REG - Cora Gold Limited - Environmental, Social and Governance Update

Cora GoldAnnouncement

10/01/2022 07:05

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RNS Number : 8404X  Cora Gold Limited  10 January 2022

Cora Gold Limited / EPIC: CORA.L / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

10 January 2022

Cora Gold Limited ('Cora' or 'the Company')

Environmental, Social and Governance Update

 

Cora Gold Limited, the West African focused gold company, is pleased to
provide an update on Environmental, Social and Governance ('ESG') activities
underway in Mali, including the appointment of dedicated ESG personnel, as its
Sanankoro Gold Project moves towards the completion of a Definitive
Feasibility Study ('DFS').

 

HIGHLIGHTS

·    Continued positive engagement with local communities as development
activities intensify at Sanankoro

·    Completion of a new water well at the Dako community village garden
and market garden equipment supplied to the Faragouagnia community

·    Solar kit and battery supplied to Sanankoro village community as well
as a contribution towards the health centre

·    Appointment of dedicated ESG personnel including:

o  Mr. Djibril Sanogo as ESG Manager, to co-ordinate ESG commitments going
forward, oversee the completion of the ESIA and subsequently implement any
recommendations; and

o  Dr. Pete Whitbread-Abrutat as ESG Adviser to the Company

 

Bert Monro, CEO of Cora, commented: "The appointment of two ESG personnel to
direct and uphold our ESG responsibilities is a big step forward for Cora and
reflects our commitment to setting a benchmark for the responsible development
of a gold mine at Sanankoro in the future.

 

"I am delighted to welcome Djibril as our ESG Manager. He comes with a wealth
of experience having worked on operational gold mines in Mali throughout his
career and will be a critical team member onsite at Sanankoro, overseeing all
of our various initiatives and maintaining our positive relationships with the
surrounding communities. Furthermore, the addition of Pete as ESG Adviser,
whose expertise in sustainability will offer a huge support to Cora as we move
forward.

 

"Cora is committed to maintaining a constructive relationship and engaging
positively with the local communities surrounding its permit areas and
continues to be actively involved in programmes to facilitate this. I am
pleased to see programmes we have started over a number of years are
progressing well and continue to benefit the respective villages."

 

DETAILS

Cora remains committed to operating in ways that engage positively with local
communities and minimise its impact on the environment. Accordingly, Cora is
actively involved in programmes focused on alternative livelihoods,
healthcare, and education within the vicinity of its operations.

 

Having recently visited the community gardens of Sanankoro, Dako and
Faragouagnia, as well as the village savings and credit association and
saponification group at Bokoro, the Company is pleased to note significant
progress.

 

A new water well, financed by Cora, has been completed at the Dako community
village garden, whilst      at the village of Sanankoro, okra seeds have
been planted, a donation was made to the health centre and a solar power kit
and battery have been given to the community. At Faragouagnia, where Cora
previously donated market garden equipment, the local community have begun to
harvest onions.  Furthermore, the village's saving and credit association,
which provides local people with funds to invest during the rainy season, is
growing from strength to strength since its foundation by Cora.

 

A general assembly has been held at the Sanankoro camp to address questions
about potential future developments at Sanankoro from the surrounding
communities was very successful. This was attended by representatives from
Cora, Kangaba, Maramandougou, Séléfougou, Digby Wells, DNGM - Direction
Nationale de la Géologie et des Mines, DNACPN - Direction Nationale de
l'Assainissement et du Controle des Pollutions et des Nuisances, the civil
society and permit communities.

 

 

To co-ordinate its ESG commitments going forward, Cora has appointed Mr.
Djibril Sanogo as ESG Manager. Djibril has over 15 years' experience
overseeing environmental and community management for mining companies in Mali
and advised several large gold mining companies in this regard including
AngloGold Ashanti and Resolute Mining.  At Somisy, which owns the Syama Gold
Mine in Mali (80% owned by Resolute Mining), he was Senior Environmental
Co-ordinator from 2017 to 2020 responsible for managing environmental issues,
including rehabilitation, biodiversity, water control, and vegetation control
programmes and developing/reviewing environmental procedures. Most recently,
Djibril was Health, Safety, Environment and Quality and Community Manager at
Carrières et Chaux du Mali, a Malian company specialising in the production
and commercialisation of quicklime and agricultural lime, where he oversaw the
integrated HSEQ and community management system, provided his expert support
and advice to the Board of Directors on ESG issues, and implemented an HSEQ
monitoring framework.

 

To further advance Cora's ESG strategy, Dr. Pete Whitbread-Abrutat has been
appointed as ESG Adviser. Pete is a mining ESG and sustainability specialist
with over 30 years' experience in the international mining industry. He has
previously worked in the private sector, academia, civil society and with the
United Nations. Pete is a proficient project reviewer and has particular
expertise in addressing environmental, community and ESG issues associated
with the mining sector, having worked on many international development
projects. He established Future Terrains in 2014, a social enterprise tackling
the challenges of degraded lands by working to improve environmental and
community practices and helping to restore damaged places.  Pete holds a PhD
in the re-vegetation of mine wastes, is a Chartered Environmentalist, a
Churchill Fellow, and a certified IEMA Lead Environmental Auditor.

 

For more information, see our ESG page on the Cora website
https://www.coragold.com/environmental-social-governance.

 

**ENDS**

 

For further information, please visit http://www.coragold.com or contact:

 

 Bert Monro           Cora Gold Limited          info@coragold.com

 Craig Banfield
 Christopher Raggett  finnCap Ltd                +44 (0) 20 7220 0500

 Charlie Beeson       Nomad & Joint Broker
 Andy Thacker         Turner Pope Investments    +44 (0) 20 3657 0050

 James Pope           Joint Broker
 Susie Geliher        St Brides Partners         pr@coragold.com

 Selina Lovell        Financial PR

 

Notes

Cora is an emerging West African gold developer with three principal de-risked
project areas within two known gold belts in Mali and Senegal covering over
+1,100 sq. km. Led by a team with a proven track record in making
multi-million-ounce gold discoveries that have been developed into operating
mines, its primary focus is on developing the Sanankoro Gold Project in the
Yanfolila Gold Belt, Southern Mali, where Cora hopes to commence construction
of an open pit oxide focussed gold mine in 2022. An updated mineral resource
estimate on the Project was published in November 2021 which increased the
Resources by over 200% (from the 2019 Maiden resource) to 809,300oz Au. A
Definitive Feasibility Study is expected to be completed in H1 2022.

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