Mr. Patrick Downey reports

OREZONE REPORTS Q1-2025 PRODUCTION AND HARD ROCK EXPANSION UPDATE

Orezone Gold Corp. has released its Q1 2025 gold production results and provided a construction update for the Stage I hard-rock expansion at its Bombore gold mine. All dollar amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.

Q1 2025 production results:

• Gold production of 28,688 ounces;
• Gold sales of 28,943 ounces at an average realized price of $2,851 per ounce for sales of $82.5-million;
• Quarter-end cash balance of $102-million and senior debt of $65.2-million after principal repayments of $4.8-million in the quarter;
• Safety milestone of 20 million person-hours worked without a loss-time injury (LTI) achieved in March.

Stage I hard-rock construction update:

• Construction of the Stage I hard-rock expansion remains ahead of schedule and on budget; first gold pour and mill commissioning on track for Q4 2025;
• Engineering is ahead of schedule with 85-per-cent progress to the end of March;
• Procurement is substantially complete, with only minor bulk material top-ups outstanding;
• SAG (semi-autogenous grinding) mill major components are now on site, well ahead of schedule for the longest-lead items;
• Concrete works remain ahead of schedule with the dump pocket and SAG mill foundations significantly advanced and CIL (carbon-in-leach) tank foundations complete;
• Structural/mechanical/piping contractor has mobilized and is progressing with CIL tank installation;
• Several mining areas for hard-rock mining have now been readied in preparation for commencement of hard-rock mining later this year;
• Completed first monthly hard-rock expansion video.

Patrick Downey, president and chief executive officer, stated: "Q1 was another solid operating quarter at Bombore, with slightly lower than planned gold ounces produced as a result of rescheduled mill maintenance. Mined tonnage was ahead of plan for the quarter, which keeps the company well positioned to achieve its 2025 production guidance of 115,000 to 130,000 ounces.

"During the quarter, the company achieved a major milestone of 20 million person-hours worked without a LTI. This industry-leading safety record speaks to the exceptional effort on injury prevention by the entire Bombore team, which has instilled a pervasive, safety-first culture on site.

"Throughout the quarter, the company made material progress advancing the Stage I hard-rock expansion, with concrete foundations for the dump pocket and SAG mill significantly advanced and CIL tank installation now under way. The Stage I hard-rock expansion remains ahead of schedule and on budget, with first gold and mill commissioning on track for Q4 2025. Completion of the Stage I expansion will mark a material transformation in the Bombore operation, with gold production forecasted to increase by approximately 45 per cent from current levels to 170,000 to 185,000 ounces in 2026.

"Further positioning the company for a significant transformation, Orezone announced during the quarter that: (1) it is advancing a secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange, with a target listing in mid-2025; and (2) is evaluating plans to accelerate the Stage II hard-rock expansion to an overall five million tonnes per annum two years ahead of schedule (see news release dated Feb. 23, 2025). While subject to final board approval, the Stage II expansion is forecasted to increase the overall gold production profile at Bombore to 220,000 to 250,000 ounces per year. We also expect to release drill results from the P17S and P17 area in the coming weeks as we target the high-grade extensions of these highly prospective zones."

Hard-rock plant and operations overview

The 2.5-million-tonne-per-annum Stage I hard-rock expansion is designed to process higher-grade hard-rock ore. The expansion is independent of the adjacent six-million-tonne-per-annum oxide plant but will utilize a number of shared services and infrastructure, including the tailings storage facility, warehouses, administration complex and technical services. The concentrated scope of the brownfield expansion significantly reduces schedule and budget risk in comparison with a new build, with the ramp-up to benefit from the well-established mining, processing and maintenance teams onsite.

This Stage I expansion is scheduled for commissioning in Q4 2025, and, as with the oxide plant, which had a nameplate capacity of 5.2 million tonnes per annum, the company views the potential to achieve materially higher throughput rates than that of the 2.5-million-tonne-per-annum Stage I design.

With the strong price of gold, the company continues to evaluate the timing of the Stage II hard-rock expansion, which will increase the nameplate hard-rock throughput to five million tonnes per annum, yielding a forecasted overall production profile of 225,000 to 250,000 ounces per year. With a five-million-tonne-per-annum jaw crusher currently being installed in Stage I, the Stage II expansion will primarily consist of a ball mill, pebble crusher, thickener, four additional CIL tanks and a gold room upgrade. Consideration in the Stage I design and layout has been made to easily accommodate these Stage II additions.

Qualified persons

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

We seek Safe Harbor.