138.6m @ 3.21 g/t Au incl. 8.7m @ 9.15 g/t

43.0m @ 4.12 g/t Au, incl. 11.5m @ 10.0 g/t, (and incl. 2.0m @ 32.2 g/t)

20.5m @ 5.30 g/t Au, incl. 14.5m @ 7.19 g/t Au, (and incl. 1.4m @ 37.0 g/t Au)

53.3m @ 3.65 g/t Au, incl. 1.3m @ 19.4 g/t Au & 1.4m @ 30.8 g/t Au

Orla Mining Ltd. (TSX: OLA) (NYSE: ORLA) is pleased to provide an update on its exploration activities at Camino Rojo Sulphides,  concluding the year on a positive note.

2023 Camino Rojo Sulphides (Mexico) Highlights

Orla’s 2023 Camino Rojo Sulphide drill program consisted of 37,677 metres of drilling across 56 drill holes.

• Sulphide Infill Program: This release includes the results of the remaining unreported 14 drill holes completed as part of the 52-drill hole, 35,070-metre infill program and builds on the results previously reported on June 22, 2023, and January 25, 2024. The infill drilling in 2023 was to refine the geometry and extent of higher-grade components of the Camino Rojo Sulphides deposit.
• Camino Rojo Extension: Selected drill holes also explored the area beneath the sulphide infill area, investigating mineralization beyond the current open pit mineral resource boundaries, known as the “Camino Rojo Extension”. Initial drill results beneath the Caracol formation have revealed a new style of polymetallic massive sulphide replacement mineralization within limestone-rich formations. Initial results are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

“We’re excited by the outcomes of Orla’s Camino Rojo Sulphide infill drill program. The results contribute to refining our understanding of the deposit’s higher-grade zones to inform future development planning. The discovery of a new mineralization style beneath the Caracol formation adds a compelling new dimension to our exploration efforts in 2024.”

–       Sylvain Guerard, Orla’s Senior Vice President, Exploration

Momentum Building for 2024

Over three distinct campaigns covering a total of 50,924 drill metres, the Camino Rojo infill drill program, has consistently yielded impressive results setting the stage for an exciting year ahead. These results include numerous intercepts of greater than 2.0 grams of gold per tonne (g/t Au) over tens of metres (core length), resulting in grade-by-thickness factors exceeding 50 g/t gold per metre. The results also showed narrower intervals of 0.5 to 11.5 metres of gold intersections exceeding 10 g/t Au. Full drill results are available in the Appendix to this news release and are available at www.orlamining.com.

Combining Orla’s drill holes, oriented from north to south, and historical drill holes oriented in the opposite direction, has decreased drill spacing to approximately 25-30 metres within the higher grade of the Camino Rojo Sulphides. The combined drilling has significantly improved the understanding of the primary controls on gold mineralization. This approach has also contributed to refining the geometry and size of higher-grade zones within the extensive mineralized envelope of the sulphide deposit.

A preliminary underground resource estimate on the Camino Rojo Sulphides is eagerly anticipated to be completed in the second half of 2024. Metallurgy evaluation on the recent phase of Camino Rojo sulphide infill drilling is expected to continue throughout 2024.

Camino Rojo Sulphide infill drill result highlights:

Camino Rojo Extension Program: Strategic Exploration for the Future

As part of the 2023 infill program, Orla extended selected drill holes into the deeper stratigraphy beneath the Caracol Formation, the primary host of existing resources. A down-plunge drill section was also executed to explore the extension of gold mineralization into lower stratigraphy, referred to as the Camino Rojo Extension. Drilling beneath the Caracol formation unveiled a new style of polymetallic massive sulphide replacement mineralization within limestone-rich formations. Results from the Camino Rojo Extension program are expected to be detailed in an upcoming news release.

In 2024, Orla is set to extensively explore the Camino Rojo region while maintaining a steadfast commitment to near-mine exploration. As part of the near-mine exploration, the 2024 focus shifts to the promising Camino Rojo Extension, with a 30,000-metre drill program designed to test and expand the potential of the still-open mineralization at the expansive Camino Rojo deposit.

Qualified Persons Statement

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Sylvain Guerard, P Geo., SVP Exploration of the Company, who is the Qualified Person as defined under the definitions of National Instrument 43-101.

To verify the information related to the 2022 and 2023 drilling programs at the Camino Rojo property, Mr. Guerard has visited the property in the past year; discussed logging, sampling, and sample shipping processes with responsible site staff; discussed and reviewed assay and QA/QC results with responsible personnel; and reviewed supporting documentation, including drill hole location and orientation and significant assay interval calculations.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control –2023 Drill Program

All gold results at Camino Rojo were obtained by ALS Minerals (Au-AA23) using fire assay fusion and an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish. All samples are also analyzed for multi-elements, including silver, copper, lead and zinc using a four-acid digestion with ICP-AES finish (ME-ICP61) method at ALS Laboratories in Canada. If samples were returned with gold values in excess of 10 ppm or base metal values in excess of 1% by ICP analysis, samples are re-run with gold (Au-GRA21) by fire assay and gravimetric finish or base metal by (OG62) four acid overlimit methods. Drill program design, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and interpretation of results were performed by qualified persons employing a Quality Assurance/Quality Control program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices. Standards were inserted at a frequency of one in every 50 samples, and blanks were inserted at a frequency of one in every 50 samples for Quality Assurance/Quality Control purposes by the Company as well as the lab. ALS Minerals and ALS Laboratories are independent of Orla. There are no known drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the drilling data at Camino Rojo.

For additional information on the Company’s previously reported drill results, see the Company’s press releases dated June 22, 2023 (Orla Mining Provides Update On Successful Drilling Program In Mexico) and January 25, 2024 (Orla Mining Provides an Update on Infill Drilling at Camino Rojo Sulphides Deposit with Multiple Highly Positive Drill Intersections). Historical drill results at Camino Rojo were completed by Goldcorp. Inc. (“Goldcorp”), a prior owner of the project. The Company’s independent qualified person, Independent Mining Consultants, Inc. was of the opinion that the drilling and sampling procedures for Camino Rojo drill samples by Goldcorp (and prior to its acquisition by Goldcorp, Canplats Resources Corporation) were reasonable and adequate for the purposes of the Camino Rojo Report, and that the Goldcorp QA/QC program met or exceeded industry standards. See the Camino Rojo Report (as defined below) for additional information.

All metres reported in this news release are down-hole intervals, with true width estimates ranging from 60-98% of the reported interval for all composites >5 grade-by-thickness factor (Au g/t*m). See Table 1 in the Appendix to this news release for estimated true widths of individual composites. A standard sampling length of 1.5 metres is used with a minimum of 0.5 metres when required based on geological contacts. All drill core is HQ diameter. The reported composites were not subject to “capping,” however a preliminary analysis suggests that only 8 out of 3,802 samples from the reported holes exceeded the potential capping level of 27.0 g/t. These samples averaged 40.8 g/t gold (max. 61.2 g/t). Orla believes that applying a top cut would have a negligible effect on overall grades. Composites for the sulphide drilling were calculated using 1 g/t Au cut-off grade and maximum 6 metres consecutive waste.

About Orla Mining Ltd.

Orla is operating the Camino Rojo Oxide Gold Mine, a gold and silver open-pit and heap leach mine, located in Zacatecas State, Mexico. The property is 100% owned by Orla and covers over 160,000 hectares. The technical report for the 2021 Feasibility Study on the Camino Rojo oxide gold project entitled “Unconstrained Feasibility Study NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Camino Rojo Gold Project – Municipality of Mazapil, Zacatecas, Mexico” dated January 11, 2021 (the “Camino Rojo Report”), is available on SEDAR and EDGAR under the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. Orla also owns 100% of Cerro Quema located in Panama which includes a gold production scenario and various exploration targets. Cerro Quema is a proposed open pit mine and gold heap leach operation. The technical report for the Pre-Feasibility Study on the Cerro Quema oxide gold project entitled “Project Pre-Feasibility Updated NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Cerro Quema Project, Province of Los Santos, Panama” dated January 18, 2022, is available on SEDAR and EDGAR under the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. Orla also owns 100% of the South Railroad Project, a feasibility-stage, open pit, heap leach project located on the Carlin trend in Nevada. The technical report for the 2022 Feasibility Study entitled “South Railroad Project, Form 43-101F1 Technical Report Feasibility Study, Elko County, Nevada” dated March 23, 2022, is available on SEDAR and EDGAR under the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. The technical reports are available on Orla’s website at www.orlamining.com.

Appendix: Drill Results

Table 1: Camino Rojo Sulphide Infill Composite Drill Results (Composites 1g/t Au cog)

Table 2: Camino Rojo Drill Hole Collars

Figure 1: Camino Rojo Plan View Showing Location of Reported Drill Holes (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Figure 2: Camino Rojo Long Section Overview (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Figure 3: Camino Rojo Long Section Drill Result Highlights (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Figure 4: Camino Rojo Cross Section Drill Intersection Highlights for Fences CRSX23-25 & CRSX23-26 (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)

Figure 5: Camino Rojo Cross Section Drill Intersection Highlights for Fence CRSX23-28 (CNW Group/Orla Mining Ltd.)