Akobo Minerals

Regulatory Filings • Feb 3, 2022

Akobo Minerals gears up for gold production start-up with opening of rural Ethiopian airstrip

Akobo Minerals gears up for gold production start-up with opening of rural Ethiopian airstrip

Inaugural flight marks milestone in major civil engineering project to benefit

both the local community and the growing gold mining business

OSLO, 3 February 2022: Akobo Minerals (Euronext Oslo - "AKOBO"), the

Scandinavian-based Ethiopian gold exploration and mining company, has announced

details of the first ever flight to land at a new airstrip which it has funded

and built in Dima. The Super King Air 350 twin-turboprop aircraft carried

representatives from Akobo Minerals and the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority

on the inaugural flight and is a seminal moment in the ongoing development of

local business and community activities.

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Built over the course of just 70 days for design, approval and construction, the

1100-metre-long airstrip lies only a couple of kilometres from Akobo Minerals'

mining operation and can accommodate aircraft carrying up to 40 passengers. It

will allow the company to bring in goods and personnel more effectively, allow

for any medical evacuation and, not least, provide a secure transportation route

of gold to Addis Ababa prior to onward distribution to international buyers once

gold production commences in a few months. Until now, the nearest airstrip has

been located in Jima, at least a six-hour journey by road.

Jørgen Evjen, CEO of Akobo Minerals, stated: "The opening of our own airstrip is

an important landmark for the company and is a clear indication of our

capabilities when it comes to major engineering projects as we seek build out

our new mining operation.

"The airstrip is also a significant part of our ongoing ESG [environment, social

and governance] program as it will also mean access for the local community to

important services that the region has never seen before - from a reduction in

travel times to access to deliveries of goods and emergency medical assistance.

I am sure that the landing of this aircraft will be remembered for many years to

come as it marks a huge milestone for the opportunities now available to the

local population."

Best regards,

Jørgen Evjen

CEO Akobo Minerals AB and Etno Mining P.l.c

Mob NO: +47 92 80 40 14

Mob ET: +251 944 76 2428

email: jorgen@akobominerals.com

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Background on Akobo Minerals' ESG program

Akobo Minerals is building the capacity of its corporate and operations team to

place ESG issues at the heart of the development of its gold project in

Ethiopia.

The Akobo Minerals mining licence includes a number of ESG obligations that it

has negotiated or is pursuing, including a commitment to support sustainable

development initiatives in the Dima woreda (district), located in the Gambella

region.

Akobo Minerals, as an ethical exploration company is seeking to turn the complex

ESG challenge into an opportunity. At the beginning of 2021, Akobo Minerals

embarked on a partnership with Sazani Associates (Sazani), a UK-based not-for

-profit organisation specialising in natural resource governance, to undertake a

rapid appraisal of natural resources and their use in the project area by the

local community. Sazani prepared a sustainable natural resource management plan

(SNRMP). This will complement mitigation of any negative and positive impacts

determined through an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA), the

company is undertaking.

The SNRMP is being designed as a parallel self-sustaining initiative to the

development of its gold mining project and will incorporate the following:

· Capacity building in environmental and social safeguarding and technical

capacities of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) activity, as well as

improved regulation;

· Alternative sustainable livelihood opportunities that support food security

and technical vocations; and

· A payment for ecosystem services scheme, to generate income, from carbon

credits, for our host communities, through rehabilitation and conservation of

degraded areas.

These are in addition to a series of philanthropic initiatives and

infrastructure upgrading undertaken by Akobo to date.

About Akobo Minerals

Akobo Minerals, is a Norway-based gold exploration company, currently with

ongoing exploration and small-scale mine development in the Gambela region and

Dima Woreda, southwest Ethiopia. The operations were established in 2009 by

people with long experience from the public mining sector in Ethiopia and from

the Norwegian oil service industry. Akobo Minerals holds a mining licence and an

exploration license over key targets in the area. Economic mineralisation was

discovered and the company is engaged in mining studies to advance the project

to production, alongside exploration core drilling. Akobo Minerals is

transforming its organisation to support an increased pace of core drilling. At

both the key targets Segele and Joru the company has so far released

exceptionally high-grade gold results including the Segele deposit with an

Inferred Mineral Resource of 78ktons at 20.9g/t.?A scoping study for Segele

includes an up-front capital expenditure of USD $8m and all-in sustaining cost

of USD $243 per ounce of gold produced. Core-drilling and trenching at Joru have

intersected both high-grade gold zones and large wide zones near surface. The

company has an excellent partnership with national authorities and places ESG at

the heart of its activities - a ground-breaking community program is being

planned.

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Important information

This release is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in

or into Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States or any other jurisdictions

where it would be illegal. It is issued for information purposes only and does

not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or

subscribe for securities, in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The

securities referred to herein have not been, and will not be, registered under

the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and may

not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or pursuant to

an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act. Akobo Minerals

does not intend to register any portion of the offering of the securities in the

United States or to conduct a public offering of the securities in the United

States. Copies of this publication are not being, and may not be, distributed or

sent into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States.