Mr. Patrick Downey reports

OREZONE REPORTS THIRD QUARTER 2023 RESULTS

Orezone Gold Corp. has released its operational and financial results for the three and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2023. The consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis are available on the company's website and on its profile on SEDAR+. The company will host a conference call and webcast on Nov. 15, 2023, commencing at 8 a.m. PST, to discuss the company's third quarter results. Additional details are provided at the end of this news release.

(All dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.)

Patrick Downey, president and chief executive officer, commented: "Our Bombore mine continues to perform well operationally, with third quarter plant throughput reaching a record high of 1.45 million tonnes, which is 13 per cent above design. Gold production declined modestly from earlier quarters as lower head grades in Q3 reflects the processing end in Q2 of higher-grade stockpiles accumulated during construction. To improve mining rates, which were behind plan, we mobilized a second mining contractor in late July. We are now realizing the benefits in Q4 as mining rates in October reached a new monthly record. With faster ore release and continued strong plant performance, Q4 production is forecasted to be above Q3, which positions us well to meet our previously guided gold production and costs for 2023.

"Shortly after quarter-end, we released the results of an independent updated feasibility study for our phase II hard rock expansion for the Bombore mine. The results demonstrated improved economics and higher gold production from the previous 2019 study, including a substantial increase in mineral reserves to 2.4 million gold ounces. A new technical study will be filed later this month, which will include an updated mine plan, production profile and cost assumptions, plus new estimates for mineral resources and reserves. We are working diligently with our senior lender, Coris Bank, to increase our senior debt capacity in order to move forward with a production decision on our phase II expansion in the coming months."

Third quarter 2023 highlights

Operational:

• Produced 30,726 gold ounces (oz);
• Sold 29,167 gold oz at an average realized price of $1,910 per oz;
• AISC (all-in sustaining cost) (1) of $1,306 per gold oz sold;
• Zero lost-time injuries with 1,128,000 personnel hours worked.

Financial:

• Revenue of $55.8-million;
• Earnings from mine operations of $13.9-million;
• Net income and net income per share (basic) attributable to Orezone shareholders of $5.2-million and one cent, respectively;
• Adjusted earnings (1) and adjusted earnings per share (1) (basic) attributable to Orezone shareholders of $3.6-million and one cent, respectively;
• Cash flow from operations before changes in non-cash working capital of $16.5-million ($7.0-million after changes in non-cash working capital);
• Free cash flow (1) of negative $4.0-million;
• Cash of $27.7-million at Sept. 30, 2023.

(1) Non-IFRS (international financial reporting standards) measures.

The company poured first gold on Sept. 10, 2022, and declared commercial production on Dec. 1, 2022, at its Bombore mine. As a result, comparative figures for the corresponding quarter and year-to-date period in the prior year have not been presented as they are not meaningful as the Bombore mine was under construction and commissioning during this period. Operating and financial performance in the current quarter have been compared against earlier quarters in 2023 to highlight quarter-over-quarter movements in performance.

Bombore production results

Gold production in Q3 2023 was 30,726 oz, a decrease of 13 per cent from the 35,482 oz produced in Q2 2023. The drop in gold production is attributable to decreases in head grades of 9 per cent and plant recoveries of 2 per cent, partially offset by a 4-per-cent increase in plant throughput as compared with the prior quarter.

Head grades were lower in Q3 as compared with Q2 due to mine sequencing and the processing end of higher-grade ore stockpiles accumulated during construction.

Plant throughput improved in Q3 and exceeded nameplate by approximately 13 per cent as plant availability in Q2 was affected by more maintenance activities, including the annual changeout of the ball mill liner.

As mining deepens in certain pits, the quantity of transition ore has started to increase. The presence of transition ore results in slightly lower metallurgical recovery and the generation of additional ball mill scats that must be recirculated through the circuit to achieve the required grind size fraction. Consequently, plant recoveries continued to trend lower in Q3 as compared with Q2.

To improve the treatment efficiency of scats and to crush hard oversize transition material, the company purchased a used mobile crushing system to pretreat transition ore ahead of the ROM dump pocket and to crush scats prior to recirculation. The crushing system arrived on site in mid-October and was placed into service later in the month, and is currently re-treating the small volume of stockpiled scats for recirculation into the ball mill.

Bombore operating costs

AISC per gold ounce sold in Q3 2023 was $1,306, an 18-per-cent increase from the AISC per gold ounce sold of $1,109 in Q2 2023. The increase in AISC was mainly driven by a combination of lower head grades and plant recovery, as explained above, and higher unit operating costs.

Cash cost per ore tonne processed increased by 3 per cent from $20.91 per tonne in Q2 to $21.57 per tonne in Q3 due to higher unit mining costs (plus 12 per cent) and site G&A (general and administrative) (plus 7 per cent). The rise in mining costs in the current quarter is attributable to higher contractor management fees from the addition of a second mining contractor, higher pit dewatering costs as Q3 is the height of the rainy season, more drill-and-blast as the quantity of transition material increases and greater grade control costs as more expensive contractor drills are utilized to keep pace with grade control requirements. During Q3, the company mobilized a second mining contractor on a temporary basis to improve overall mining rates as the primary mining contractor was approximately 10 per cent behind plan in terms of material movement, which has delayed access to areas of higher-grade ore. The company anticipates a quarterly record in tonnes mined for Q4 as the mine benefits from drier weather and the use of two mining contractors for the full quarter. Site G&A increased modestly in Q3 from the recognition of non-recoverable value-added tax (VAT) and from increased security spending as the phased deployment of additional highly trained personnel for site and regional security is now fully established.

Bombore growth capital projects

Grid power connection

The project to connect Bombore to Burkina Faso's national grid is advancing toward completion in December, 2023. All long-lead equipment orders are either in transit or delivered to site with the main installation contractors achieving scheduled progress for the switching station, the main on-site substation and the transmission line. Stringing of the transmission line between the 56 transmission towers is also progressing as planned. Delivery of the substation transformer is currently being expedited and a second daily shift organized with the contractor to accelerate installation and commissioning once the transformer arrives to site. The company is also working toward finalizing a power purchase agreement with SONABEL following the memorandum of understanding signed between the parties earlier in the year.

RAP phases II and III

RAP phases II and III involve the construction of three new resettlement villages (MV3, MV2 and BV2). The company has sequenced MV3 as the first village to construct in order to gain access to mining areas that are currently contemplated in the 2024 mine plan. MV3 is the largest of the resettlement villages and requires the erection of over 1,200 private homes and public structures.

RAP construction is currently behind schedule as the construction start for the MV3 village was delayed for two months as communities conducted sacred ceremonies for the new resettlement grounds. The company has engaged several local contractors to complete homes on distinct lots within the MV3 site. To improve the pace of construction, the company has awarded work to additional contractors along with the recruitment of a small owner's team to assist with procurement of building material and site construction activities. Due to the aforementioned delays, the company is now forecasting completion of the MV3 resettlement site in Q2 2024.

Phase II hard rock plant expansion -- 2023 feasibility study (FS) results and early works

The company announced the results of an independent feasibility study for the phase II hard rock plant expansion of the Bombore mine on Oct. 11, 2023. The 2023 FS envisions an integrated mining operations processing both oxide and hard rock ore with the brownfield construction of a stand-alone 4.4-million-tonne-per-annum hard rock plant operating alongside the existing 5.9-million-tonne-per-annum phase I oxide plant. The expanded operations are anticipated to deliver a significant increase in annual and life-of-mine gold production at strong project economics. Please see the company's news release dated Oct. 11, 2023, for the full results of the 2023 FS.

The phase II expansion is being managed by the same team that successfully delivered the phase I oxide plant. The overall schedule is currently estimated at 24 months with the delivery and installation of the SAG mill as the critical path. The company has recently awarded the order of the SAG mill with cancellation clauses to Metso to maintain first gold by Q3 2025.

The company intends to finance the construction of the phase II hard rock plant using future free cash flow generated from the existing oxide operations combined with additional senior debt. The company is engaged in detailed discussions with Coris Bank for additional loan support to finance the expansion. A board decision to approve the construction of the phase II expansion will follow upon the receipt of a binding debt commitment.

In the interim period, the company has received board authorization to proceed with early project works to maintain schedule. These activities include the commencement of front-end engineering and design with Lycopodium Minerals Canada Ltd., bulk earthworks on the new plant area, and order placement for the new SAG mill to lock-in delivery times and access to engineering data.

Conference call and webcast

Orezone will host a conference call and audio webcast to discuss third quarter 2023 results on Nov. 15, 2023, at 8 a.m. PT (11 a.m. ET).

Webcast

Date:  Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023

Time:  8 a.m. Pacific Time (11 a.m. Eastern Time)

Please register for the webcast on-line.

Conference call

Toll-free in the United States and Canada:  1-800-715-9871

International callers:  646-307-1963

Event ID:  8403800

Qualified persons

The scientific and technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Dr. Pascal Marquis, Geo, senior vice-president of exploration, and Rob Henderson, PEng, vice-president of technical services, both of whom are qualified persons as defined under National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Orezone Gold Corp.

Orezone 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 throughput of 5.9 million tonnes per annum. The company recently released the results of its phase II expansion study, which envision an independent 4.4-million-tonne-per-annum hard rock plant operating alongside the existing oxide plant to deliver a significant increase in annual gold production at a low incremental capital cost. Construction of the new 4.4-million-tonne-per-annum hard rock plant will enable Bombore to produce an average of 209,000 oz per year at a mine-level AISC of $1,121 per oz for over eight years. First gold from the phase II expansion is scheduled for Q3 2025. Significant exploration potential exists to expand Bombore's mineral reserves through future resource conversion and new discoveries from drilling of promising high-priority targets.

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

The NI 43-101 technical report supporting the phase II expansion study will be filed on SEDAR+ within 45 days of Orezone's news release dated Oct. 11, 2023.

We seek Safe Harbor.