Mr. Andrew Chubb reports

AWALÉ COMMENCES 4000-METRE DIAMOND DRILLING PROGRAM AT THE BBM AND CHARGER ZONES, ODIENNÉ JV PROJECT

Awale Resources Ltd. has commenced drilling at the BBM and Charger zones within the Odienne joint venture (OJV) in Ivory Coast. The 4,000-metre (m) diamond drilling program is the final phase of 2024 and is fully financed by Newmont. Drilling is expected to continue into 2025, with both diamond and reverse circulation drilling.

Highlights

• Awale has commenced a 4,000 m diamond drill program at the BBM and Charger zones.
• BBM drilling to focus on both expanding and confirming the 600 m mineralized core toward the NW (northwest) and SE (southeast).
• Charger drilling will test the new high-grade model for continuity and expansion.
• Drilling is fully financed by Newmont.

Highlighted results from the previous program included:

• 59 m at 14.7 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) from 96 m down hole in OEDD-100 at Charger (see Nov. 11, 2024, news release);
• 29 m at 20 g/t Au from 149 m down hole in OEDD-88 at Charger (see July 31, 2024, news release);
• 35 m at 2.2 g/t Au, 0.48 per cent copper (Cu), 567 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum (Mo) and 1.9 g/t silver (Ag) in OEDD-89 from 318 m down hole at BBM (see Sept. 9, 2024, news release).

"This program is anticipated to build on the success of the most recent phase of drilling, where BBM continues to demonstrate robust grade continuity and Charger delivers some of highest-grade intercepts in West Africa over the past 12 months. Both these zones are interpreted to have significant expansion potential and drilling is expected to continue throughout the 2025 dry season. We anticipate other high-priority, drill-ready targets such as Lando, Empire and the BBM satellites to come into play during the 2025 field season. In addition to the JV drill program, we aim to drill the first holes on our 100-per-cent-owned Fremen target in Q1 2025 and commence exploration activities on our other 100-per-cent-owned permits. The Awale team is excited to move forward on what we believe will be another successful field season," Andrew Chubb, chief executive officer of Awale Resources, commented today.

Three thousand metres (3,000 m) are planned to test the continuity of the BBM zone as well as expand the 600 m defined panel to the northwest and southeast, with 1,000 m allocated for Charger to test the new geology fold model where the broad high-grade intercepts are hosted within fold hinges (see Nov. 11, 2024, news release) and rapidly advance the volume potential of this target.

About the Charger zone

The Charger zone is one of four grassroots discoveries made by Awale at Odienne. Charger is a discovery that has delivered multiple high-grade results from drilling which includes the following high-grade intercepts in a breccia to the south of that intercepted in OEDD-83 and OEDD-100 (see news releases from March 29, 2023, Aug. 21, 2023, March 25, 2024, July 31, 2024, and Nov. 11, 2024):

• OEDD-83: 57 m at 26 g/t Au from 164 m down hole:
  • Including 32 m at 45.7 g/t Au from 165 m down hole.
• OEDD-88: 29 m at 20 g/t Au from 149 m down hole:
  • Including 8 m at 39.5 g/t Au from 149 m down hole.
• OEDD-84: 70 m at 1.2 g/t Au from 143 m down hole;
• OEDD-100: 59 m at 14.7 g/t Au from 140 m down hole;
• OEDD-85: 21 m at 1.7 g/t Au from 177 m down hole and 10 m at 7.8 g/t Au from 202 m down hole;
• OERC-132: 32 m at 3.0 g/t Au from 74 m down hole:
  • Including 4 m at 12.4 g/t Au from 78 m down hole.
• OEDD-45 (step back from OERC 132) contains three high-grade intervals within a 65 m wide zone of mineralization which included:
  • 12 m at 4.9 g/t Au from 89 m down hole;
  • 13 m at 1.3 g/t Au from 114 m down hole;
  • 21 m at 1.3 g/t Au from 133 m down hole.
• Hole OEDD-53 (50 m step back from OEDD-45): 32 m at 1.5 g/t Au from 215 m down hole:
  • Including three m at 5.2g/t Au from 77 m down hole.

The company has also determined the true width of the breccia between holes OEDD-83 and OEDD-100 to be over 30 metres, and the intercept in OEDD-88 being a further 25 metres away from OEDD-100. This drilling has established a 200-metre corridor of breccia mineralization where high-grade mineralization is thought to be controlled by folding and hosted in the hinge zone of these folds. Moreover, the company has gained a clearer understanding of the unique and complex characteristics of the Charger target, presenting an opportunity to test the fold model within the current corridor as well as stepout and test for other parallel zones.

About the BBM zone

BBM is an Awale grassroots discovery (see Jan. 11, 2024, news release). Gold and copper mineralization and alteration in the BBM system are controlled by a northwest-striking shear zone that follows an intrusive/sedimentary contact. This shear zone lies parallel to an interpreted major crustal boundary and forms an eight-kilometre-long geochemical gold trend in termitaria and soil. The 6,808 metres of drilling in 28 holes completed to date have intercepted the target shear zone and covers only two kilometres of an eight-kilometre trend. Awale has continued to expand the potential of the BBM discovery with further intersections along strike from the initial discovery holes. Results also show there is increasing grade with depth. The company has completed three phases of drilling (see news releases from March 18, 2024, Sept. 9, 2024, and Nov. 18, 2024).

Mineralization at BBM is steeply dipping (70 to 80 degrees) with a gentle plunge (45 to 55 degrees) toward the northwest. Recent interpretation suggests this plunge is controlled by isoclinal folding withing the BBM shear. This fold geometry, along with the frequency of the folds, can have a significant impact on the grade and volume of mineralization.

Alteration at BBM is dominated by silica and biotite with pyrite, chalcopyrite, and molybdenite as the main sulphide species. Recently, a fold model for control on the plunging mineralization has taken precedence over the footwall splay model previously discussed. What were previously considered as mineralized fingers of granodiorite are now interpreted to be fold hinges or knuckles. Current drilling will test this hypothesis and understanding the fold geometry and the controls on higher grade gold can have a positive effect on both the grade and volume of mineralization at BBM.

Drilling completed to date has consistently confirmed grade continuity within the distinct silica-biotite alteration system. The fold model suggests the potential for parallel shoots within a core zone of robust mineralization that now exceeds 600 m in length with an open vertical depth of 330 m, true widths of the mineralized envelope are up to 50 m. Mineralization also remains open outside the BBM discovery zone, with potential for other plunging shoots within the initial two-kilometre discovery as well as satellite discoveries along strike. The company will continue with further stepout and infill drilling throughout the 2024 to 2025 field season. Prior to drilling the extension targets, an induced polarization (IP) program is planned to aid in drill targeting in the satellite areas northwest of the BBM zone. This IP survey on the joint venture permits will complement and be completed alongside the IP planned over the 100-per-cent-owned Awale "Sienso" permit which abuts the BBM discovery zone (see Oct. 22, 2024, news release).

About Awale Resources Ltd.

Awale is a diligent and systematic mineral exploration company focused on discovering large high-grade gold and copper-gold deposits. Exploration activities are currently under way in the underexplored regions of Ivory Coast, where the company is focused on the Odienne copper-gold project, covering 2,489 square kilometres (km) across seven permits. This includes 796 square km in two permits held under the Awale-Newmont joint venture (OJV). Awale manages all exploration activities over the OJV, with financing provided by Newmont Joint Ventures Ltd. (see May 31, 2022, news release).

Awale has discovered four gold, gold-copper and gold-copper-silver-molybdenum discoveries within the OJV and has recently commenced exploration on its 100-per-cent-owned properties following an $11.5-million capital raise in April, 2024.

The Odienne project is underexplored and has multiple pipeline prospects with similar geochemical signatures to iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) and intrusive-related mineral systems with substantial upside potential. The company benefits from a skilled and well-seasoned technical team that allows it to continue exploring in a pro-mining jurisdiction that offers significant potential for district-scale discoveries.

Analytical work for drill samples is being carried out at the independent Intertek Laboratories in Ghana and Australia, an ISO 17025-certified (2017) laboratory. Samples are stored at the company's field camps and put into sealed bags until collected by Intertek from the company's secure Odienne office and transported by Intertek to its preparation laboratory in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, for preparation. Samples are logged in the tracking system, weighed, dried and pulverized to greater than 85 per cent, passing a 75-micron screen. Two pulps are prepared from each sample, with one stream to Intertek Ghana for fire assay and a second to Australia, where the sample is analyzed by 52-element ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) with an aqua regia digest. Blanks, duplicates and certified reference material (standards) are being used to monitor laboratory performance during the analysis. All fire assay samples returning greater than five g/t gold are routinely screen fire assayed, in this special case lower-than-five-gram samples uphole and downhole from the high-grade interval in OEDD-88 were also subject to screen fire assays. As a further QC (quality control) precaution due to visible gold presence, Intertek was requested to insert a quartz wash between each sample in the mineralized interval, ensuring no sample contamination in the preparation process.

Mineralized interval calculations

Significant intervals reported in this news release are calculated down hole length weighted intercepts.

For the BBM target initial mineralized are calculated at a 0.2 g/t trigger and include up to five metres internal waste for of delineation mineralized zones. Included intervals are at 0.5 g/t, one g/t and two g/t trigger values with three m of internal waste only. For the Charger target initial mineralized are calculated at a 0.5 g/t trigger and include internal waste of three m for delineation mineralized zones.

Qualified person

The technical and scientific information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved for release by Mr. Chubb, who is the company's qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr Chubb is the company's CEO and holds an economic geology degree, is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG), and is a member of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG). Mr. Chubb has over 20 years of experience in international mineral exploration and mining project evaluation.

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