Orezone Provides an Update ON the Bomboré Project
OREZONE PROVIDES AN UPDATE ON THE BOMBORÉ PROJECT
September 18, 2017 - Orezone Gold Corporation (“Orezone” or the “Company”) (TSXV:ORE) is
pleased to provide the following corporate update in relation to the ongoing development of the
Bomboré project.
Orezone’s recently appointed President and CEO, Patrick Downey, together with the Orezone
technical team, have completed a comprehensive review of the Bomboré project including an
independent third party analysis of the flowsheet, including all associated capital and operating costs.
The team has also completed a detailed review of the Bomboré geological database following the
drilling success at P17S in early 2017 . This resulted in the subsequent July 2017 drill program that has
focussed on identifying and expanding potential areas of high grade mineralization.
The above has led to the following positive conclusions:
● Recent drilling now shows that there is excellent potential to identify and incorporate into the
overall mine plan, several discrete areas of higher grade mineralization. The drilling results for
two of these zones were released on September 12, 2017 with additional results for the next
two zones expected in October 2017. Further additional in -fill drilling should allow these
discrete higher -grade zones to be modelled separately within the lower -grade zones, thereby
ensuring that their grade is properly reflected within the resource/reserve models. The
Company would not plan to mine these zones as discrete units but to complete pit planning an d
scheduling to ensure that the better grades are mined early in the life of mine plan.
● A detailed review of the overall project by the Orezone team with the help of outside
consultants and contractors has shown the potential to simplify the flowsheet, wit h expected
savings to both capital and operating costs as detailed below.
● The Mineral Resource announced on September 7, 2016 and the subsequent update on January
10, 2017 excluded certain areas of mineralization due to their location within seasonal river
zones that were deemed to be sensitive environmental areas. This resulted in the exclusion from
the Measured and Indicated (“M&I”) Mineral Resource of approximately 240,000 ozs of oxide
/ transition material (1.6 MT @ 0.68 gpt or 36,000 ozs of Measured re sources and 11.8 MT @
0.54 gpt or 205,000 ozs of Indicated resources) that would otherwise have been classified. As
such, this additional mineralization is not available to be converted into mineral reserves.
Orezone had several meetings in Burkina Faso to discuss this exclusion and have subsequently
contracted with WSP Canada Inc., the firm that completed all of the most recent environmental
work, in order to submit a plan of operations for these areas to show that they can be mined
during the dry season a nd properly rehabilitated. If this plan of operation is accepted by the
Minister of Environment, these areas should then be reinstated for mining so that they can be
included as a Mineral Resource, which would have additional positive impacts on overall
project economics.
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Patrick Downey commented, “I joined the Company to advance the Bomboré project to construction in
the most expeditious manner possible and to ensure we extract maximum value for all stakeholders.
Having visited the site and reviewed numer ous core samples as well as reviewed the proposed process
flowsheet, I now believe we can greatly simplify the development of Bomboré in a way that will likely
reduce capital and improve operating costs as well as all in sustaining costs. This can be achie ved by
focussing on the development of the oxide zones and the upper transition zones as these lend
themselves to a very simple process flowsheet. I am also extremely encouraged by the recent drill
results and look forward to the next set of results expected in early October.”
The oxide/upper transition zones are endowed with several attributes that when taken together lend
themselves to a simpler overall project development. These include:
● Very shallow orebody with overall average depth of mining of 45m to the bottom of the pits.
Therefore, simple haulage conditions;
● Low strip ratio, likely in the region of 1:1, resulting in lower mining costs;
● Free digging, no drill and blast with simple grade control;
● Several pits within which to operate, allowing the hi gher grade to be processed in the earlier
years of operation therefore enhancing the overall economics. Furthermore, this allows
flexibility of fleet and simpler operations during rainy season; and
● Soft non-abrasive material that is highly sheared and oxidized with little or no quartz.
All the above will lend itself to a mining process that can use smaller and more economical load and
haul equipment as well as a fleet that does not need to handle large chunks of hard abrasive rocks.
Such equipment is now successfully in operation within Burkina Faso at established mining operations.
The plan to mine the oxide and transition material is also expected to have a very positive impact on
the process flowsheet. The existing flowsheet design was a combined Heap Le ach and Carbon in
Leach (“CIL”) circuit. This circuit separated the fines from the coarser +212 micron product. This
process was selected due to the high fines content that would require excessive cement for heap leach
agglomeration and prevent constructio n of a normal heap pad height of 50 -60m due to potential
percolation and slump issues.
The current review of the test work has shown that most of the oxide/upper transition material will
report to the leach circuit without grinding. The softness of this m aterial and its low abrasive index
indicates that the small fraction of the material that requires a certain amount of grinding will take
relatively limited power to achieve the necessary size reduction. Leach times are relatively fast so the
process will not require significant additional tankage than currently contemplated.
This potential change should save significant capex with the elimination of the heap leach circuit and
should also improve the overall process recovery resulting in improved cash flow due to the faster
kinetics of tank leaching as opposed to heap leaching.
Orezone has contracted Soutex Inc. of Quebec City, who are a well recognized and experienced
metallurgical consulting group with extensive experience in West Africa and in particular with
material similar to Bomboré. Soutex has confirmed that a revised flowsheet using simple grinding of
the coarser fraction and CIL of the oxide/upper transition material is better suited to Bomboré and
should reduce the capital compared to a combined He ap Leach/CIL circuit thereby resulting in
improved overall project economics. There is an extensive metallurgical and technical database for the
Bomboré project and having reviewed this in detail Soutex is recommending a limited number of
additional tests so that the selected flowsheet and equipment can be confirmed.
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Based on all the above, the Board of Directors of Orezone have therefore determined that the best
course of action for Orezone is to suspend work on the current reserve statement and the update to the
feasibility study until the additional test work and current drill program are complete, so that this
additional work can be included in the reserve statement and feasibility study update. The Company
expects that this work will lead to a revised m ineral resource in Q1 of 2018 with the completion of a
feasibility study early in the second half of 2018. Orezone’s cash position is more than sufficient to
complete all of this work contemplated, and to support general and administrative expenses through
the time period.
Qualified Person(s)
Tim Miller, SME and COO, Pascal Marquis, Geo and SVP and Patrick Downey, PEng and CEO of
Orezone, are Qualified Persons under National Instrument 43-101 and have reviewed and approved the
scientific and technical information in this release, and verified any technical date disclosed in this
release. Readers should refer to the annu al information form of Orezone for the year ended December
31, 2016 and other continuous disclosure documents filed by Orezone since January 1, 2017 available
at www.sedar.com, for this detailed information, which is s ubject to the qualifications and notes set
forth therein.
About Orezone Gold Corporation
Orezone is a Canadian company with a successful gold discovery track record and recent mine
development experience in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The Company owns a 9 0% interest in
Bomboré, a fully permitted, undeveloped oxide gold deposit in West Africa, which is situated 85 km
east of the capital city, adjacent to an international highway.
For further information please contact Orezone at +1 (613) 241 -3699 or visit the Company’s
website at www.orezone.com.
Orezone Gold Corporation
Patrick Downey,
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: 1 613 241 3699 / Toll Free: 1 888 673 0663
[email protected] /www.orezone.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:
This news release contains certain “forward -looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
laws. Forward-looking statements and forward -looking information are frequently characterized by words such as “plan”,
“expect”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “potential”, “possible” and other similar words, or
statements that certain events or conditions “may”, “will”, “could”, or “should” occur. Forward -looking statements in
this release include stateme nts regarding, among others; the positive drill results from the current drilling program have
potential to expand the resource, additional drill results will be released in October 2017, the simplification of the
flowsheet should or will reduce capex, ope rating costs and improve the project economics (including cash flows), sensitive
environmental areas could be reinstated thereby permitting inclusion of up to 240,000 ozs of oxide / transitional material to
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the current mineral resource; completing of addit ional drilling and tests, completing a revised mineral resource in Q1
2018; and completing a feasibility study early in the second half of 2018.
All such forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by management in light of their
experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other
factors management believe are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of
risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected
in the forward -looking statements including, but not limited to, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their
enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest;
changes in commodity prices; unexpected failure or inadequacy of infrastructure, the failure of exploration programs,
including drilling programs, to deliver anticipated results and the failure of ongoing and contemplated studies to deliver
anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued studies, development or operations. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements.
This news release also contains references to estimates of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The estimation of
Mineral Resources is inherently uncertain and involves subjective judgments about many relevant fa ctors. Mineral
Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The accuracy of any such estimates
is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineerin g
and geological interpretation, which may prove to be unreliable and depend, to a certain extent, upon the analysis of
drilling results and statistical inferences that may ultimately prove to be inaccurate. Mineral Resource estimates may have
to be re-estimated based on, among other things: (i) fluctuations in the price of gold; (ii) results of drilling; (iii) results of
metallurgical testing, process and other studies; (iv) changes to proposed mine plans; (v) the evaluation of mine plans
subsequent to the date of any estimates; and (vi) the possible failure to receive required permits, approvals and licences.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company
believes are reasonable assumpti ons, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these
forward-looking statements. These forward -looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are
expressly qualified in their entirety by this cauti onary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does
not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward -looking statements contained herein to reflect events or
circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.