Exploration At Sadiola Mine Demonstrating Continued Discovery

TORONTO – Allied Gold Corporation reported on exploration and development activities at its Sadiola Mine in Mali, West Africa, highlighting continued discovery and resource expansion across multiple zones within this world-class gold mineralized system. This is the first of three planned exploration updates, with further releases covering the Company’s Kurmuk Project in Ethiopia and its Côte d’Ivoire assets expected in the coming months, all of which underpin the significant value and optionality in the Company’s portfolio, already characterized by peer-leading mineral inventories and production growth.
The Sadiola Mine is a long-life mine undergoing a transformational two-phased expansion plan, the first phase of which is expected to be completed this quarter. Over the longer-term, Sadiola is expected to produce up to 400,000 gold ounces per year at substantially lower costs, well below current costs and industry averages, which is planned to materially contribute to increasing cash flows. With a robust inventory of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves supporting increasing production for a long mine life, and with most, if not all mineralized zones open along strike and/or at depth, Allied has undertaken an extensive exploration plan for the following purposes, all of which are expected to create additional value at low finding costs: i) extending mine life likely well beyond the 19 years currently expected from existing Mineral Reserves, ii) increasing operational flexibility and efficiency with the identification and delineation of additional areas of mining, and iii) targeting new mineralized areas that appear to show better grades.
The Company’s five-year exploration goal for Sadiola is to reach over 14 million ounces of Mineral Resources, representing a sequential target of over 3.5 million ounces of new Mineral Resources in addition to the current inventory. The objective includes adding approximately 1.0 million ounces of new oxide, which, in turn, supports Sadiola’s medium-term and long-term expansion strategy, providing upside and optionality as discussed below. Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves updates are planned to be presented on a yearly basis to document the ongoing mineral inventory buildout program, which is expected to be carried out with similar levels of annual expenditures to the approximately $12 million committed for the current year. Further, as the Phase 1 Expansion at Sadiola allows for the treatment of a higher proportion of abundant, higher-grade fresh ore, the Company expects an increase in the mine’s efficiency and overall performance by concentrating mining operations in fewer, bulkier areas and using new oxide areas as incremental production upside.
Exploration drilling has intersected significant new zones and extensions at Sekekoto West/S12, Tambali, FE2 Trend, and FE3/4 Trend with Sekekoto West and the southern part of the FE2 Trend (FE2.5) potentially providing short-term, new and more proximal high-grade oxide resources for the Sadiola mill as mining at Korali Sud winds down. Mineralization remains open along strike and at depth across all four target areas.
Significant drill intercepts, with a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off, since January 2025, by zone, are available through the following link. Estimated true widths vary from 45% to 90% drilled length with true widths in Sekekoto holes SARC1631, 1632, 1685, 1691 and 1699, are not clear as they were drilled semi-parallel to the zone. A summary of drill hole collars can be found at this link.
Since January 1, 2025, Allied Gold’s exploration, comprising 700 holes totaling 60,496 m of drilling (including sterilization drilling), has focused on targeting oxide gold mineralization with a lesser emphasis on fresh-rock-hosted gold mineralization. Significant amounts of oxide and fresh rock gold mineralization have been intersected at the Tambali, Sekekoto/S12 Trend, FE2 Trend and FE4 zones (see Figure 1 for locations). This ongoing work highlights Allied’s commitment to creating long-term value through focused and sustained exploration.
Allied Gold’s 2025 exploration program continues to deliver strong results across multiple target areas, providing Sadiola with increased operational flexibility in the short term as well as optionality to leverage its increased sustainable production capacity after completing the Phase 1 Expansion later this year and in preparation for subsequent phases.
The completion of the initial expansion will allow Sadiola to treat up to 60% of fresh rock at a rate of up to 5.7 Mt/y in the modified process plant, allowing the mine to produce within an expected range between 200,000 and 230,000 ounces of gold per year in the medium term, with the higher end of the range driven by the addition of moderate-to-high-grade oxide ore to the plant feed.
The Phase 2 Expansion, currently planned as a new processing plant with capacity of up to 10 Mt/yr of fresh and oxide ore with targeted start production in late 2028, is expected to increase production to an average of 400,000 ounces per year for the first four years and 300,000 ounces per year on average for the mine’s life, with AISC(2) expected to decrease to below $1,200 per gold ounce. Further, the Company is conducting engineering studies to determine the optimal path for expansion, including the option of progressively expanding the existing plant after the Phase 1 Expansion, with the aim of achieving similar ultimate production levels at a lower capital intensity. While this progressive expansion would also allow for the treatment of fresh and oxide ore, its installed capacity could be leveraged and maximized with additional oxide ore sources, as well as high-grade transitional ore in the medium to longer-term.
As such, although Sadiola showcases a long mine life underpinned by an impressive inventory of nearly 10 million ounces in Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources(3), and nearly seven million ounces in Mineral Reserves, its exploration strategy can materially improve its production profile, cash flows, optionality and value creation, leveraging its ongoing expansion plan.
The Sadiola Mine is a long-life mine that has produced approximately 8.8 million ounces of gold(1) primarily from oxide gold mineralization. Current end of year 2024 Reserves total approximately 7 million ounces of gold in 149.7 million tonnes grading 1.45 g/t Au. Mineral Resources, inclusive of reserves comprises Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 10 million ounces grading 1.46 g/t Au and Inferred Mineral Resources of 496,000 ounces grading 1.08 g/t Au. Most, if not all mineralized zones are open either or both along strike and to depth with high expectations that additional zones will be discovered.