African Gold Group Renews Its Faraba Exploration Permit to Further Increase Its Exploration Upside

TORONTO, Sept. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- African Gold Group, Inc. (TSX-V: AGG, OTC: AGGFF, FRA: 3A61) (“AGG” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the Company has been granted an extension of its Faraba exploration permit for three years to 2024. The current mineral resource for the Project area is hosted in a portion of the main Kobada shear, which has been interpreted to extend into the Faraba permit north of Kobada, representing an opportunity to expand resources through further exploration.

Highlights:

• The government of Mali has renewed Faraba exploration permit until August 2024 – a further three years
• Initial soil sampling and termite mound sampling indicate strong extensions of the Foroko and Diaban shear zones
• Potential to increase the 55 km of identified shear zones further based upon initial results
• Historical artisanal workings indicate strong SW-NE trend along known shear zones into the Faraba exploration permit

Danny Callow, CEO of African Gold Group, commented:

”The renewal of the Faraba permit is a key step forward in opening up the opportunity in our Faraba deposit, which shows significant potential in extending our 55 km shear zones even further. The extension of this permit for three years to 2024 will allow us to move into a more rigorous exploration programme to exploit the Foroko and Diaban shear zones to the north-east. Yet again the results we have seen at Faraba, although at a very early stage, show a highly prospective exploration permit enabling extensions to two key shear zones that already exhibit historical artisanal workings and gold mineralisation.”

The Faraba permit is a part of a group of permits located on the western flank of the Bougouni basin covering an area of 11,119 acres. The shear zones discovered in the Faraba concession form a part of the combined 55 km shear strikes, identified across the three concessions from previous geophysics and soil geochemistry.

The extension of the exploration permit will allow the Company to proceed with the development of new and extended open pit opportunities at Faraba. Successful exploration of these potential shear zones may lead to the extension of Kobada Gold Project`s mine life (the “Project” or “Kobada”).

The Company continues to seek out additional opportunities through organic growth and exploration. Development of the Faraba exploration permit and expansion of the existing resource at Kobada permit are among several organic growth projects in Company's pipeline. The Company believes that progressing organic growth is key to delivering shareholder value over the long-term, and the receipt of consents at Faraba is another step along a critical path to achieving this goal.

Faraba shows highly prospective future drill targets

The upside potential for the Kobada, over and above the current mineral resource of the Project set out in the NI 43-101 technical report of the Company titled “NI 43-101 Technical Report on Kobada Gold Project in Mali” with an effective date of June 17, 2020 (the “2020 DFS”), lies within the various target shear zones, an estimated 55 km strike, that have been identified by the previous exploration activities. The current mineral resource for the Project area is limited to a portion of the main Kobada shear which has been interpreted to extend into the Faraba permit north of Kobada, as the Foroko North shear, as shown in the figure below. The two main shears interpreted to extend into Faraba permit area are the Foroko North and Diaban targets.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/236e2d7d-1c0d-4774-822c-4325ad2d84da

To date however, limited exploration has been completed on the Faraba permit area as the focus has been on upgrading and increasing the Kobada mineral resource and exploratory drilling at the Gosso target.

In January 2021, AGG commenced a soil sampling programme at the Faraba permit and it was completed in February 2021. A total of 459 soil samples were collected on a grid spacing of 100 m x 100 m to test for additional drilling targets. The samples were analysed for gold at SGS Laboratory in Bamako by fire assay. As part of QAQC, blanks, duplicates and certified reference material were inserted in the sampling to monitor the accuracy and precision at the laboratory. Elevated gold levels were detected in the soil geochem samples as shown in the figure below. A good proportion of the elevated gold grades are along the strike of the interpreted Kobada / North Foroko shear and the Diaban shear. These areas will be followed up with trenching and if successful with drilling.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a8abcddd-28d0-4fb9-add4-51e114492b18

An additional sampling programme was undertaken at Faraba permit. A total of 87 samples were collected at the Faraba permit of which 52 samples were grab samples and 35 samples were termite mound samples. The samples were again analysed for gold at the SGS Laboratory in Bamako with similar QAQC protocols. This sampling has identified another potential target area in the northwestern corner of the permit.

Initial fieldwork strongly supports the idea that the shear zones do extend into the Faraba permit area.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bc8e62c7-dec7-4d66-88ac-5a0dcdf40aa0

As part of its ongoing, and dynamic exploration programme, additional work will be carried out in 2022 to improve the understanding of the shear zone extensions into the Faraba deposit.

About African Gold Group

African Gold Group is a TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V: AGG) listed exploration and development company with a focus on building Africa’s next mid-tier gold producer. The Company has a highly experienced board and management team with a proven track record in the African mining sector operating mines from development through to production. AGG’s principal asset is the Kobada Project in southern Mali, which is in an advanced stage of development having completed the 2020 definitive feasibility study and is targeting gold production of 100,000 oz per annum. As well as the initial Kobada Gold Project, other exploration locations have been identified on the Kobada, Farada and Kobada Est concessions, offering potential for an increase in resource. For more information regarding African Gold Group visit our website at www.africangoldgroup.com.

Cautionary statements

This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding, the renewal of the Faraba permit and the exploration plans of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”.  Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of AGG to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: receipt of necessary approvals; impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; future prices of mineral prices; accidents, labour disputes and shortages and other risks of the mining industry. Although AGG has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. AGG does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Figure 1: Exploration Targets Interpreted to Extend into Faraba

Figure 1: Exploration Targets Interpreted to Extend into Faraba

Figure 2: Faraba Soil Sampling Programme

Figure 2: Faraba Soil Sampling Programme

Figure 3: Grab and Termite Mound Samples at Faraba Permit

Figure 3: Grab and Termite Mound Samples at Faraba Permit