REG - Oriole Resources PLC - Licence Renewal for Wapouzé Limestone Property

Oriole ResourcesAnnouncement

29/01/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 0290V  Oriole Resources PLC  29 January 2025

Oriole Resources PLC

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

 

Licence Renewal Granted for the Wapouzé Limestone Property, Cameroon

 

Oriole Resources (AIM: ORR), the AIM-quoted exploration company focused
on West and Central Africa, is pleased to provide an update for its
85%-owned Wapouzé limestone property ('Wapouzé' or the 'Property')
in northern Cameroon.

 

Highlights

 

·    The Wapouzé licence has been renewed for a further term of two
years, with an approved work programme focussed on limestone exploration.

·    Although initially explored for gold, samples from outcropping
limestone showed suitable chemistry to be classified as high-grade carbonate
material, potentially suitable for use predominantly within the cement
industry in Cameroon.

·    There may also be a significant use for a potential limestone product
in Cameroon's nascent gold mining sector. Limestone products such as hydrated
lime and quicklime are utilised to adjust the pH levels during ore processing,
reduce cyanide use in leaching operations, and as an acid water neutraliser
for wastewater to prevent deleterious acid mine drainage.

·    Approval for a change of substance at Wapouzé, from gold to
limestone, was given in September 2023 but exploration work has been on hold
pending this critical renewal.

·    The cement industry in Cameroon is believed to be worth in the order
of £700 million per year, largely dependent upon the import of clinker, a raw
material made from cement-quality limestone.

·    Oriole is now focused on securing an industrial minerals partner to
develop Wapouzé through to commercial exploitation on an expedited basis.

·    Securing a royalty-based payment on potential material extracted
could provide a valuable income stream for Oriole in Cameroon.

 

 

Oriole Resources CEO, Martin Rosser, said: "The renewal of the Wapouzé
licence is very good news and we are hopeful that we will be able to attract
an industrial minerals partner to determine a commercially viable limestone
deposit and fast track it through to commercial exploitation.  In turn, this
could generate significant royalty income to Oriole, provide a diversified
revenue stream, and would be a win-win for the Company and Cameroon, as the
government is keen to reduce the country's reliance on importing clinker for
use in cement manufacture."

 

 

Further Details

 

Wapouzé is located 20 kilometres ('km') to the north of the Company's more
advanced Bibemi gold exploration project in northern Cameroon.  Between 2019
and 2022, the Company completed soil sampling and trenching programmes that
identified multiple gold-in-soil anomalies (announcements dated 18 March
2019, 6 June 2019 and 9 February 2022) but ultimately the Property was deemed
less prospective for gold than Bibemi.

 

However, a comprehensive review of the data highlighted that the large
quantity of carbonate material outcropping within the licence area, as
previously identified by geological mapping (announcement dated 18 March
2019), could be suitable for industrial use and therefore presented an
attractive commercial opportunity for the Company.

 

During 2022, a series of 14 rock chip samples over carbonate outcrops (mapped
as marble and metamorphosed limestone) were collected and analysed by a
laboratory using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to assess the limestone's
suitability for use in the cement industry.  All samples contained
appropriate concentrations of silica ('SiO(2)') ranging from <0.01
percentage by weight ('wt%') to 1.58wt%.  Thirteen of the 14 samples returned
low magnesium oxide ('MgO') concentrations (0.40 - 0.8wt%) and high calcium
oxide ('CaO') concentrations (54.2 - 55.3wt%) (see Table 1 below) and would
therefore be classified as high-grade carbonate material suitable for use in
cement production.  In addition, some of the product may be suitable for use
as an important chemical in Cameroon's promising gold mining sector.
 Limestone products such as hydrated lime and quicklime are utilised to
adjust the pH levels during ore processing, reduce cyanide use in leaching
operations, and as an acid water neutraliser for wastewater to prevent
deleterious acid mine drainage.

 

The single sample that did not fit these criteria had high MgO and low CaO
concentrations, indicating dolomitised material which, based on
ground-truthing by the team, is believed to cover only a localised area of
limited extent.

 

 Sample type                         Number of samples  Average CaO (wt%)  Average SiO(2) (wt%)  Average MgO (wt%)
 Carbonate                           13                 54.6               0.66*                 0.66
 Carbonate (partial dolomitisation)  1                  32.4               1.53                  19.1
 * one sample returned SiO(2) < detection limit of 0.01wt%, value was
 replaced with 0.005wt% for the average calculation

 

 

Due to the confirmation of high-grade carbonate material within the licence
area, Oriole proceeded to apply for a change of commodity for the Wapouzé
licence, from gold to limestone, and this change was approved in September
2023.

 

Recently, Cameroon has seen substantial foreign investment made into expanding
its cement manufacturing capacity, and the government is keen to see its
reliance on imported clinker and the domestic price of cement reduce
significantly.

 

The Company today announces that the licence renewal underpinning that
commodity change has been approved for a two-year term.  The Company has an
85% beneficial ownership in the Property and is intending to transfer the
licence to its own investment vehicle (announcement dated 17 October 2024).

 

Oriole will now look to secure an industry partner that will advance Wapouzé
towards resource definition, development and exploitation on an expedited
basis.  Oriole is ultimately looking to achieve royalty-based income from a
commercial scale quarrying operation, likely to be based upon the volume of
material extracted, which would provide valuable in-country revenue that could
be used for funding some of its gold and lithium-based exploration in
Cameroon.

 

For further information on Wapouzé, including maps and a JORC Table 1, please
see the following page of the Company's
website https://orioleresources.com/projects/wapouze/
(https://orioleresources.com/projects/wapouze/) .

 

 

Competent Persons Statement

 

The technical information in this release that relates to Exploration Results
and the planned exploration programme has been compiled by Mrs Claire Bay
(Executive Director).  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.

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute
inside information as stipulated under the retained EU law version of the
Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK
law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.  The information
is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of
the UK MAR.  Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside
information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

 

** ENDS **

 

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

 

 Oriole Resources Plc                      Tel: +44 (0)23 8065 1649
 Martin Rosser / Bob Smeeton / Claire Bay

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

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

 Ewan Leggat

 

Notes to Editors:

 

Oriole Resources PLC is an AIM-listed gold exploration company, with projects
in West and Central Africa.  It is focussed on early-stage exploration in
Cameroon, where the Company has reported a Resource of 375,000 oz Au at
2.30g/t in the JORC Inferred category at its 90% owned Bibemi project and has
identified multi-kilometre gold and lithium anomalies within the
district-scale Central Licence Package project.  BCM International is
currently earning up to a 50% interest in the Bibemi and Mbe projects in
return for a combined investment of US$1.5 million in signature payments, up
to US$8 million in exploration expenditure, as well as JORC resource-based
success payments.

 

At the Senala gold project in Senegal, AGEM Senegal Exploration Suarl
('AGEM'), a wholly owned subsidiary of Managem Group, has recently completed a
six-year earn-in to acquire an estimated 59% beneficial interest in the Senala
Exploration Licence by spending US$5.8 million.  A review of expenditure and
discussions on the formation of a joint-venture company are currently
underway.  The Company also has several interests and royalties in companies
operating in East Africa and Turkey that could give future cash payments.

 

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