REG - Oriole Resources PLC - Wapouzé Project Update, Cameroon

Oriole ResourcesAnnouncement

27/09/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 7392N  Oriole Resources PLC  27 September 2023

Oriole Resources PLC

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

 

Wapouzé Project Update, Cameroon

 

Oriole Resources (AIM: ORR), the AIM-quoted exploration company focussed
on West Africa, is pleased to provide an exploration update for its
90%-owned Wapouzé project ('Wapouzé' or 'the Project') in northern
Cameroon.

 

Highlights

 

·    A review of the historical data in 2022-2023 determined that gold
prospectivity at Wapouzé was lower than that at the Group's nearby Bibemi
project. However, it highlighted the potential for cement-quality limestone
within the licence area;

·    Thirteen out of fourteen rock chip samples from outcropping limestone
returned suitable chemistry to be classified as high-grade carbonate material,
suitable for use within the cement industry;

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

·    Oriole submitted a formal request for a change of substance at the
Wapouzé licence area from gold to industrial minerals, which has now been
approved by the Ministry of Mines;

·    The licence is currently undergoing a renewal process and is now with
the Presidency for approval;

·    Once the renewal is granted, Oriole will look to secure an industrial
minerals partner to develop the Wapouzé project through to exploitation on an
expedited basis;

·    Oriole is looking to secure a royalty-based payment on the material
extracted to help provide an income stream in Cameroon.

 

 

Oriole Resources CEO, Tim Livesey, said: "Once the team identified the
potential for cement-grade limestone deposits on the Wapouzé licence, we
shifted focus and moved to evaluate alternative routes to deliver value,
besides our primary goal of gold exploration in Cameroon.

"With the potential to deliver feedstock for the cement industry in this
region, we hope to attract a local industry partner for Wapouzé. By realising
the alternative value from this licence, we hope to provide ongoing funding to
support our future gold exploration programmes at both Bibemi and in the
Central Licence Package."

 

 

Further Details

 

At the Wapouzé project, located 20 kilometres ('km') to the north of the
Company's more advanced Bibemi gold project, soil sampling programmes
undertaken in 2019 identified multiple gold-in-soil anomalies within
the Bataol Zone in the north-east, including an 8km-long northeast-trending
anomaly, which returned up to 531 parts per billion ('ppb') gold ('Au') (0.53
grammes per tonne ('g/t') Au), and a parallel 2.8km-long anomaly
(Announcements dated 18 March 2019 and 6 June 2019).

 

Two trenching programmes were conducted in 2021; a pilot trenching programme
of three trenches (WPT001 to WPT003) which did not return any significant
intersections (Announcement dated 6 April 2021), and a further five trenches
(WPT004 to WPT008) at regional spacing of 500 meters ('m') to 1km and
totalling 2,524m. This second phase of trenching returned best intersections
of 2.00m at 4.06 g/t Au (WPT007), 1.50m at 0.53 g/t Au and 2.00m at 0.50 g/t
Au (WPT008), and 2.00m at 0.53 g/t Au (WPT006) (Announcement dated 9 February
2022).

 

During 2022, the team conducted a comprehensive review of the trenching data,
and all historical data available for Wapouzé, concluding that the project
area was less prospective for gold than Bibemi. However, 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
lab-based X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to assess their 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 1.58 wt%. 13
of the 14 samples returned low magnesium oxide ('MgO') concentrations (0.40 -
0.8 wt%) and high calcium oxide ('CaO') concentrations (54.2 - 55.3 wt%)
(Table 1). 13 of the 14 samples would therefore be classified as high-grade
carbonate material suitable for use in cement production. 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.

 

Table 1: Summary of the XRF results for fourteen rock chips from the Wapouze
licence area

 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 dolomitization)  1                  32.4               1.53                  19.1
 * one sample returned SiO(2) < detection limit of 0.01 wt%, value was
 replaced with 0.005 wt% for the average calculation

 

Due to the confirmation of high-grade carbonate material within the licence
area, and the gold potential being significantly lower than at the Bibemi and
the CLP projects, Oriole proceeded to apply for a change of commodity for the
Wapouzé licence. Oriole has been informed that the change has been approved
by the Ministry of Mines; however, a wider licence renewal process is now
underway and is awaiting approval by the Secretary General of the Presidency
of Cameroon.

 

Once the renewal has been approved, Oriole will look to secure a partner that
will advance the project towards resource definition, development and
exploitation on an expedited basis. Oriole is ultimately looking to achieve a
royalty-based payment for the Project, likely based upon volume of material
extracted, which would provide in-country revenue that can be redirected
towards its gold and lithium-based exploration at Bibemi and the CLP.

 

For further information on the Wapouzé project, 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 information in this release that relates to Exploration Results 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 **

 

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.

 

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
 Tim Livesey / 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
 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 gold exploration company, operating
in West Africa. It is focussed on early-stage exploration
in Cameroon, where the Company has a maiden Resource of 305,000 oz Au at
2.19g/t in the JORC Inferred category at the Bibemi project and has identified
multi-kilometre gold and lithium anomalism within the district-scale Central
Licence Package project. At the more advanced Senala gold project in Senegal,
Oriole was advised by IAMGOLD on 26 April 2023 that AGEM Senegal
Exploration Suarl ('AGEM') was now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Managem
Group. As previously announced, AGEM has earned an initial 51% beneficial
interest in the Senala Exploration Licence by spending US$4 million and has
the option to spend up to a further US$4 million by 28 February 2024 to
earn an additional 19% interest in the licence. A Reverse Circulation drilling
programme is planned for Q4, 2023 as part of AGEM's Year 6 programme at
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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