The Board of Directors of SolGold (LSE & TSX: SOLG) is pleased to provide an independently verified update regarding the third Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE#3) for its flagship Alpala Porphyry Copper-Gold Deposit at the Cascabel Project in Northern Ecuador.

Alpala Deposit Mineral Resource Update
Following a further 83,650m of infill drilling since the previous Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE#2) reported in November 2018, the Company has been successful in delivering the conversion of considerable tonnages into the Measured Resource category, plus the addition of 1.6 Mt Cu, 2.5 Moz Au, and 92.2 Moz Ag (not previously estimated) to Measured plus Indicated Mineral Resources.

Increased drill hole density throughout the deposit has also yielded a dramatic increase in the confidence and economic viability of the Alpala Mineral Resource. The Mineral Resource is constrained within a 3D Underground Optimised Shape (UOS) and as a result a large percentage of the Mineral Resource is expected to be converted to Mineral Reserves following completion of the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") currently underway.

Highlights of the latest Alpala Mineral Resource at 0.21% CuEq cut-off grade:

· Mineral Resource of 2,663 Mt @ 0.53% CuEq for 9.9 Mt Cu, 21.7 Moz Au and 92.2 Moz Ag in the Measured plus Indicated categories

· Mineral Resource of 544 Mt @ 0.31% CuEq for 1.3 Mt Cu, 1.9 Moz Au and 10.6 Moz Ag in the Inferred category

· High-grade core of 442 Mt at 1.40% CuEq for 3.8 Mt Cu, 12.3Moz Au and 33.3 Moz Ag in the Measured plus Indicated categories supports early cash flows and accelerated pay back of initial capital as identified in the November 2019 Amended and Restated Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA")

· At a cut-off grade of 0.20% CuEq, applied for comparative purposes, the MRE#3 update has added 1.6 Mt copper, 2.5 Moz gold and 92.2 Moz silver (with silver not previously estimated) to Measured plus Indicated Mineral Resources providing a solid resource basis for the Company's forthcoming PFS

Chief Executive Officer, Nick Mather commented, "We are delighted that, following a significant drilling effort at the Alpala Deposit, the Company has been able to release its third and improved Mineral Resource Estimate. This significantly increases our confidence that the economics identified in the PEA are achievable and are based on a bankable porphyry orebody. The increase in Measured and Indicated Resources, which contains almost 22 million ounces of gold and 92 million ounces of silver as a by-product, to about 10 million tonnes of copper, coupled with favourable metallurgy and concentrate quality provides a robust platform on which to base our forthcoming PFS.

Unrelated to MRE#3, we are highly encouraged by the recent comments made by Fernando Benalcázar, Vice Minister of Mines of Ecuador and his continued commitment to the mining sector. The re-opening of the cadastre will provide a huge platform for SolGold to further develop its ultimate goal of becoming a copper-gold major in Ecuador."

MRE#3 and the substantial conversion of resources into the Measured Mineral Resource category is a significant milestone for Alpala and further validates the deposit as a high-quality, probable low-cost, long-life and expandable mineral asset.

Technical Services Manager, Benn Whistler commented, "MRE#3 has delivered an additional 1.6 Mt copper, 2.5 Moz gold, and 92.2 Moz silver, not previously estimated, in the Measured plus Indicated categories at a cut-off grade of 0.21% copper equivalent. This is a very pleasing result considering that MRE#3 is more conservative than previous estimates as it has been carefully constrained within an Underground Optimised Shape or UOS, which effectively ensures the resource has reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction by underground mass mining methods at the specified cut-off grade of 0.21% copper equivalent. This in conjunction with the high drill hole density achieved throughout the bulk of the deposit, means it is highly reasonable to expect a large percentage of the Mineral Resource may be converted to Mineral Reserves following completion of the PFS."

The future of porphyry exploration both globally and at Cascabel will be from deep exploration drilling from 2-3km depth, and the Alpala Deposit remains open at depth to the north and northwest where a large tonnage of unclassified material could be grown further as exploratory drilling progresses towards the Moran target."

The MRE#3 for the Alpala Porphyry Copper-Gold Deposit, comprises 2,663 Mt @ 0.53% CuEq in the Measured plus Indicated categories, which includes 1,192 Mt @ 0.72% CuEq in the Measured category and 1,470 Mt @ 0.37% CuEq in the Indicated category. The Inferred category contains an additional 544 Mt @ 0.31% CuEq. The MRE#3 within the Measured plus Indicated categories is more than sufficient to support all mine plan scenarios used in the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") released in May 2019.

The contained metal stands at 9.9 Mt Cu and 21.7 Moz Au in the Measured plus Indicated categories, which includes 5.7 Mt Cu and 15.0 Moz Au in the Measured category, and 4.2 Mt Cu and 6.6 Moz Au in the Indicated category. The Inferred category contains an additional 1.3 Mt Cu and 1.9 Moz Au.

The MRE#3 statement is presented in Table 1. The contents of the Mineral Resource, at various cut-off grades and categories, are tabulated and charted in Appendix 1.1 and 1.2.

1. Mrs. Cecilia Artica, SME Registered Member, Principal Geology Consultant of Mining Plus, is responsible for this Mineral Resource statement and is an "independent Qualified Person" as such term is defined in NI 43-101.
2. The Mineral Resource is reported using a cut-off grade of 0.21% copper equivalent calculated using [copper grade (%)] + [gold grade (g/t) x 0.613] as discussed above. Metal prices used were US$3.40/lb for copper and US$1,400/oz for gold.
3. The Mineral Resource is considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction by underground mass mining such as block caving.
4. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
5. The statement uses the terminology, definitions and guidelines given in the CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (May 2014) as required by NI 43-101.
6. MRE is reported on 100 percent basis within an optimised shape as described below.
7. Figures may not compute due to rounding.

Table 1: Alpala Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate Statement, March 2020.

Drill hole spacing within the deposit, provides sufficient data to establish a high degree of geological confidence and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource, ranging from less than 60m in the central core, to 160m at the margins of the deposit, and up to 240m at the low-grade extremities of the deposit.

In total, 217,225m of drilling from 188 diamond drill holes and 3161.5m of rock-saw channel cuts from 262 surface rock exposure trenches has been incorporated in the MRE#3. A total of 227,961m of drilling has been completed on the Cascabel Project to date, with several holes completed outside the Alpala Resource area.

Block model grade estimation domains were established through the intersection of lithologies and concentric low, medium and high-grade grade zones (Appendix 2.1). Grade domains were developed based on modelling of copper equivalent (CuEq) grade and B-type quartz vein intensity using the following guidance criteria:

• Low grade - where CuEq is ?0.15% and B vein intensity is ?0.55%,
• Medium grade - where CuEq grade is ? 0.7% CuEq and B vein intensity is ?4.1% and,
• High grade - where CuEq grade is ?1.5% CuEq and B vein intensity is ?9.4%.

The previous Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE#2) announced by SolGold in November 2018, was defined at a cut-off grade of 0.20% CuEq, and utilised a Copper Equivalent grade calculated using a Gold Conversion Factor of 0.63 (CuEq = Cu + Au x 0.63), calculated from a copper price of US$3.00/lb and a gold price of US$1,300/oz. Gold and Copper assays were reported at 100% recovery and were directly converted from copper and gold assays.

The latest Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE#3) defined at a cut-off grade of 0.21% CuEq utilises a Copper Equivalent grade calculated using a Gold Conversion Factor of 0.613 ([copper grade (%)] + [gold grade (g/t) x 0.613]), determined by a Net Smelter Return (NSR) calculation. Metal prices used were US$3.40/lb for copper and US$1,400/oz for gold. Copper Equivalency was calculated utilising copper and gold only.

Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction

The cut-off grade used for reporting was based on up to date third party metal price research, forecasting of long-term copper and gold prices, and a cost structure from PEA at Alpala. Costs include mining, processing and general and administration ("G&A"). Net Smelter Return ("NSR") includes metallurgical recoveries and off-site realization (treatment and refining charges) inclusive government royalties. Metal prices used were US$3.40/lb for copper and US$1,400/oz for gold.

A three-dimensional Underground Optimised Shape (UOS) shape was generated at the 0.21% CuEq cut-off grade. This shape maximized the tonnes above the cut-off while ensuring that all material was part of a minimum mining unit with geometry appropriate for a block cave (Appendix 2.2). These minimum mining dimensions for a block cave were defined in the PEA and as such, the resulting shape contains planned internal and edge dilution that the Qualified Person considers appropriate.

It should be noted that this shape is not described as a "mineable shape". Mining factors excluded in this analysis include but are not limited to; capital costs (non-mining, access and footprint establishment), regional pillars, footprint geometries, unplanned dilution and the time value of money. However, the shape does enclose a contiguous and appropriately diluted Mineral Resource that, by virtue of its grade and geometry, should be considered for inclusion within a mineable shape.

The Qualified Person considers that the reported Mineral Resource has reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction by the block cave underground mining method at the specified cut-off grade. An assessment of whether the project as a whole is economically viable has not been made under this analysis. However, given the successful completion of the PEA it is considered reasonable to assume that it is economic.

Furthermore, the optimized shape contains a small amount of material that is not classified as a Mineral Resource but cannot be mined separately. This material is also reported in the Mineral Resource tabulation as "Planned dilution" in the interests of transparency.

As a result of the process described, a large percentage of the Mineral Resource could be converted to Mineral Reserves following completion of the PFS currently underway.

The estimate was prepared by Cecilia Artica SME Registered Member, Principal Geology Consultant of Mining Plus, who is designated as the "Qualified Person" as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 for the Mineral Resource Estimate. Mrs. Artica has reviewed and approved the contents of this release. A technical report providing details of the estimate will be filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) within 45 days. As a result of the completion of MRE#3 and the impending release of the NI 43-101 technical report, the PEA will be effectively superseded by the MRE#3 technical report as the current technical report on the Alpala Project and should no longer be considered current.

SolGold is preparing a PFS for the development of the Alpala deposit. The Company has also initiated work streams to acquire further information for completion of the proposed Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). Currently, subject to funding, land acquisition programs and the current impacts the Company is facing from the COVID-19 global pandemic, these studies are scheduled for completion by Q3 2020 for the PFS and 2021 for the DFS.

SolGold's on site operations in Ecuador remain halted in an effort to reduce the potential transmissions of COVID-19 and continues to actively monitor all its employees. Health and safety are top priorities for the Company and SolGold will continue supporting its employees and local communities where possible in their efforts to curtail the spread of the virus.


By order of the Board
Karl Schlobohm
Company Secretary

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