Cora Gold Limited / EPIC: CORA.L / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

6 September 2021

Cora Gold Limited ("Cora", "Cora Gold" or "the Company")

DFS contractors appointed for Sanankoro

Cora Gold Limited, the West African focused gold company, is pleased to announce an update on the Definitive Feasibility Study (the 'DFS') for its Sanankoro Gold Project in southern Mali ('Sanankoro' or 'the Project').

Highlights

●     Appointment of key consultants and contractors to lead the DFS on Sanankoro:

o  DRA Global group company, New SENET (Pty) Limited ('SENET'), appointed as independent project manager to oversee the critical elements of the DFS

o  CSA Global (UK) Ltd ('CSA Global') appointed as geological and mining consultant to manage the updated Mineral Resource Estimate and the Mining Study as part of the DFS

o  Epoch Resources (Pty) Ltd ('Epoch') appointed to oversee the Tailings Storage Facility ('TSF') elements of the DFS

o  Mr Russell Bradford appointed as Project Manager to manage the DFS

●     The DFS will build upon the successful Scoping Study (the 'Study') announced in January 2020, the results of which demonstrated the Project's future economic potential at US$1,500/oz gold, including:

o  107% Internal Rate of Return ('IRR')

o  All-in-sustaining-costs of US$942/oz

o  Average Annual Production 45,632oz

o  Payback period of less than 18 months

●     The advancement of the DFS follows the consistently encouraging results from the Company's largest ever drilling campaign at Sanankoro with an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE') to follow in Q4 2021

●     Following positive metallurgical test work results in H2 2020, in addition to the more recent very positive drilling results, it is likely the Company will look to focus on a conventional gravity/carbon in leach ('CIL') processing route at Sanankoro which allows higher recoveries

●     Completion of the DFS is targeted for H1 2022 following the expansion of the ongoing drill campaign and focus now on a CIL process route

●     Ongoing positive discussions with Lionhead Capital Advisors ('LCA') regarding aligning its US$21m mandate and term sheet (announced on 18 June 2020) with the DFS and CIL processing

Bert Monro, CEO of Cora Gold, commented, "2021 has seen significant activity at Sanankoro with exceptional results reported from our largest ever drill campaign at the Project.  These results will support an updated MRE in the coming months, which in turn will be used as the basis for our DFS aimed at outlining the optimum route to develop Sanankoro into a new gold mine in Mali.  Last year's Scoping Study highlighted the potential high returns for Sanankoro and fuelled our confidence in Sanankoro's strong fundamentals, and the Company looks forward to publishing the DFS in H1 2022.

"We have assembled a team of highly regarded consultants and contractors, all leaders in their respective fields with extensive experience in the West African region; I look forward to working closely with them as we advance the various work streams involved to publish the DFS in as short time frame as practicable.

"Additionally, we are currently in positive discussions with Lionhead Capital Advisors about aligning its existing US$21m mandate and term sheet with our updated plans."

Appointment of DRA Global group company SENET

DRA Global group company, SENET, has been appointed as independent project manager to oversee the DFS. SENET has significant experience in the mining and mineral processing industry with specific gold project experience within the West African region, including Mali, and demonstrable success in bringing projects at a similar stage to Sanankoro through to production.

SENET is one of the leading project management and engineering firms in the field of mineral processing.  For more than three decades, it has provided project management, multidisciplinary engineering, procurement and logistics management, and construction services to the mining and mineral processing industry, mostly on the African continent.  SENET has a proven track record in taking projects from concept to feasibility and through to production. SENET's ability to successfully implement projects in West Africa, in particular, has been well demonstrated by the fact that most of its gold project experience is within this region.

DRA Global (ASX:DRA; JSE:DRA) is a multi-disciplinary engineering, project management and operations management group predominantly focused on the mining and minerals resources sector. DRA has an extensive global track record, spanning more than three decades and more than 7,500 studies and projects as well as operations and maintenance solutions across a wide range of commodities.

Appointment of CSA Global

CSA Global has been appointed as geological and mining consultants to manage the Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") and the Mining Study as part of the DFS process. CSA Global brings comprehensive expert knowledge in the global minerals industry, including in-depth experience in West Africa having completed numerous studies in the region.

CSA Global is a leading provider of geological and mining consulting services to the global minerals industry. For more than 35 years, it has delivered trusted technical services, training and independent advice to public and private mining companies, governments, industry associations, financial and legal groups globally. To date, CSA Global has completed more than 7,500 projects around the world, with a significant number of studies in West Africa, in the corporate, mining, resources, geosciences, exploration, data and water management arena. 

CSA Global is a member of the ERM group of companies, a global provider of sustainability advisory services, including environmental, health, safety, risk, and social consulting. CSA Global and ERM work collaboratively on projects to better support the evolving needs of their clients to help them operate more sustainably. Collectively, CSA Global has more than 5,500 people in over 40 countries and territories working out of more than 160 offices. CSA Global is committed to providing a service that is consistent, professional and of the highest quality to create value for its clients.

Having a positive impact on the surrounding environment is a priority for Cora; the Company looks forward to working alongside CSA Global to advance the DFS in a sustainable manner.

Appointment of Epoch Resources

Epoch has been appointed to oversee the Tailings Storage Facilities.  Epoch was established in 2005 as a niche consultancy in the field of Tailings Design, Management and Closure. Its founding partners, Mr Guy Wiid, Dr George Papageorgiou and Mr Andrew Savvas, have individually been active in the tailings domain since the early 1990s. Epoch now includes some 30 engineers and is strongly active throughout most of Africa. Key clients include mining houses such as Barrick Gold Corporation, Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd, Glencore International Plc, Trevali Mining Corporation, etc and process plant/EMCP design houses such as DRA Global, SENET (Pty) Ltd and METC (Pty) Ltd. Epoch has been involved in numerous projects within Mali and West Africa, ranging from Pre-Feasibility to Detail Design, Construction Oversight and Engineer of Record, including Loulo Gold Mine, Morila Gold Mine, Fekola Gold Mine, Tabakoto Gold Mine, Tongon Gold Mine, Masawa Gold Mine, Tri-K Gold Mine and Kobada Gold Mine, to name but a few.

Appointment of Mr Russell Bradford

Mr Russell Bradford has been appointed as Project Manager for the DFS.  Mr Bradford has successfully managed numerous technical studies that have advanced through to mine construction and successful developments including several African operations.  He has a significant background in overseeing large scale projects and has previously held a number of senior positions including Senior Vice President of Metallurgy at the Asanko Gold Project, Project Director at Mantra Resources, and General Manager of Metallurgy at LionOre. Mr Bradford's experience in managing expert teams to advance operations through to construction will be indispensable to Cora in the completion of the DFS.  Mr Bradford has been acting as an adviser to the Company since 2020.

Market Abuse Regulation ('MAR') Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, until the release of this announcement.

**ENDS**

For further information, please visit http://www.coragold.com or contact:

Notes

Cora is a gold company focused on two world class gold regions in Mali and Senegal in West Africa.  Historical exploration has resulted in the highly prospective Sanankoro Gold Discovery, in addition to multiple, high potential, drill ready gold targets within its broader portfolio.  Cora's primary focus is on further developing Sanankoro in the Yanfolila Gold Belt (Southern Mali), which Cora believes has the potential for a standalone mine development.  Cora's highly experienced management team has a proven track record in making multi-million-ounce gold discoveries, which have been developed into operating mines.