REG - Oriole Resources PLC - Cameroon Exploration Update

Oriole ResourcesAnnouncement

29/11/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 8483H  Oriole Resources PLC  29 November 2022

 

Oriole Resources PLC

('Oriole Resources' or 'the Company' or 'the Group')

 

Cameroon Exploration Update

 

Oriole Resources PLC, the AIM-quoted exploration company focussed on West
Africa, is pleased to provide an update for its 90%-owned exploration projects
in Cameroon. The Company is focused on the Bibemi gold orogenic project
('Bibemi') in the north of the country and the Central Licence Package project
('CLP') in central Cameroon, which is prospective for gold and other valuable
commodities.

 

Highlights

 

Bibemi

 

·    On 10 October 2022, the Company announced a JORC Exploration Target
for Bakassi Zone 1 prospect of between six million tonnes and eight million
tonnes at grades ranging from 1.50 to 1.70 grammes per tonne ('g/t') of gold
('Au') for between 290,000 and 440,000 Troy ounces ('oz) Au;

·    A pit optimisation study and site visit are currently underway to
upgrade a portion of the existing JORC Exploration Target to a maiden Mineral
Resource Estimate ('MRE'), which is expected to be in the JORC Inferred
category;

·    The Company anticipates announcing the maiden MRE before the end of
this year;

·    An infill geophysics programme is planned for H1-2023, to aid drill
targeting at the remaining three prospects on the Bibemi licence as well as
future resource-expansion activities.

 

Central Licence Package

·    Mapping and rock-chip sampling is currently under way at Mbe, one of
five licences within the Eastern CLP block, where soil sampling to date has
identified a c.12.5km long by 3km wide gold-mineralised corridor (announcement
dated 17 August 2022);

·    Results from mapping over former soil sampling Grid 6 at Mbe, have
guided the selection of a further 495 (of a total 835) unanalysed samples that
were collected during the 2021/22 field season and have the potential to
extend the mineralisation at Mbe. The samples will be submitted for analysis
shortly, with results anticipated in Q1-2023;

·    Ground-based geophysics is planned at Mbe for Q1-2023 to help
identify the structural control on the mineralisation;

·    At the Ndom licence, also in the Eastern CLP, the team is currently
completing a ground-truthing exercise to assess the potential for
lithium-bearing pegmatites following anomalous geochemical data reported from
the 2021/22 stream and soil programmes;

·    A further licence, Gamboukou, immediately to the south of Ndom, has
recently been secured by the Company for the exploration of gold, lithium and
other elements and initial studies are underway;

·    The total area under licence at the CLP now stands at 4,091km(2);

·    The Company is in discussion with the Mining Ministry of Cameroon in
respect of temporarily suspending the three Western CLP licences, and all the
Company's operational and financial obligations thereunder, pending a
resolution to the ongoing land access issues.

 

 

Oriole CEO, Tim Livesey, said: "We are delighted to have mobilised the teams
and be active again at the beginning of the field season, following the end of
the rains in Cameroon.

 

"The work underway to upgrade the Bibemi JORC Exploration Target into a JORC
Resource is a very significant step for Oriole and for the developing
exploration sector in Cameroon. To our knowledge, this discovery and
transformation of an exploration asset into a maiden JORC MRE will be the
first internationally-accredited Mineral Resource for orogenic gold targets in
Cameroon.

 

"In a previously overlooked exploration jurisdiction like Cameroon, this rapid
assessment of greenfield opportunities allows first movers like Oriole the
advantage of identifying and securing prime land positions, which is exactly
what we have done, with our Central Licence Package now extending to over
4,000 km(2).

 

"At the Eastern CLP licences, stream and soil sampling has already identified
significant gold anomalism and this field season will be focused on targeting
the source of that anomalism through mapping, sampling and geophysics. The
further identification of anomalies in other commodities, such as lithium,
offers the potential for value addition through diversified exploration or
future partnerships with commodity-specific groups.

 

"At the Western CLP, as a short-term measure to address ongoing land access
issues, the Ministry has suggested a temporary suspension of licence
activities to allow a resolution to be found. We see this as a very pragmatic
approach and welcome the Minister's suggestions and support on this matter.

 

"In the meantime, our teams will continue to focus on the existing newly
identified targets in the Eastern CLP, as well as the more advance Bibemi
project, and we look forward to reporting on our continued activities as we
progress in to the 2022/23 field season."

 

 

Further Details

 

During the 2022/23 field season, the Company will continue to focus its
operations on grassroots exploration at the Bibemi and CLP projects
in Cameroon.

 

 

Figure 1: Regional geology of Cameroon licences

 

Bibemi project

At the Bibemi orogenic gold project in northern Cameroon (177km(2) in
area), the Company's exploration to date has identified shear-hosted gold
mineralisation at four main prospects - Bakassi Zone 1, Bakassi Zone
2, Lawa West and Lawa East - within a circa 12 km-long mineralised
hydrothermal system at surface. Since Q1-2021, the Company has completed four
phases of diamond drilling at the project for a total of 6,685.40m in 54
holes. The majority of the drilling has been focussed on a circa 1 km section
at the southern end of Bakassi Zone 1 and has delivered best
intersections of 14.80m grading 4.27 g/t Au and 7.70m grading 2.74 g/t Au
(hole BBDD050), 6.50m grading 3.92 g/t Au (hole BBDD034), 5.20m grading 1.97
g/t Au (hole BBDD031), and 9.20m grading 1.31 g/t Au (hole
BBDD042) (announcements dated 20 December 2021
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/oriole_resources/news/regulatory_news/story/w3k32dr)
, 9 February 2022
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/oriole_resources/news/regulatory_news/story/r755m1w)
 and 15 September 2022
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/oriole_resources/news/regulatory_news/story/rdn7q4w)
). The mineralised corridor at Bakassi Zone 1 has been confirmed up to 150m
wide and contains a package of sub-vertical quartz-tourmaline veins as well as
extensional, sub-horizontal quartz veins.

 

In October 2022, the Company reported a maiden JORC-compliant Exploration
Target for the Bakassi Zone 1 prospect of between six million tonnes and
eight million tonnes at grades ranging from 1.50 to 1.70 g/t Au for between
290,00 and 440,000 oz Au. Within this model, prepared by independent
consultant Forge International Limited ('Forge'), mineralised zones with a
true width of up to 36.32m have been reported.

 

The Company today reports that Forge, together with its associate Axe Valley
Mining Consultants Ltd, is completing a pit optimisation study to convert the
Bakassi Zone 1 Exploration Target into a maiden MRE. This is expected to be in
the Inferred category and will be reported to the market later in December,
following completion of the Competent Person site visit that is currently in
progress.

 

Looking ahead to 2023, the Company anticipates completing an infill geophysics
(magnetic) survey during the first half of the year. Results of the initial
survey, whilst useful for targeting holes during the Phase 4 drilling
programme, showed a number of open-ended anomalies within the Lawa East and
Lawa West prospects and at the margin of the Bakassi Zone 1 grid. The infill
programme aims to fill the gaps in our data and provide a wider, more accurate
view of the controlling structures at the remaining three prospects on the
licence. It will also assist the team in developing its Resource-expansion
activities.

 

For further information on the Bibemi project, including a JORC Table 1,
please see the following page of the Company's website:
https://orioleresources.com/projects/central-licence-package/
(https://orioleresources.com/projects/central-licence-package/) .

 

CLP project

At the CLP project, located in the centre of Cameroon, nine contiguous
licences (six defined as Eastern CLP and three defined as Western CLP) cover a
land package that has significant potential for orogenic and epithermal style
gold mineralisation. Recently published maps by a World Bank-funded
prospectivity programme, 'PRECASEM', have confirmed that the CLP
project overlies the highest priority gold district identified by the
programme.

 

In August 2022, the Company reported completion of semi-regional (400m x 200m
spaced) soil sampling over six soil grids within the Eastern CLP, mostly
designed to target the source of the previously-identified stream-sediment
anomalism (announcement dated 2 November 2021). Results confirmed anomalous
gold in all five licences and delineated multiple 2-3km long gold-in-soil
anomalies across the Ndom, Pokor and Niambaram licences, as well as a broad
anomalous zone within the Mbe licence, where en-enchelon,
structurally-controlled trends are now confirmed to occupy a c.12.5km long by
3km wide corridor. Best results included 838 ppb Au (0.84 g/t Au), 520 ppb Au
and 463 ppb Au.

 

Figure 2: Location of soil sampling grids at CLP licences

 

The Company today reports that 1/15,000 scale mapping and rock-chip sampling
is currently underway over a c.48km(2) area at Mbe to help constrain the
source of the gold anomalism, which appears to have an east-northeast
structural control. Mapping has already been completed over former soil
sampling on Grid 6 and the results have guided the selection of 495 (of a
total 835) samples that were collected during the 2021/22 field season but
have not yet been analysed. Given the location of Grid 6, immediately to the
southwest of the 12.5km-long anomalous corridor, there is potential to further
extend the gold mineralisation at Mbe. The samples will be submitted for
analysis shortly, with results anticipated in Q1-2023. Once mapping is
complete at Mbe, the team will move to the other targets identified within the
licence package.

 

Figure 3: Gold-in-soil anomalism identified to date at the Mbe target within
the Eastern CLP

 

A ground-based magnetic survey is also being planned at Mbe for Q1-2023 in
order to help identify structures that could further assist in defining the
geological context of the gold anomalism at the prospect. The survey will be
carried out on northwest-southeast (N140˚) lines spaced 100m with survey
point spacing of 20m.

 

As previously reported, a review of multi-element data for the Grid 1 stream
sediment and soil sediment samples identified the potential for non-precious
metals to occur within the Eastern CLP (announcement dated 21 July 2022). More
specifically, anomalous lithium-in-soil values (up to 84 ppm) have been
identified in association with a porphyritic granite. A field reconnaissance
programme is underway to review whether there are pegmatite and aplite dykes
within the granite that could explain the concentration of lithium. These
studies are also underway at the newly-granted Gamboukou licence, immediately
to the south of Ndom. Gamboukou was targeted on the basis of having similar
geology and potential to Ndom and is prospective for gold, lithium and other
elements. Field reconnaissance at both licences will be followed by more
detailed mapping and rock-chip sampling.

 

The total area under licence at the CLP now stands at 4,091km(2) and the
application for the Maboum permit, immediately to the east of Mbe, is still
awaited.

 

Figure 4: Lithium anomalism identified to date within the Eastern CLP

 

Finally, in light of the ongoing land access issues in the three Western CLP
licences (announcement dated 28 September 2022), the Company is in discussion
with the Mining Ministry of Cameroon in respect of temporarily suspending
them, and all the Company's operational and financial obligations thereunder,
until a resolution is found.

 

 

For further information on the CLP project, including a JORC Table 1, please
see the following page of the Company's
website https://orioleresources.com/projects/central-licence-package/.

 

 

Competent Persons Statement

 

The information in this announcement that relates to the Exploration Target is
based on data compiled by Mr. Robert Davies, EurGeol, CGeol, an independent
consultant to Oriole. Mr Davies is a Director of Forge International
Limited. Mr Davies has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style
of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity
being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012
Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results,
Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Mr Davies consents to the inclusion in
the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in
which it appears.

The technical information in this release that relates to Exploration Results
and the planned exploration programme has been compiled by Claire
Bay (Executive Director, Exploration and Business Development). Claire
Bay (MGeol, CGeol) is a Competent Person as defined in the JORC code and
takes responsibility for the release of this information. Claire has reviewed
the information in this announcement and confirms that she is not aware of any
new information or data that materially affects the information reproduced
here.

 

 

** ENDS **

 

 

 

For further information please visit www.orioleresources.com
(http://www.orioleresources.com) ,  @OrioleResources on Twitter,

or contact:

 

 

 Oriole Resources Plc                     Tel: +44 (0)20 7830 9650
 Tim Livesey / Bob Smeeton / Claire Bay

 BlytheRay (IR/PR Contact)                Tel: +44 (0)20 7138 3204
 Tim Blythe / Megan Ray / Rachael Brooks

 Grant Thornton UK LLP                    Tel: +44 (0)20 7383 5100
 Samantha Harrison / George Grainger / Ciara Donnelly
 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP           Tel: +44 (0)20 3470 0470

 Ewan Leggat / Harry Davies-Ball

 

Notes to Editors:

 

Oriole Resources PLC is an AIM-listed exploration company, operating in West
Africa. It is focussed on early-stage exploration in Cameroon (Bibemi,
Wapouzé and Central Licence Package projects) and the more advanced Senala
gold project in Senegal, where IAMGOLD has the option to spend US$8
million to earn a 70% interest. Under the terms of the Option Agreement,
IAMGOLD has recently met its first commitment by spending US$4
million within an initial four years and will shortly acquire a 51% interest
in Senala. The Company also has several interests and royalties in companies
operating in East Africa and Turkey that could deliver future cash flow.

.

 

 

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