Karora Announces 2020 Results Including Record Annual Net Earnings of $88 Million, 2020 AISC Cost Guidance Beat, Along With Record Low 4Q20 AISC of US$912 per ounce

TORONTO, March 19, 2021

TORONTO, March 19, 2021 /CNW/ - Karora Resources Inc. (TSX: KRR) ("Karora" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce its financial results and review of activities for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. All amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise noted. For additional information please refer to Karora's Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") and audited consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Highlights

• Gold Production Exceeded Guidance: Consolidated gold production of 99,249 ounces for 2020 from the Beta Hunt and Higginsville mines in Western Australia, exceeded the top end of the 2020 production guidance of 90,000 to 95,000 ounces. Gold sales for 2020 totaled 98,656 ounces. For the fourth quarter of 2020, production was 25,637 ounces, the strongest quarter of production in 2020.
• Ongoing Cost Reductions: Consolidated all-in-sustaining-cost ("AISC")¹ was US$912 per ounce for the fourth quarter of 2020, an improvement of 13% over the third quarter of 2020 and a record low since acquisition of the Higginsville mill in 2019. Consolidated AISC for 2020 was US$1,026 per ounce, which beat 2020 guidance of US$1,050 to US$1,200 per ounce, and was 11% lower than 2019.
• 2021 Production and Cost Guidance: Consolidated production and cost guidance for Karora's Australian operations (Beta Hunt and HGO) of 105,000 to 115,000 ounces of gold at an average AISC¹ of US$985 to US$1,085 per ounce. Consolidated HGO, Beta Hunt and Spargos drilling and exploration expenditures for the full year 2021 are targeted to be approximately A$20 million.
• Record Earnings: Net earnings of $42.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2020 and $88.1 million for the full year 2020. Net earnings were $0.30 per share and $0.63 per share, for the fourth quarter and 2020, respectively. Net earnings for full year 2020 was positively impacted by an after-tax impairment reversal of property, plant and equipment of $25.3 million.
• Record Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization ("EBITDA")¹: Adjusted EBITDA was $33.9 million for the fourth quarter and $89.8 million for the full year ($0.23 per share and $0.64 per share, respectively).
• Strengthened Cash Position and Balance Sheet: Karora ended 2020 with a strong cash position of $79.7 million, net of $4.0 million in debt repayments and $8.9 million paid into legacy gold price hedges in the first half of 2020. Working capital was $56.8 million as of December 31, 2020, an improvement of $30.3 million compared to December 31, 2019.
• Consolidated Gold Mineral Reserve and Gold Mineral Resource: On December 16, 2020, Karora announced a 334% increase in consolidated gold Proven and Probable ("2P") Mineral Reserves to 1.33 million ounces (23,531 kt @ 1.8 g/t) and a 167% increase in consolidated Measured and Indicated ("M&I") gold Mineral Resources to 2.52 million ounces (41,994 kt @ 1.9 g/t) for its Beta Hunt and Higginsville operations in Western Australia.
• Significant Royalty Reductions Leading to Increased Production Potential and Lower Costs: During 2020, Karora successfully negotiated the reduction or elimination of a number of royalties on its Western Australian properties including the Morgan Stanley NSR at Higginsville, Maverix royalty at Beta Hunt and Ramelius royalty at Spargos Reward.
• Spargos Reward Acquisition: On August 7, 2020, Karora completed the acquisition of the Spargos Reward Gold Project. Spargos is a high-grade open pit gold project in Western Australia that is expected to begin generating positive cash flow for Karora in the second half of 2021. An updated resource estimate is planned for release in the second quarter of 2021.
• Divestiture of Remaining Interest in Dumont Nickel Project While Retaining Exposure to Eventual Project Sale: During 2020, Karora sold its remaining 28% interest in Dumont to sharpen the corporate focus on gold and materially reduce corporate overhead associated with carrying the project. Karora immediately received $10.7 million in cash and maintains upside to receive up to an additional US$30 million upon a future sale or monetization of the asset by its owner.
• Share Consolidation: Effective July 31, 2020, Karora completed a consolidation of its outstanding common shares on the basis of one (1) post-consolidation common share for every four and a half (4.5) pre-consolidation common shares. Since consolidation, the average daily traded dollar value of Karora's shares has more than doubled to $4.6 million per day from $2.2 million per day previously.

Paul Andre Huet, Chairman & CEO, commented: "Karora delivered an exceptionally strong financial and operating performance in 2020 with net earnings of $88.1 million and consolidated AISC¹ of US$1,026 per ounce sold. The fourth quarter was also exceptional with net earnings of $42.9 million and consolidated AISC¹ of US$912 per ounce sold, an improvement of US$132 per ounce over the prior quarter and a record since the acquisition of the Higginsville mill in mid-2019. Since the acquisition, we have demonstrated a strong commitment to achieving cost reduction targets and have now delivered six consecutive quarters of AISC cost reductions, including by beating our target of achieving AISC US$1,000 per ounce by the end of 2020.

After a strong year in 2020 with gold production that was just shy of 100,000 ounces, beating the high end of our 90,000 to 95,000 ounce guidance range, we are poised for further growth in 2021. This year, our production guidance range is 105,000 to 115,000 ounces, which represents an approximate 20% increase from 2020 guidance. Our AISC¹ cost guidance represents an 8% improvement over 2020 to a range of US$985 to US$1,085 per ounce sold. It is important to note that targeted 2021 production increases are weighted to the second half of the year. We expect gold grades will increase over the course of the year as we begin to mine higher grades at Higginsville Central and after the anticipated start-up of mining at the high grade Spargos open pit project in the second quarter.

With Karora's record cash balance of over $79 million at the end of 2020, we are in a very strong position to deploy capital into our organic growth initiatives for 2021 and beyond. Plans are well underway to expand production capacity at our Higginsville mill in 2021 by approximately 15%, or 550 tonnes per day, to 1.6 million tonnes per annum.

We are off to a good start to 2021 with production tracking well to our plans. Deployment of capital into earth works at Spargos in preparation for mining by mid year is proceeding as planned, as are our other initiatives in preparation for our planned Phase I mill expansion. We are excited about our outlook beyond 2021 and we expect to announce our multi-year growth plan and guidance to the market during the second quarter."