Mr. Patrick Downey reports

WEST AFRICAN RESOURCES AND OREZONE TO UNLOCK OPERATIONAL SYNERGIES

Orezone Gold Corp. and West African Resources intend to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to investigate synergies on their respective three mining projects that could unlock significant value for all stakeholders. Orezone's Bombore and WAF's Sanbrado operating centres are located within 14 kilometres of each other, and host a M&I Mineral Resource of 5.1Moz and 3.0Moz, respectively (1). WAF is also constructing the 5.9Moz M&I and 1.8Moz Inferred Kiaka project located 45km south of Sanbrado with gold production planned to commence in 20251. The two operating mines, development projects, and exploration tenure cover a contiguous area over 1,800km2 and 100 strike km of highly prospective greenstone belts and structures1.

The MOU between the two gold mining companies, which operate independently in Burkina Faso, is expected to deliver significant savings over the life of mine to their respective operations with specific emphasis in the following areas:

• Grid Power: Orezone is in the final stages of connecting the Bombore mine to the national power grid and the Kiaka process plant will also source its power from the grid. Both companies have agreed to investigate the opportunity to extend the Bombore grid power spur line to Sanbrado which would materially reduce the processing costs at Sanbrado. (Figure 2)
• Thermal Back-up Power: Connecting both mines would allow Bombore to access Sanbrado's 24MW HFO and LFO power plant for back-up power when required to maintain operations.
• Renewable Energy: Both companies will investigate the potential to install a centralized solar power plant to further reduce power costs at their operations and capture the economies of scale of a larger jointly funded project.
• Procurement and Supply Chain: The companies will look to use their combined purchasing power to reduce consumable, storage, and transport costs.
• Common Spares: Both companies will review which critical spares can be jointly shared between the operations to optimize inventory levels.
• Community and CSR: The companies will liaise in the areas of CSR, training, employment and Livelihood Restoration Programs to ensure maximum benefits to local communities. Youth employment programs and training centres will be established, and skills training will be emphasised together with health care, agriculture management and restoration of the local environment.
• Security: Both companies will look at opportunities to cooperate and optimize security costs.

Richard Hyde, Executive Chairman and CEO of WAF, commented: "The ongoing discussions between WAF and Orezone reflect a commonsense approach to reduce costs and optimise invested capital. We expect this cooperative approach will enable both companies to enhance returns to shareholders, as well as deliver on the long-term future of gold mining in this region of Burkina Faso."

Patrick Downey, President and CEO of Orezone, commented: "This MOU represents an effective way to generate long-term value from each of our assets in Burkina Faso with the active participation of our neighboring communities. With the broader industry continuing to face cost inflation, this MOU represents an important opportunity to further improve our cost structure and create further value for our shareholders. As Orezone and WAF look to advance these initiatives, we will continue to pursue the highest standards in safety, along with responsible and meaningful engagement with our employees, communities, and other stakeholders."

About Orezone Gold Corporation

Orezone Gold Corporation (TSX: ORE OTCQX: ORZCF) is a Canadian mining company operating the open pit Bombore Gold Mine in Burkina Faso.

Orezone is focusing on mining and processing the Phase I near surface free-dig oxides at a planned annual throughput of 5.7 million tonnes. The Company believes that Bombore has a significant underlying hard rock resource to support a substantially larger Phase II expansion. The Company has recently completed a resource definition drill program, and plans to issue an updated mineral resource, reserve and life of mine plan, as part of this Phase II expansion.

Orezone is led by an experienced team focused on social responsibility and sustainability with a proven track record in project construction and operations, financings, capital markets and M&A.

The technical report for the 2019 Feasibility Study on Bombore entitled NI 43-101 Technical Report (Amended) Feasibility Study of the Bombore Gold Project is available on SEDAR+ under the Company's profile on SEDAR+.

Qualified Person

Rob Henderson, P. Eng. VP Technical Services, is the Qualified Person who has approved the Company's scientific and technical information in this news release.

We seek Safe Harbor.