Loncor Continues Discussions with Potential Partners

TORONTO, April 27, 2022 /CNW/ - Loncor Gold Inc. ("Loncor" or the "Company") (TSX: LN) (OTCQX: LONCF) (FSE: LO51) reported in its January 31, 2022 press release that the Company was in preliminary discussions with potential strategic partners with respect to the development of Loncor's gold deposits. These discussions continue. 

The initiation of discussions with potential strategic partners was largely driven by the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") conducted upon the Company's 84.68%-owned Adumbi deposit, details of which can be found in the Company's December 15, 2021 press release.  A summary of key points of the Adumbi PEA are included below:

• Average annual gold production for Adumbi of 303,000 ounces per year over 10.3 year LOM within proposed open pit shell.
• After tax NPV at 5% discount rate for HEP Hybrid case of US$624 million at a US$1,600 gold price and US$879 million at a US$1,760 gold price.
• Average total cash costs of US$852 per ounce over life of mine and AISC of US$950 per ounce for HEP Hybrid case.
• The Adumbi Indicated Mineral Resource of 1,883,000 ounces of gold (28.185 million tonnes grading 2.08 g/t Au) and Inferred Mineral Resource of 1,777,000 ounces of gold (20.828 million tonnes grading 2.65 g/t Au) within a US$1,600 per ounce optimised open pit shell.

There is excellent exploration potential to increase mineral resources at Adumbi and within Loncor's Imbo Project area.  At Adumbi, drilling has demonstrated that gold grades and the thickness of the mineralized BIF (Banded Ironstone Formation) host sequence increase at depth towards the bottom of the open pit shell and wide spaced drilling has already intersected grades and thicknesses amenable to underground mining below the open pit. Further drilling is required to initially outline a significant underground inferred mineral resource, which can be combined with the open pit mineral resources so that studies can be undertaken for a combined open pit and underground mining scenario at Adumbi.  Besides increasing the resource base, a combined open pit/underground project could increase grade throughout and reduce strip ratios with the higher grade, deeper mineral resources at the bottom of the open pit being mined more economically by underground, which could increase annual gold production and drive down operational costs.

There are also several deposits and prospects close by to Adumbi that have the potential to add mineral resources and feed for the Adumbi mine development.  Along trend from Adumbi, the Manzako and Kitenge deposits remain open along strike and at depth.  Further along this structural trend to the southwest across the Imbo river and within the Imbo Project area, four prospects (Esio Wapi, Paradis, Museveni and Mungo Iko) hold good potential for additional resources.  Initial drilling will be scheduled for this very prospective area.

Additional feed for an Adumbi processing plant could also come from Loncor's 100%-owned high grade Makapela deposit, where an Indicated Mineral Resource of 614,200 ounces of gold @ 8.66 g/t Au and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 549,600 ounces of gold @ 5.30 g/t Au have been outlined to date. Makapela is located approximately 50 km from the Adumbi deposit.

Cautionary Statement:
The Adumbi PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources in the open pit outlines that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that all the conclusions reached in the Adumbi PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Qualified Person
Peter N. Cowley, who is President of Loncor and a "qualified person" as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release.

Technical Reports
Additional information with respect to the Company's Adumbi deposit (and other properties of the Company within its Imbo Project) is contained in the technical report of New SENET (Pty) Ltd and Minecon Resources and Services Limited dated December 15, 2021 and entitled "NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Adumbi Deposit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo". A copy of the said report can be obtained from SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov. 

Information with respect to the Company's Makapela Project, and certain other properties of the Company in the Ngayu gold belt, is contained in the technical report of Venmyn Rand (Pty) Ltd dated May 29, 2012 and entitled "Updated National Instrument 43-101 Independent Technical Report on the Ngayu Gold Project, Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo". A copy of the said report can be obtained from SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov. 

About Loncor Gold Inc.
Loncor is a Canadian gold exploration company focussed on the Ngayu Greenstone Gold Belt in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the "DRC"). The Loncor team has over two decades of experience of operating in the DRC.  Loncor's growing resource base in the Ngayu Belt currently comprises the Imbo and Makapela Projects. At the Imbo Project, the Adumbi deposit holds an indicated mineral resource of 1.88 million ounces of gold (28.185 million tonnes grading 2.08 g/t gold), and the Adumbi deposit and two neighbouring deposits hold an inferred mineral resource of 2.090 million ounces of gold (22.508 million tonnes grading 2.89 g/t Au), with 84.68% of these resources being attributable to Loncor. Loncor has been carrying out a drilling program at the Adumbi deposit with the objective of outlining additional mineral resources. The Makapela Project (which is 100%-owned by Loncor and is located approximately 50 kilometres from the Imbo Project) has an indicated mineral resource of 614,200 ounces of gold (2.20 million tonnes grading 8.66 g/t Au) and an inferred mineral resource of 549,600 ounces of gold (3.22 million tonnes grading 5.30 g/t Au).  

Additional information with respect to Loncor and its projects can be found on Loncor's website at www.loncor.com

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors
National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") is a rule of the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects.  Unless otherwise indicated, all resource estimates and other scientific and technical information concerning Loncor's mineral properties contained in this press release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Classification System.  These standards differ from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and resource information and other scientific and technical information concerning Loncor's mineral properties contained in this press release may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies.

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking information. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding estimates and/or assumptions in respect of gold production, revenue, cash flow and costs, estimated project economics, net present values, Adumbi project opportunities, mineral resource estimates, potential underground mineral resources, potential mineralization, potential gold discoveries, drill targets, potential mineral resource increases, future mine development, exploration results, and future exploration and development plans) are forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company.  Forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, production estimates and estimated economic return, the possibility that actual circumstances will differ from the estimates and assumptions used in the Adumbi PEA, the possibility that future exploration (including drilling) or development results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, the possibility that drilling or development programs will be delayed, activities of the Company may be adversely impacted by the continued spread of the widespread outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel strain of the coronavirus ("COVID-19"), including the ability of the Company to secure additional financing, risks related to the exploration stage of the Company's properties, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, failure to establish estimated mineral resources (the Company's mineral resource figures are estimates and no assurances can be given that the indicated levels of gold will be produced), changes in world gold markets or equity markets, political developments in the DRC, gold recoveries being less than those indicated by the metallurgical testwork carried out to date (there can be no assurance that gold recoveries in small scale laboratory tests will be duplicated in large tests under on-site conditions or during production), fluctuations in currency exchange rates, inflation, changes to regulations affecting the Company's activities, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required project approvals, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data and the other risks disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's annual information form dated March 31, 2022 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is provided and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.  Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

Cautionary Note Concerning Mineral Resource Estimates
The mineral resource figures referred to in this press release are estimates and no assurances can be given that the indicated levels of gold will be produced. Such estimates are expressions of judgment based on knowledge, mining experience, analysis of drilling results and industry practices. Valid estimates made at a given time may significantly change when new information becomes available. While the Company believes that the mineral resource estimates included in this press release are well established, by their nature mineral resource estimates are imprecise and depend, to a certain extent, upon statistical inferences which may ultimately prove unreliable. If such estimates are inaccurate or are reduced in the future, this could have a material adverse impact on the Company.

Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that mineral resources can be upgraded to mineral reserves through continued exploration.

Due to the uncertainty that may be attached to inferred mineral resources, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will be upgraded to an indicated or measured mineral resource as a result of continued exploration. Confidence in the estimate is insufficient to allow meaningful application of the technical and economic parameters to enable an evaluation of economic viability worthy of public disclosure (except in certain limited circumstances). Inferred mineral resources are excluded from estimates forming the basis of a feasibility study.

Cautionary Note Concerning Non-GAAP Measures
This press release includes certain terms or performance measures commonly used in the mining industry that are not defined under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), including cash costs and AISC (all-in sustaining costs) per payable ounce of gold sold.  Non-GAAP measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS and, therefore, they may not be comparable to similar measures employed by other companies. The Company believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, certain investors use this information to evaluate performance. The data presented is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

SOURCE Loncor Gold Inc.

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