Golden Star Files Updated Technical Report for Wassa Gold Mine

TORONTO, June 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Golden Star Resources Ltd. (NYSE American: GSS; TSX: GSC; GSE: GSR) ("Golden Star" or the "Company") announces that it has filed an updated technical report pursuant to National Instrument ("NI") 43-101 for its Wassa Gold Mine in Ghana entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on Resources and Reserves, Golden Star Resources, Wassa Gold Mine, Ghana" dated June 20, 2019. This technical report can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.gsr.com.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Proven and Probable underground mineral reserves estimated at a $1,250/oz gold price, as of December 31, 2018, are 7.5 Mt at an average grade of 3.95 grams per tonne ("g/t") containing 949,000 ounces of gold
• Proven and Probable open pit mineral reserves estimated at a $1,250/oz gold price, as of December 31, 2018, are 9.9 Mt at an average grade of 1.57 g/t containing 500,000 ounces of gold
• Measured and Indicated mineral resources estimated at a $1,450/oz gold price, as of December 31, 2018, are 43.8 Mt at an average grade of 2.40 g/t containing 3.4 million ounces of gold. Measured and Indicated resources are inclusive of reserves
• Inferred mineral resources estimated at a $1,450/oz gold price, as of December 31, 2018, are 53.4 Mt at an average grade of 3.76 g/t containing 6.4 million ounces of gold
• A 10 year production life
• Total development capital costs estimated at $50 million for the underground and $109 million for the open pit
• Total sustaining capital costs estimated at $65 million for the underground and $32 million for the open pit
• $218 million post-tax free cash flow and $175 million post tax NPV at 5% discount rate based on a gold price of US$1,300/oz
• $671/oz life of mine cash operating cost¹
• $814/oz life of mine mine-site all in sustaining cost¹

All monetary amounts refer to United States dollars unless otherwise indicated.

Company Profile

Golden Star is an established gold mining company that owns and operates the Wassa and Prestea underground mines in Ghana, West Africa. Listed on the NYSE American, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Ghana Stock Exchange, Golden Star is focused on delivering strong margins and free cash flow from its two high-grade, low cost underground mines. Gold production guidance for 2019 is 220,000-240,000 ounces at a cash operating cost per ounce of $620-$680. As the winner of the PDAC 2018 Environmental and Social Responsibility Award, Golden Star is committed to leaving a positive and sustainable legacy in its areas of operation.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking information

Some statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, statements and information regarding: Proven and Probable underground mineral reserves, capital and operating costs.

Generally, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words and phrases (including negative or grammatical variations) or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements and information are inherently uncertain and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual facts to differ materially. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. Please refer to the discussion of these and other factors in Management's Discussion and Analysis of financial conditions and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2018, and our annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2018, each of which is filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forecasts contained in this press release constitute management's current estimates, as of the date of this press release, with respect to the matters covered thereby. We expect that these estimates will change as new information is received. While we may elect to update these estimates at any time, we do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this news release, we use the terms "cash operating cost" and "all-in sustaining cost".

"Cash operating cost" for a period is equal to "cost of sales excluding depreciation and amortization" for the period less royalties, the cash component of metals inventory net realizable value adjustments, materials and supplies write-off and severance charges, and "cash operating cost per ounce" is that amount divided by the number of ounces of gold sold (excluding pre-commercial production ounces sold) during the period. We use cash operating cost per ounce as a key operating metric. We monitor this measure monthly, comparing each month's values to prior periods' values to detect trends that may indicate increases or decreases in operating efficiencies. We provide this measure to investors to allow them to also monitor operational efficiencies of the Company's mines. We calculate this measure for both individual operating units and on a consolidated basis. Since cash operating costs do not incorporate revenues, changes in working capital or non-operating cash costs, they are not necessarily indicative of operating profit or cash flow from operations as determined under IFRS. Changes in numerous factors including, but not limited to, mining rates, milling rates, ore grade, gold recovery, costs of labor, consumables and mine site general and administrative activities can cause these measures to increase or decrease. We believe that these measures are similar to the measures of other gold mining companies, but may not be comparable to similarly titled measures in every instance.

"Cost of sales excluding depreciation and amortization" as found in the statements of operations includes all mine-site operating costs, including the costs of mining, ore processing, maintenance, work-in-process inventory changes, mine-site overhead as well as production taxes, royalties, severance charges and by-product credits, but excludes exploration costs, property holding costs, corporate office general and administrative expenses, foreign currency gains and losses, gains and losses on asset sales, interest expense, gains and losses on derivatives, gains and losses on investments and income tax expense/benefit.

"All-in sustaining costs" commences with cash operating costs and then adds the cash component of metals inventory net realizable value adjustments, royalties, sustaining capital expenditures, corporate general and administrative costs (excluding share-based compensation expenses), and accretion of rehabilitation provision. For mine site all-in sustaining costs, corporate general and administrative costs (excluding share-based compensation expenses) are allocated based on gold sold by each operation. "All-in sustaining costs per ounce" is that amount divided by the number of ounces of gold sold (excluding pre-commercial production ounces sold) during the period. This measure seeks to represent the total costs of producing gold from current operations, and therefore it does not include capital expenditures attributable to projects or mine expansions, exploration and evaluation costs attributable to growth projects, income tax payments, interest costs or dividend payments. Consequently, this measure is not representative of all of the Company's cash expenditures. In addition, the calculation of all-in sustaining costs does not include depreciation expense as it does not reflect the impact of expenditures incurred in prior periods. Therefore, it is not indicative of the Company's overall profitability. Share-based compensation expenses are also excluded from the calculation of all-in sustaining costs as the Company believes that such expenses may not be representative of the actual payout on equity and liability based awards.

The Company believes that "all-in sustaining costs" will better meet the needs of analysts, investors and other stakeholders of the Company in understanding the costs associated with producing gold, understanding the economics of gold mining, assessing the operating performance and the Company's ability to generate free cash flow from current operations and to generate free cash flow on an overall Company basis. Due to the capital intensive nature of the industry and the long useful lives over which these items are depreciated, there can be a disconnect between net earnings calculated in accordance with IFRS and the amount of free cash flow that is being generated by a mine. In the current market environment for gold mining equities, many investors and analysts are more focused on the ability of gold mining companies to generate free cash flow from current operations, and consequently the Company believes these measures are useful non-IFRS operating metrics ("non-GAAP measures") and supplement the IFRS disclosures made by the Company. These measures are not representative of all of Golden Star's cash expenditures as they do not include income tax payments or interest costs. Non-GAAP measures are intended to provide additional information only and do not have standardized definitions under IFRS and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures are not necessarily indicative of operating profit or cash flow from operations as determined under IFRS.

For additional information regarding the Non-GAAP financial measures used by the Company, please refer to the heading "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for the three months ended March 31, 2019, which are available at www.sedar.com.

Technical Information

The technical contents of this press release have been reviewed and approved by Dr. Martin Raffield, P. Eng., a Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101.  Dr. Raffield is the Chief Technical Officer for Golden Star Resources.

SOURCE Golden Star Resources Ltd.

Related Links

www.gsr.com