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

10 January 2022

Cora Gold Limited ('Cora' or 'the Company')

Environmental, Social and Governance Update

Cora Gold Limited, the West African focused gold company, is pleased to provide an update on Environmental, Social and Governance ('ESG') activities underway in Mali, including the appointment of dedicated ESG personnel, as its Sanankoro Gold Project moves towards the completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study ('DFS').

HIGHLIGHTS

·    Continued positive engagement with local communities as development activities intensify at Sanankoro

·    Completion of a new water well at the Dako community village garden and market garden equipment supplied to the Faragouagnia community

·    Solar kit and battery supplied to Sanankoro village community as well as a contribution towards the health centre

·    Appointment of dedicated ESG personnel including:

o  Mr. Djibril Sanogo as ESG Manager, to co-ordinate ESG commitments going forward, oversee the completion of the ESIA and subsequently implement any recommendations; and

o  Dr. Pete Whitbread-Abrutat as ESG Adviser to the Company

Bert Monro, CEO of Cora, commented: "The appointment of two ESG personnel to direct and uphold our ESG responsibilities is a big step forward for Cora and reflects our commitment to setting a benchmark for the responsible development of a gold mine at Sanankoro in the future.

"I am delighted to welcome Djibril as our ESG Manager. He comes with a wealth of experience having worked on operational gold mines in Mali throughout his career and will be a critical team member onsite at Sanankoro, overseeing all of our various initiatives and maintaining our positive relationships with the surrounding communities. Furthermore, the addition of Pete as ESG Adviser, whose expertise in sustainability will offer a huge support to Cora as we move forward.

"Cora is committed to maintaining a constructive relationship and engaging positively with the local communities surrounding its permit areas and continues to be actively involved in programmes to facilitate this. I am pleased to see programmes we have started over a number of years are progressing well and continue to benefit the respective villages."

DETAILS

Cora remains committed to operating in ways that engage positively with local communities and minimise its impact on the environment. Accordingly, Cora is actively involved in programmes focused on alternative livelihoods, healthcare, and education within the vicinity of its operations.

Having recently visited the community gardens of Sanankoro, Dako and Faragouagnia, as well as the village savings and credit association and saponification group at Bokoro, the Company is pleased to note significant progress.

A new water well, financed by Cora, has been completed at the Dako community village garden, whilst      at the village of Sanankoro, okra seeds have been planted, a donation was made to the health centre and a solar power kit and battery have been given to the community. At Faragouagnia, where Cora previously donated market garden equipment, the local community have begun to harvest onions.  Furthermore, the village's saving and credit association, which provides local people with funds to invest during the rainy season, is growing from strength to strength since its foundation by Cora.

A general assembly has been held at the Sanankoro camp to address questions about potential future developments at Sanankoro from the surrounding communities was very successful. This was attended by representatives from Cora, Kangaba, Maramandougou, Séléfougou, Digby Wells, DNGM - Direction Nationale de la Géologie et des Mines, DNACPN - Direction Nationale de l'Assainissement et du Controle des Pollutions et des Nuisances, the civil society and permit communities.

To co-ordinate its ESG commitments going forward, Cora has appointed Mr. Djibril Sanogo as ESG Manager. Djibril has over 15 years' experience overseeing environmental and community management for mining companies in Mali and advised several large gold mining companies in this regard including AngloGold Ashanti and Resolute Mining.  At Somisy, which owns the Syama Gold Mine in Mali (80% owned by Resolute Mining), he was Senior Environmental Co-ordinator from 2017 to 2020 responsible for managing environmental issues, including rehabilitation, biodiversity, water control, and vegetation control programmes and developing/reviewing environmental procedures. Most recently, Djibril was Health, Safety, Environment and Quality and Community Manager at Carrières et Chaux du Mali, a Malian company specialising in the production and commercialisation of quicklime and agricultural lime, where he oversaw the integrated HSEQ and community management system, provided his expert support and advice to the Board of Directors on ESG issues, and implemented an HSEQ monitoring framework.   

To further advance Cora's ESG strategy, Dr. Pete Whitbread-Abrutat has been appointed as ESG Adviser. Pete is a mining ESG and sustainability specialist with over 30 years' experience in the international mining industry. He has previously worked in the private sector, academia, civil society and with the United Nations. Pete is a proficient project reviewer and has particular expertise in addressing environmental, community and ESG issues associated with the mining sector, having worked on many international development projects. He established Future Terrains in 2014, a social enterprise tackling the challenges of degraded lands by working to improve environmental and community practices and helping to restore damaged places.  Pete holds a PhD in the re-vegetation of mine wastes, is a Chartered Environmentalist, a Churchill Fellow, and a certified IEMA Lead Environmental Auditor.

For more information, see our ESG page on the Cora website https://www.coragold.com/environmental-social-governance. 

**ENDS**

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

Notes

Cora is an emerging West African gold developer with three principal de-risked project areas within two known gold belts in Mali and Senegal covering over +1,100 sq. km. Led by a team with a proven track record in making multi-million-ounce gold discoveries that have been developed into operating mines, its primary focus is on developing the Sanankoro Gold Project in the Yanfolila Gold Belt, Southern Mali, where Cora hopes to commence construction of an open pit oxide focussed gold mine in 2022. An updated mineral resource estimate on the Project was published in November 2021 which increased the Resources by over 200% (from the 2019 Maiden resource) to 809,300oz Au. A Definitive Feasibility Study is expected to be completed in H1 2022.