Akobo Minerals

Environmental & Social Information • Jan 25, 2022

Akobo Minerals appoints renowned expert to head its ESG developments

Akobo Minerals appoints renowned expert to head its ESG developments

OSLO, 25 January 2022

Akobo Minerals (Euronext Oslo - "AKOBO"), the Scandinavian-based Ethiopian gold

exploration and mining company, today announced that it has appointed Dr Cathryn

MacCallum as head of ESG to further the company's environmental, social and

governance (ESG) program. She takes up the post on 1[st] February 2020 as part

of the company's management team.

MacCallum is a highly experienced socio-economist with a PhD in sustainable

livelihoods and global learning. In a career already spanning over 25 years she

has developed integrated approaches to diversifying sustainable livelihoods and

has delivered wide-ranging technical support and advice to poverty reduction and

education projects across Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East &

North Africa regions.

MacCallum has particular energy and mining sector experience, advising and

building the capacity of businesses by determining and managing ESG risks and

achieving and maintaining a social licence to operate. She is involved in a

range of international forums informing policy for the sector, provided ESG

expert input into the recent review of the PERC Standard for reporting of

exploration results, mineral resources and mineral reserves and regularly

undertakes ESG due diligence on projects for international finance institutions

and private equity companies.

On her appointment, MacCallum stated: "Akobo Minerals has demonstrated that ESG

lies at the heart of its corporate and social initiatives and I am excited to

pick up this ESG baton at a business which has already proven its world-leading

credentials. I am particularly looking forward to building upon the company's

strategy that takes an ESG 'extended shared value' approach to maximising

potential both for the company and the local peoples in and around our

operations. My success will be to prove that a community can be engaged with and

supported through ESG without creating a culture of dependency. I look forward

to the challenge."

Jørgen Evjen, CEO of Akobo Minerals, added: "We are pleased to welcome Cathryn

to the company on a more permanent basis - having previously undertaken

consulting work for us in 2021 - and she will be able to build upon our already

strong ESG initiatives through her decades of international development

experience.  We recognise that stakeholder engagement is not a cost, but an

investment and this ethical approach is not just tokenism but makes sound

business sense.  Cathryn's appointment will allow us to take the next step in

building a robust ESG program that will deliver a real and positive effect on

all our stakeholders' livelihoods."

Read more about the background on Akobo Minerals' ESG

program. (https://akobominerals.com/sustainability/)

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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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.