Orezone Receives Environmental Approval For Phase II Expansion at Bomboré

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orezone Gold Corporation (TSX.V: ORE) announces that the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA") approval for the Phase II Expansion at its Bomboré Gold Project has been received from the Burkina Faso Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. The approval marks a significant milestone in the permitting process and solidifies the staged development timeline of the Bomboré Project.

The Bomboré Project was the subject of an updated feasibility study in 2019 (“2019 FS”) that incorporated a staged higher-grade expansion (“Phase II Expansion”) to the oxide-only mine plan in the 2018 feasibility study (“2018 FS”). The Phase II Expansion incorporates select zones of higher-grade fresh rock and lower transition reserves, the high-grade P17S deposit, and the previously excluded seasonal flood plain oxides. With this mine expansion, the 2019 FS highlighted a 60% increase in mineral reserves to 1.8 million gold ounces along with significantly improved project economics as compared to the 2018 FS (see Company’s press release dated June 26, 2019 for further details).

Patrick Downey, President and CEO stated “Receipt of this ESIA approval is another important step in realizing the upside potential at Bomboré and recognizes the outstanding efforts of our technical teams and consultants, and the strong project support received from host communities and the Burkina Faso government. The ESIA review was a rigorous process that involved comprehensive examinations by technical committees of the permitting bodies and formal public hearings. We look forward to the receipt of the expanded mining permit which will assist the Company in its on-going project financing process.”

With the approval of the ESIA, the Company has now filed an application to include the planned expansion, which will be the final step in the permitting process. A decision regarding the expansion from the Burkina Faso government is expected in Q3 of 2020.

The Company is also pleased to report that it has made a financial donation of XOF 20 million (~US$34,000) through the Burkina Faso Chamber of Mines as part of the industry’s wider initiatives to assist local efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Qualified Persons

Dr. Pascal Marquis, Geo., Senior VP Exploration, and Ian Chang, P. Eng., VP Projects, are the Qualified Persons who have approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.