Aris Gold Corporation  (TSX-V: CGC) (OTCQX: ALLXF) announces that Caldas Gold Corp. has been renamed Aris Gold and the new Board of Directors and management team are in place. In addition, the net proceeds from the C$85 million private placement led by the incoming Board and management team and the US$83 million of gold-linked notes have been released from escrow. It is expected that the Company’s shares and warrants will begin trading under the symbols “ARIS” and “ARIS.WT” on February 8, 2021. These corporate changes and escrow releases follow formal receipt of the 30-year mine licence extension for the Marmato mine in Colombia, as described in Caldas Gold’s January 5, 2021 news release.

The new management team is led by CEO Neil Woodyer, who is supported by an independent Board of Directors led by Chairman Ian Telfer. New Directors also include recognized industry leaders Peter Marrone, David Garofalo, Daniela Cambone, and Attie Roux who join Gran Colombia Gold nominees, Serafino Iacono and Hernan Martinez, both of whom have extensive experience in Colombia. Frank Giustra will act as a strategic advisor to the Board.

The incoming Board and management team’s vision is to build Aris Gold into their next globally relevant gold producer after success creating several leading mining companies, including Wheaton River Minerals, Goldcorp (now Newmont), Yamana Gold, Endeavour Mining and Leagold Mining (now Equinox Gold).

In addition, Aris Gold has received conditional approval for the listing of its common shares and warrants on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The listing is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary listing conditions and final acceptance by the TSX. Aris Gold will issue a news release once the TSX confirms the date when trading is expected to commence on the TSX.

Aris Gold CEO Neil Woodyer commented: “We identified Caldas Gold as an attractive entry point with a strong base, with assets in Colombia and Canada from which we plan to build our next gold company. Our C$85 million investment has filled the funding gap for the Marmato mine expansion where production will be increased to over 150koz gold per year. The recent PFS demonstrates a potential mine life of 13 years from current mineral reserves, and ongoing exploration success continues to demonstrate significant upside. We are implementing a comprehensive project development plan that includes completing optimization studies, updating mineral resources and reserves, currently negotiating the appointment of an EPCM contractor, and continuing to advance health, safety, and community support programs. We expect the Marmato mine will deliver outstanding value to all stakeholders, including our mine workforce and community partners.

“We plan to continue to pursue a strategy of acquiring operating gold mines and projects nearing construction. We aim to create value through adding scale and diversification, mine and corporate-level optimizations, investing in expansions and near-mine exploration, and active portfolio management. Aris Gold is launching from a solid foundation, a strong financial position, and with a highly experienced team that will ‘do it again’.”

New Management

The incoming management team has a successful track record of creating long-term shareholder value by building companies with strong financial performance, production growth, disciplined capital management and a commitment to sustainability. The management team is led by Neil Woodyer, CEO; Doug Bowlby, SVP Corporate; Andrew Gubbels, SVP Corporate Development; Ashley Baker, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary; Robert Eckford, VP Finance and CFO, and Meghan Brown, VP Investor Relations. The management team will be supported by Attie Roux, Richard Thomas and Lombardo Paredes as Technical Consultants.

New Website and Corporate Governance Policies

Aris Gold has launched a corporate website at www.arisgold.com. This website contains information about the Company, its operations and projects, and its commitments to corporate governance and sustainability practices. Copies of the Company’s governance policies including the Business Conduct and Ethics Policy and Sustainability Policy together with the mandates of the Board of Directors and charters of each of the Committees of the Board are available for download on the Company’s website.

About Aris Gold

Aris Gold is a Canadian mining company currently listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “CGC”. The Company is led by an executive team with a demonstrated track record of creating value through building globally relevant gold mining companies. Aris Gold operates the Marmato mine in Colombia, where a modernization and expansion program is underway, and the Juby project, an advanced exploration stage gold project in the Abitibi greenstone belt of Ontario, Canada. Aris Gold plans to pursue acquisition and other growth opportunities to unlock value creation from scale and diversification.

Additional information on Aris Gold can be found at www.arisgold.com and www.sedar.com.