                    outside main deposit
       230-328     98   0.68  0.26  Porphyry
       372-651    279   1.22  0.40  Porphyry
                                    Open at depth

DD-23    0-238    238   0.54        Oxide deposit
       322-496    174   1.70  0.23  Breccia
 Incl. 322-346     24   4.51  0.44  Breccia
                                    Open at depth

DD-25    0-396                      Low grade porphyry
                                    outside main deposit
       396-572    176   2.11  0.50  Breccia
       572-609     37   0.62  0.43  Lower grade breccia
                                    Open at depth

DD-26    0-242    242   0.64        Oxide deposit
       290-594.8  304.8 1.06  0.27  Porphyry drilled to south
                                    Open at depth

DD-27    0-342    342   0.73        Oxide porphyry and
                                    perched chalcocite
       342-758.5  416.5 1.15  0.49  Porphyry western part
                                    Open at depth

DD-28    0-400                      Outside main deposit
       400-746.3  346.3 1.03  0.35  Porphyry eastern part
                                    Open at depth

Diamond drill holes 20, 22 and 24 were drilled outside the boundaries of the main porphyry zone and are lower in grade, but contain significant mineralization.

PORPHYRY ZONE

Diamond drill holes 21, 26, 27 and 28 drilled in the main sulphide porphyry zone, returned significantly higher gold grades than hole 18 (316m - 612m, 0.81 g/t gold, 0.4 percent copper). These widely spaced holes combined with hole 18 and the seventeen shallower reverse circulation holes that bottomed in ore grade sulphide, indicate the main porphyry zone which includes the oxide deposit, appears to have minimum dimensions of 850 metres long (northwest/southeast) by 300 metres wide (northeast/southwest) by 750 metres deep. The zone remains open to the south, west, northeast and at depth.

Diamond drill hole 30 which is currently in for assay, was collared in the centre of the main porphyry zone and drilled at a minus 50 degree dip to the southwest to a total depth of 800 metres. The bottom of hole 30 is 350 metres southwest of the southern boundary of the main porphyry zone described above. Hole 30 intersected stockwork mineralization in a strongly altered porphyry between 370 and 800 metres and bottomed in mineralization. This mineralization appears similar to other holes in the main porphyry zone. Further drilling is underway to test the extent of mineralization to the southwest and northeast.

BRECCIA ZONE

Diamond drill holes 23 and 25 (see Table) intersected the higher grade breccia zone previously intersected in diamond drill hole 19 and RC 176. The breccia zone now appears to be 110 metres wide by a minimum of 100 metres long and at least 200 metres deep. It remains open along strike to the northwest and southeast and at depth. The breccia zone's higher grade has the potential to significantly enhance the overall grade of the Cerro Casale porphyry deposit.

The current ongoing diamond drill program consists of a total 20 drill holes and is scheduled for completion in early October. Based on the extremely positive results to date, Bema and Arizona intend to add two additional diamond drill rigs (for a total of four) in early September to accelerate and expand the program.

Bema Gold is the largest shareholder of Arizona Star and manages its affairs.

BEMA GOLD CORPORATION

Clive T. Johnson

Chairman, CEO & President

ARIZONA STAR RESOURCE CORP.

Tom Garagan

Vice President Exploration

The Vancouver and Toronto stock exchanges neither approve nor disapprove the information contained in this News Release. Bema Gold Corporation trades on the Vancouver, Toronto and American stock exchanges. Symbol - BGO. Arizona Star Resource Corp. trades on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. Symbol - AZS.

CONTACT: John Anderson, 604/681-8371 or 800/316-8855