Sarama Resources Commences 11,000m Drill Program and Secures New Exploration Permit in Burkina Faso

TSX-V Ticker: SWA
SWA.WT

PERTH, Western Australia, Jan. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Sarama Resources Limited ("Sarama" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the Company's operations in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Highlights

• An 11,000m reverse circulation ("RC") drill program has commenced on the South Houndé Project in Burkina Faso to follow-up earlier significant drill results from the MM Anomaly and to test other significant gold-in-soil anomalies identified on the Tankoro Permit.
  
  
• Combined strike length of anomalies to be tested in the 20km long x 4km wide Tankoro Corridor totals over 15km.
  
  
• The construction of a 30-man drill and field camp for the South Houndé Project is now complete.
  
  
• Option agreement signed over a new Exploration Permit located in the Houndé Greenstone Belt of south-west Burkina Faso, bringing Sarama's total exploration landholding in Burkina Faso to over 2,450 km².
  
  
• Permit-scale soil geochemistry programs on other high-priority exploration permits are in progress.
  
  
• Additional drilling planned on other South Houndé permits where large sized gold-in-soil anomalies have been identified.
  
  

 Drilling Planned for the South Houndé Project, South-West Burkina Faso

An 11,000m RC drill program has commenced at the South Houndé Project and is anticipated to be completed by mid-February 2012.

The program is designed primarily to follow-up on encouraging intersections from a drill campaign conducted in June 2011 by Sarama on the MM Anomaly, a 4km-long, gold-in-soil anomaly located centrally in the Tankoro Structural Corridor.  Downhole intersections from this previous program included:

13m @ 3.9g/t Au,  14m @ 2.6g/t Au,    11m @ 2.3g/t Au and   8m @ 3.0g/t Au.

The program is targeting a 1km portion of the MM Anomaly with 5 additional fences containing 29 RC holes, and will result in an eventual fence spacing of 75m to 150m.  Drillhole depths will range between 100m and 150m.

Figure 1: Location of the Gold-in-Soil Anomalies Targeted by the Tankoro Drill Program

The program will also test other areas along the 20km-long trend of gold-in-soil anomalies which are individually defined by coherent >18ppb soil geochemistry results.  Sixteen drill fences containing 63 RC drillholes have been planned, with drillhole depths averaging approximately 100m.

The drill program will aid in clarifying the continuity and geometry of mineralisation within the MM Anomaly and give an indication of the larger exploration potential of the Tankoro Structural Corridor.

In order to facilitate logistical support to the South Houndé Project drill campaign, a 30-man drill and field camp has been constructed within the Tankoro Permit where all of the present drill program will be completed.

New Exploration Permit Acquired in the South Houndé Greenstone Belt

Sarama has entered into an option agreement over the Danymi Exploration Permit which is located in the southern part of the Houndé Greenstone Belt in south-west Burkina Faso.  The permit is valid for 3 years from 28 October 2011 and is renewable for two subsequent 3-year periods, conditional upon regulatory obligations being met.

The agreement provides for Sarama to acquire a 100% interest in the permit after making staged payments to the vendor over a 3-year period.  Upon these payments being made, the vendor will be entitled to a net smelter return ("NSR") on any production sourced from the permit area.  The NSR can be purchased at any time by Sarama, at Sarama's election, for a specified amount.

The Danymi Exploration Permit, covering 52.5km², is favourably located along the northern boundary of Sarama's Tankoro Permit and augments the Company's South Houndé Project.  Being Sarama's flagship project, the area is currently the focus of a drilling program to further test gold-in-soil anomalies associated with the mineralised Tankoro Structural Corridor.

The Tankoro Structural Corridor is defined by schistose rocks and gold-in-soil anomalism extending over 20km in length along a north-northeast trend.  The Danymi Exploration Permit lies immediately along strike to the north along the trend of the Tankoro Structural Corridor.  The permit is underlain by a mixed sequence of sedimentary and tuffaceous rocks with a band of mafic volcanic rocks and breccias underlying the extreme western part of the permit.

Avion Gold Corporation's Vindaloo Prospect (Indicated Mineral Resource of 63,000 oz Au @ 2.33g/t Au and Inferred Mineral Resource of 547,000 oz Au @ 2.97g/t Au)¹ and Semafo Inc's Mana Mine (Total Mineral Reserves and Resources of 3,285,700 oz Au @ 2.10g/t Au and Inferred Mineral Resources 2,678,000 oz Au @ 2.28g/t Au)² lie within the same greenstone belt stratigraphy as the Danymi Exploration Permit and are located approximately 70km and 150km to the north respectively.

A permit-scale soil geochemistry survey has just been completed over the Danymi Permit, on a grid spacing of 200m x 100m, with the assay results anticipated before the end of January 2012.  Any resulting gold-in-soil anomalism will be evaluated for drill targeting.

Figure 2: Location of the New Danymi Exploration Permit and Sarama's Existing Properties

Soil Sampling Programs Progressing on Sarama's Exploration Permits in Burkina Faso

Sarama is moving quickly to evaluate all of the permits within its portfolio in Burkina Faso.  To this end, permit-scale soil geochemistry surveys have been completed over the Danymi (mentioned above) and Sola (northern Burkina Faso) permits and an infill soil survey program, over previously identified gold-in-soil anomalies, has been completed on the Bamako Permit.  Results are expected February 2012.

Soil sampling teams are presently being relocated to several of the other 15 permits, held directly by Sarama or under option agreements with Sarama, in Burkina Faso.

For further information on the Company's activities, please contact:

Andrew Dinning or Paul Schmiede
email:  [email protected]
telephone: +61 8 9363 7600
web:   www.saramaresources.com

About Sarama Resources Ltd

Sarama Resources Ltd is a Canadian company with a focus on the exploration and development of gold deposits in West Africa.  The board of directors and management team, a majority of whom are founders of the Company, are seasoned resource industry professionals with extensive experience in the exploration and development of world-class gold projects in Africa.

The Company has built substantial early stage exploration landholdings in prospective and underexplored areas of Burkina Faso (>2,450 km²), Liberia (>2,400 km²) and Mali (>1,350 km²) and is aggressively exploring across the property portfolio.

The South Houndé Project in south-west Burkina Faso is the Company's flagship property and is currently the focus of a drilling program to further test gold-in-soil anomalies located in a 20km structural corridor.  Previous confirmatory reverse circulation drilling conducted by Sarama yielded downhole intersections of 13m @ 3.9g/t Au, 14m @ 2.6g/t Au, 11m @ 2.3g/t Au and 8m @ 3.0g/t Au.  For full details, refer to the Company's "NI 43-101 Independent Technical Report on the South Houndé Project, Bougouriba and Ioba Provinces, Burkina Faso" which is filed on www.sedar.com.

Following the recent completion of a successful initial public offering on the TSX Venture Exchange (raising gross proceeds of approximately C$16.7M), Sarama Resources is in a strong financial position to execute its business plan (refer to News Release, 2 November 2011).

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Information in this news release that is not a statement of historical fact constitutes forward-looking information.  Such forward-looking information includes statements regarding the Company's planned exploration programs, including when results may be available and ability to earn an interest in the various exploration properties. Actual results, performance or achievements of the Company may vary from the results suggested by such forward-looking statements due to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such factors include, among others, that the business of exploration for gold and other precious minerals involves a high degree of risk and is highly speculative in nature; few properties that are explored are ultimately developed into producing mines; geological factors; the actual results of current and future exploration; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents.

There can be no assurance that any mineralisation will be discovered, that mineralisation will be proven to be economic, or that future required regulatory licensing or approvals will be obtained. The Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the Company's ability to carry on its exploration activities, the sufficiency of funding, the timely receipt of required approvals, the price of gold and other precious metals, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain further financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Sarama does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable laws.

Qualified Person's Statement

Scientific or technical information in this news release that relates to the Company's exploration activities in Burkina Faso is based on information compiled or approved by Michel Mercier.  Michel Mercier is an employee of Sarama Resources Ltd and is a member in good standing of the Ordre des Géologues du Québec and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralisation under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.  Michel Mercier consents to the inclusion in this report of the information, in the form and context in which it appears.

SOURCE Sarama Resources Limited