Construction Update On The Bombore Gold Project

VANCOUVER - Orezone Gold Corporation reported on the construction progress at its Bombore Gold Project in Burkina Faso. Patrick Downey, President and CEO, said, “Significant progress has been achieved during the first half of 2021 and I am very pleased to report that the project capital cost remains consistent with the estimate in the 2019 Feasibility Study (“2019 FS”) and the project is on schedule and fully funded to pour first gold in Q3-2022. Over the past several months, raw material costs such as steel, copper, and plastics have trended higher along with logistics and transportation costs. The ability to maintain our capital budget during this period of increasing global inflationary pressures is a testament to the work and preparedness of the Orezone team and our consulting engineers. It is also a reflection of the high quality of the 2019 FS as our bulk material quantities such as earthworks, steel, piping, and platework are all trending favorably to those estimated in the 2019 FS. We will be posting monthly video updates of progress to keep our shareholders and stakeholders fully informed of all ongoing construction activities over the next year.”

Bulk quantities tracking 2019 feasibility study: Engineering is now over 60% complete and progressing on schedule. All bulk quantities for the project remain at or within the estimates in the 2019 FS. Major orders made prior to global materials cost inflation: The Company, together with its engineering consultants, completed detailed reviews and optimization studies during 2020 to ensure a smooth start to detailed engineering and procurement at the award of the EPCM contract. This facilitated rapid tendering and procurement of the major process plant equipment. Firm orders have now been placed for most mechanical and electrical equipment including the ball mill, CIL agitators, CIL inter-tank screens, mineral sizer, apron feeder, vibrating screens, slurry pumps, all gold recovery circuit equipment, and high voltage switchgear and transformers. Orders for major bulk items such as HDPE membranes and geotextiles, HDPE piping, concrete rebar, tank platework, and all major structural steel have also been placed.

Contracts have been awarded for the Plant Concrete, CIL Tank Erection, and Overland and Tailing Pipeline Installation. Tenders for the plant Structural/Mechanical/Piping (SMP) are under evaluation and will be awarded in the coming weeks. This leaves only the Electrical & Instrumentation installation contract which will be the final major site installation package and will follow the award of the SMP but is generally the lowest cost of these 4 major contracts. To date, all contracts are trending on budget. Early civil works to provide year-round access to all construction areas including additional camp upgrades to meet peak occupancy, the construction of the Nobsin River haul road bridge, clearing and grubbing of the tailings storage facility (“TSF”), the process plant footprint, and the mine access roads are now complete. Construction of the TSF will commence in August.

The power purchase agreement (PPA) signed providing life of mine LNG and solar generated power for the Phase I oxide plant. Mining of the Off-Channel Reservoir (OCR) contract was awarded to a local mining contractor and mobilization commenced in February 2021 with the first bench mined in March 2021. The OCR is the first ore pit to be mined and will also function as the main water storage for the project during operations and be available to the surrounding communities after mine closure. The OCR is expected to be completed before the onset of the 2022 rainy season in June. Mining is progressing very well with costs and material movement tracking to plan.

Prior to commencing mining of the OCR, a detailed 20,000 meter grade control drilling program was undertaken. Results have been incorporated into the block model and reconciliation on both tonnes and grade compared to the 2019 FS for the OCR has been positive. Overall, the reserve tonnes and ounces are approximately 30% above those estimated in the 2019 FS. Grade control drilling will now focus on the Maga and Maga Hill pit areas which will be the source of the planned higher-grade ore feed to the process plant in the first 1 to 2 years of gold production.