(All dollar amounts are United States dollars unless otherwise stated)

VANCOUVER, April 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Asanko Gold Inc. ("Asanko" or the "Company") (TSX, NYSE American: AKG) is pleased to announce results for the first quarter ("Q1") from the Asanko Gold Mine ("AGM"), located in Ghana, West Africa. The AGM is a 50:50 joint venture ("JV") with Gold Fields Ltd (JSE, NYSE: GFI) which is managed and operated by Asanko. The Company expects to release its full financial and operational results before the market opens on May 7, 2020.

AGM Q1 Highlights (100% basis):
•Record proceeds of $104.6 million generated from gold sales of 67,820 ounces at an average realized price of $1,542 per ounce


•Record gold production of 66,333 ounces


•Mined 1.91 million tonnes ("Mt") of ore, including 0.59Mt of ore from Esaase


•Processed 1.40Mt of ore with an average gold grade of 1.6 grams per tonne ("g/t")


•Preliminary all-in sustaining costs1 ("AISC") of $805/oz



"The Asanko Gold Mine had its best quarter since commercial production began four years ago," said Greg McCunn, Chief Executive Officer. "The mine continued its strong operational performance with record quarterly gold production and gold sales proceeds. In addition, the continued focus on capital spending discipline also resulted in the AGM posting its lowest quarterly AISC performance. The operational team has done a fantastic job in implementing strict health and safety protocols and supply chain management processes required for COVID-19, while still delivering an outstanding quarter. The strong performance of the operations enabled the joint venture to distribute $45m to the joint venture partners during Q1.

"As a result of receiving $22.5m in distributions from the AGM, the Company's financial position continued to strengthen with our corporate cash and receivables balance increasing to approximately $54 million at quarter-end with no debt. During the quarter, the Company used $2 million to repurchase shares under its Normal Course Issuer Bid, and we are currently continuing with this program."

COVID-19 Update

Further to the Company's update on COVID-19 on March 31, 2020, there continue to be no known or presumptive cases of COVID-19 with employees of Asanko or at the AGM. The Company's offices in Vancouver, Johannesburg and Accra all remain closed with employees working from home and observing local regulations. The AGM has been operating with strict hygiene, monitoring and social distancing protocols in place in accordance with the Ghanaian Ministry of Health guidelines. The AGM has continued to build its supply chain and now holds 8-9 months of key reagents, consumables and critical spares and three months of diesel supply. Doré produced from the AGM has continued to be refined with the AGM's primary precious metal refiner in South Africa.

Health and Safety
During the quarter, the Company aligned its health and safety reporting standards with those of the International Council on Mining & Metals ("ICMM"). During the quarter, there was one lost time injury ("LTI") and four total recordable injuries ("TRI") reported resulting in a LTI frequency rate ("LTIFR") of 0.51 per million employee hours worked and a TRI frequency rate ("TRIFR") of 2.02 per million employee hours worked.

Production
In Q1, the AGM sourced ore from the Nkran, Akwasiso and Esaase pits as well as run of mine stockpiles. During the quarter, 1.73Mt of waste and 1.29Mt of ore at an average gold grade of 1.65 g/t were mined from the Nkran pit. The Esaase pits collectively delivered 0.59Mt of ore at an average gold grade of 1.35 g/t with 3.69Mt of waste mined.

The AGM also re-commenced mining of the Akwasiso pit with 1.62Mt of waste mined and 0.04Mt of ore mined with an averge grade of 1.29 g/t. The AGM is expected to ramp-up ore mining from Akwasiso in Q2.

The processing plant milled 1.40Mt at a gold grade of 1.6 g/t during the quarter with metallurgical recovery averaging 94%. With gold production of 66,333 ounces in Q1, the AGM is on track to deliver its annual guidance of 225,000 to 245,000 ounces for 2020.

Preliminary Costs
Preliminary operating cost estimates for the AGM during the quarter are provided below, with final operating costs to be released in conjunction with the Q1 2020 Interim Financial Statements and Management Discussion & Analysis on May 7, 2020. Preliminary operating cash costs per ounce1 for Q1 were $599, preliminary total cash costs per ounce1 were $676, and preliminary AISC per ounce were $805. The strong AISC performance reflected positive sales volume variance as well as planned lower sustaining capital expenditures. During Q2 and Q3, construction of the next lift on the Tailings Storage Facility is expected to be completed, which is expected to increase AISC in-line with the AGM's annual guidance of $1,000 to $1,100/oz for 2020.

AGM Key Production Statistics (100% basis) Units
Q1 2020 Q4 2019 Q3 2019 Q2 2019 Q1 2019
Total Tonnes Mined 000 t 8,962 6,361 7,477 8,864 8,089
Waste Tonnes Mined 000 t 7,051 4,956 6,372 7,808 6,584
Ore Tonnes Mined 000 t 1,911 1,405 1,105 1,056 1,505
Strip Ratio W:O 3.7:1 3.5:1 5.8:1 7.4:1 4.4:1
Average Gold Grade Mined g/t 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.4
Ore Treated 000 t 1,400 1,460 1,439 1,375 1,224
Gold Feed Grade g/t 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.5 1.6
Gold Recovery % 94 94 94 93 93
Gold Produced oz 66,333 66,112 62,440 62,067 60,425

Sales and Liquidity
Gold production for the quarter totalled 66,333 ounces with gold sales of 67,820 ounces at an average realized price of US$1,542 per ounce, generating record gold sales proceeds of $104.6 million for the JV. During the quarter, the joint venture undertook the proactive step to drawdown its $30 million revolving credit facility in light of the current economic uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. While the JV's healthy liquidity position did not necessitate the utilization of the credit facility, the Company determined that this was a prudent step to take to further strengthen the robust financial position during these uncertain times. As a result, at the end of the quarter, the JV held approximately $55.6 million in unaudited cash including the fully drawn revolving line of credit, $9.6 million in gold receivables and $0.5 million in dore. Distributions from the joint venture to the joint venture partners during the quarter totalled $45 million.

The Company held approximately $54 million in unaudited cash and receivables at the quarter-end following receipt of the $22.5 million in distributions from the JV and the use of $2 million in buying back shares under its Normal Course Issuer Bid. The Company has no debt.

Notes:
1 Non-GAAP Performance Measures
The Company has included certain non-GAAP performance measures in this press release. These non-GAAP performance measures do not have any standardized meaning. Accordingly, these performance measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. For a description of the methodology used to calculate these non-GAAP performance measures, see the Non-GAAP Measures section of Asanko's previously filed FY2019 Management Discussion and Analysis; reconciliations of these measures to the Company's financial results will be reported in accordance with IFRS in the Q1 2020 MD&A to be filed in the coming weeks.
• Operating Cash Costs per ounce and Total Cash Costs per ounce
Operating cash costs are reflective of the cost of production, adjusted for share-based payments and by-product revenue per ounce of gold sold. Total cash costs include production royalties of 5%.

• All-in Sustaining Costs Per Gold Ounce
The Company has adopted the reporting of AISC as per the World Gold Council's guidance. AISC include total cash costs, corporate overhead expenses, sustaining capital expenditure, capitalized stripping costs and reclamation cost accretion per ounce of gold sold.

About Asanko Gold Inc.
Asanko is focused on building a sustainable business capable of long-term value creation for its stakeholders through organic production growth, exploration and disciplined deployment of its financial resources. The company currently operates and manages the Asanko Gold Mine, located in Ghana, West Africa which is jointly owned with Gold Fields Ltd. The Company is strongly committed to the highest standards for environmental management, social responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and neighbouring communities. For more information, please visit www.asanko.com

today 4/20/20
Asanko Gold Vol. 196.400
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