MONTREAL, June 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sama Resources Inc. (TSXV:SME) (“SME” or the “Company”) is pleased to report at the annual general meeting of shareholders (the 'AGM') held on June 13, 2018, the shareholders re-elected Mr. Benoit LaSalle, FCPA, FCA, Mr. Marc-Antoine Audet, Mr. Richard Quesnel and Mr. Marcel Aubut as directors of the Company and voted in favor of all items of business at the AGM.

Mr. Todd Hilditch and Mr. Marc Filion did not stand for re-election at the AGM, and in their place, Eric Finlayson, Govind Friedland and Ousmane Paye were elected to the board of directors. Mr. Finlayson and Mr. Friedland are representatives of HPX on Sama’s board.

ERIC FINLAYSON
Mr. Eric Finlayson is a geologist with thirty-five years of global multi-commodity experience. Graduating in 1982 with a degree in Applied Geology from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, he commenced his career as an exploration geologist in Ireland and Turkey with NL Petroleum Services before becoming a field geochemist in Malawi with the British Civil Uranium Procurement Organisation. In 1984, he joined the Geological Survey of Papua New Guinea as a regional geological mapper and then moved to Rio Tinto in 1989 as project geologist responsible for copper and gold exploration in the Papua New Guinea highlands based out of Sydney. In 1993, he was transferred to Vancouver as regional exploration manager for Canada and then to London in 2000 as the personal assistant to the Head of Exploration. In January 2002, he moved to Perth to assume the role of Rio Tinto’s Director of Exploration for Australasia and in January of 2007 was appointed Global Head of Exploration for Rio Tinto based in London. In July 2011, he was appointed CEO of Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique following Rio Tinto’s takeover of Riversdale Mining. After two years in Mozambique, he departed Rio Tinto in July 2013 and joined High Power Exploration (HPX) as a Senior Adviser based in Perth. In December 2015, he was appointed President of HPX based in Vancouver. Mr. Finlayson is a director of Cordoba Minerals (TSX-V:CDB), Kaizen Discovery (TSX-V:KZD) and Clean TeQ Holdings (ASX:CLQ) (TSX:CLQ). 

GOVIND FRIEDLAND 
Mr. Govind Friedland is the Founder and Executive Chairman of GoviEx Uranium and a Director and Co-Founder of Ivanhoe Industries, the parent company of I-Pulse, a hi-tech company providing innovative solutions for water exploration, mining, oil & gas, and advanced manufacturing sectors based in Toulouse, France. He has a degree in Geology and Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines with a focus on Exploration Geology. Mr. Friedland was formerly Business Development Manager for Ivanhoe Mines based in China, where he gained significant experience in emerging markets. Mr. Friedland was primarily responsible for raising approximately $150 million to fund acquisitions, finance exploration, mine development and other corporate objectives for GoviEx Uranium in Africa. He sits on the board of Córdoba Minerals, is credited for Co-founding Ivanhoe Pictures, and is Co-Owner and Managing Director of Villa Treville in Positano Italy.

OUSMANE PAYE
As a Diplomat with the Senegal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Paye was assigned successively in Republic of Germany, Austria and in Canada as Ambassador until May 2017. Prior to his appointment to Canada, Ambassador Paye exercised from 2002 to 2015 the charges of Special Adviser to the secretary general of La Francophonie. In this capacity, he has ensured the coordination of the political and diplomatic actions of the international organization. Ambassador Paye served as Minister of Youth and Sports as well as Special-Counsellor for Senegal. He acted as Special Envoy for United Nations in various crises in Africa. Ambassador Paye has received several decorations, among others, Commander of the Order of the Pleiades de la Francophonie, Officer of the National Order of the Lion du Senegal and Officer of the Legion of honour of France.

The appointment of the Messrs. Finlayson, Friedland and Paye as directors of the Company are subject to regulatory approval.

“We are proud to welcome the HPX representatives, Govind Friedland and Eric Finlayson to our Board. They bring years of experience in the discovery and development of world class assets,” says Benoit LaSalle, Executive Chairman of Sama.  “Their technical and market expertise will be extremely useful for Sama going forward.  We are also proud to strengthen the Board with Ousmane Paye who brings a new perspective, experiences and knowledge as we push forward with the development of our Nickel-Cooper-Cobalt project in Cote d Ivoire."

“On behalf of the Board of Directors and management, we wish to thank Mr. Filion for his expertise and dedication as a director and a member of our Audit Committee,” stated Marc-Antoine Audet, President and CEO of the Company.  “We also wish to express our gratitude to Mr. Hilditch, one of the founding members of the Company, for his strategic leadership, invaluable contribution and service he provided to the Company over the past 8 years as a Board member and a member on various committees.  Todd and Marc will remain with Sama as consultants.”

Stock Options

Sama announces that it has granted an aggregate total of 3,655,000 incentive stock options to directors, employees, officers and consultants of the Company pursuant to its Stock Option Plan.  These options will be exercisable at a price of CAN$0.33 per share and will expire June 12, 2028 with certain vesting provisions.  The grant of the stock options is subject to regulatory approval.

Sama wishes to report that of the 1,400,000 stock options granted on June 3, 2013 and expiring on June 4, 2018, 96% were exercised for a total cash influx to the Company of CAN$297,000.

About Sama Resources Inc.

Sama is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company with projects in West Africa.

On October 23, 2017, Sama announced that it had entered into a binding term sheet in view of forming a strategic partnership with HPX TechCo Inc., for the development of its Côte d’Ivoire Nickel-Copper and Cobalt project in Côte d’Ivoire, West-Africa. For more information about Sama, please visit Sama’s website at http://www.samaresources.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

SAMA RESOURCES INC./RESSOURCES SAMA INC.
Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, President and CEO
Tel: (514) 726-4158
OR
Mr. Matt Johnston, Corporate Development Advisor
Tel: (604) 443-3835
Toll Free: 1 (877) 792-6688, Ext. 5

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.