SEMAFO Declares Inaugural Dividend

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Nov. 8, 2011) - SEMAFO (TSX:SMF)(OMX:SMF) today announced that the Corporation's Board of Directors has approved an inaugural cash dividend of $0.02 per common share, payable on January 16, 2012 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 31, 2011.

"With our continued solid performance and significant cash flows, SEMAFO is well-positioned to fund its operations and has the economic capacity to internally finance value-creation activities," said Benoit La Salle, President and Chief Executive Officer. "The Board of Directors is of the opinion that this is the right time to provide a dividend return to our shareholders. The payment of this inaugural dividend is evidence of SEMAFO's commitment to maximize shareholder value."

The amount of future dividend payments will be subject to evaluation and approval by SEMAFO's Board of Directors semi-annually, based on the Corporation's financial condition, capital requirements, growth plans and gold price.

About SEMAFO

SEMAFO is a Canadian-based mining company with gold production and exploration activities in West Africa. The Corporation currently operates three gold mines: the Mana Mine in Burkina Faso, the Samira Hill Mine in Niger and the Kiniero Mine in Guinea. SEMAFO is committed to evolve in a conscientious manner to become a major player in its geographical area of interest. SEMAFO's strategic focus is to maximize shareholder value by effectively managing its existing assets as well as pursuing organic and strategic growth opportunities.

Caution Concerning Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions and accordingly, actual results and future events could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. You are hence cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include words or expressions such as "inaugural", "maximize", "will", "future", "plans", "committed", "evolve", "become", "focus", "pursuing", "growth" and other similar words or expressions. Factors that could cause future results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include the ability to pay future dividends on a semi-annual basis or otherwise, the ability to execute on our strategic focus, fluctuation in the price of currencies, gold or operating costs, mining industry risks, uncertainty as to calculation of mineral reserves and resources, delays, political and social stability in Africa (including our ability to maintain or renew licenses and permits) and other risks described in SEMAFO's documents filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. You can find further information with respect to these and other risks in SEMAFO's 2010 Annual MD&A and 2010 Annual Information Form, as updated in SEMAFO's 2011 First Quarter MD&A and 2011 Second Quarter MD&A, and other filings made with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. These documents are also available on our website at www.semafo.com. SEMAFO disclaims any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.

The above information has been made public in accordance with the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act.