VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orezone Gold Corporation (TSX:ORE, OTCQX:ORZCF) ("Orezone" or "Company") reported its operational and financial results for the first quarter of 2024. The Company will host a conference call and webcast on May 14, 2024 commencing at 8:00am PT to discuss its Q1-2024 results. Additional details are provided at the end of this press release. All dollar amounts are in USD unless otherwise stated and abbreviation "M" means million. Patrick Downey, President and CEO, commented "Our Bomboré mine had another quarter of consistent performance, delivering 30,139 ounces of gold production, mine earnings of $27 million, and positive free cashflow. In addition, we successfully commissioned the powerline connection to the national grid and substantially completed the construction of the MV3 resettlement site which will open mining access to the Siga East deposit in the third quarter of 2024. Importantly, we continue to reinvest in the Bomboré mine and, after a careful review of available financing alternatives, the Company has decided to pursue its Phase II Hard Rock Expansion in two stages to better align capital requirements with funding sources. We have now received a debt proposal for the first stage of the expansion from our senior lender, Coris Bank, which we expect to finalize in the very near future." 2024 FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS (All mine site figures on a 100% basis)   Q1-2024 Q1-2023 Operating Performance       Gold production oz 30,139 41,301 Gold sales oz 31,229 43,139 Average realized gold price $/oz 2,066 1,892 Cash costs per gold ounce sold1 $/oz 1,127 799 All-in sustaining costs1 ("AISC") per gold ounce sold $/oz 1,324 926 Financial Performance       Revenue $000s 64,685 81,712 Earnings from mine operations $000s 26,882 39,670 Net income attributable to shareholders of Orezone1 $000s 11,697 22,560 Net income per common share attributable to shareholders of Orezone1       BasicDiluted $$ 0.030.03 0.070.06 Adjusted EBITDA1 $000s 25,928 42,645 Adjusted earnings attributable to shareholders of Orezone1 $000s 7,736 24,574 Adjusted earnings per share attributable to shareholders of Orezone1 $ 0.02 0.07 Cash and Cash Flow Data       Operating cash flow before changes in working capital $000s 20,357 41,137 Operating cash flow $000s 13,637 38,926 Free cash flow1 $000s 2,013 31,498 Cash, end of period $000s 15,597