Teranga Gold announced the second round of results from its ongoing 115-hole drill program at its Niakafiri deposit, situated within 5km of the mill on the Sabodala mine license in Senegal, West Africa.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Drill results from the first 60 holes at the Company's Niakafiri deposit extend the mineralisation along strike and at depth, providing potential for re-optimization of the life of mine plan.

• Positive drilling success in the Niakafiri Main zone includes the following highlight intervals from the 33 holes released today representing some of the widest mineralised intervals encountered within the Niakafiri deposit to date:

  • 4.18 g/t Au over 23 metres including 6.52 g/t Au over 12 metres in MDD17-279
  • 2.99 g/t Au over 33 metres including 4.23 g/t Au over 17 metres in MDD17-277
  • 2.41 g/t Au over 29 metres including 6.51 g/t Au over 6 metres in MDD17-281
  • 3.19 g/t Au over 21 metres at the end-of-hole in MDD17-284

• Results from the first 27 holes were released February 27, 2017 and include:

  • 6.90 g/t Au over 8 metres including 45.5 g/t Au over 1 metre in MDD17-242
  • 2.45 g/t Au over 17 metres including 3.25 g/t Au over 11 metres in MDD16-235
  • 1.89 g/t Au over 12 metres including 5.25 g/t Au over 3 metres in MDD17-239

"The drill results confirm our belief that there is considerable opportunity to extend the mineralisation both along strike and to depth at Niakafiri," said Paul Chawrun, Chief Operating Officer of Teranga. "These encouraging results could result in the re-sequencing of Niakafiri in the current mine plan, filling in the production gaps at Sabodala to extend the life of open pit mining and to defer the start of underground mining."

"We are very pleased with our most recent results, which represent some of the widest mineralised intervals encountered within the Niakafiri deposit to date," stated David Mallo, Vice President Exploration of Teranga. "Our drill program at Niakafiri will continue to focus on extending the mineralisation along trend and to-depth."

Since re-initiation of this program with one (1) drill in late 2016, the Company has increased the number of drills to four (4). The current phase of the Niakafiri drill program, 115 proposed core holes totaling 12,000 metres, is ongoing at both the eastern and western components of the Niakafiri deposit. Drill results received to date will be included in a mid-year resource and reserve update. The balance of the current year program will be included in a year-end resource and reserve update.

The majority of the Niakafiri deposits were delineated at the inception of the Sabodala project in 2009 and they represent a combined measured and indicated resource of approximately 600,000 ounces, an inferred resource of approximately 220,000 ounces and reserves of over 300,000 ounces included within the total resource estimate. The Niakafiri deposits are within 5 kilometres of the Sabodala mill.

Niakafiri East

The results received to date from the eastern portion of the Niakafiri deposit drilling (see Figure 2 in Appendix 1) are encouraging. They fill in gaps between previously outlined resource pit shells, extend mineralisation up-dip in a number of areas of the deposit and fill in previous widely spaced drill intersections.

In addition, there have been positive results from a set of drill holes targeting the down-dip depth extent of the existing reserve and resource pit shells in the central portion of Niakafiri Main. These deep mineralised intersections extend as far as downhole to 270 metres (approximately 200 metres below surface), and are the deepest intersected at Niakafiri Main to date, with mineralisation remaining open at depth.

The most advanced portion of Niakafiri is the eastern component – Niakafiri Main, Niakafiri Southeast and Dinkokono – where the first phase of planned drill holes is now complete. A second phase drill program will follow-up on these successful initial drill results focusing primarily in the vicinity of the wider mineralised intervals in the central portion of Niakafiri Main.

Niakafiri West

In addition to the ongoing drill program on Niakafiri East, drilling has begun on the western component of the resource – Niakafiri West and Soukhoto. The objectives at Niakafiri West are to upgrade the resource categories from inferred to indicated, and potentially to fill in the current gap of approximately 1.5 kilometres extending northwards towards known mineralisation at Soukhoto. An additional phase of drilling will be undertaken based on interpretation of the results from the current program.

Pending further favourable results at Niakafiri, the Company expects to evaluate the impact on pit sequencing in the life of mine plan and the timing of village relocation.