Oriole Resources : intercepts 'bonanza' gold grades at 90%-owned Bibemi project in Cameroon

The AIM-listed company also provided a positive exploration update on its 90%-owned Wapouzé gold project in Cameroon

Oriole Resources PLC (AIM:ORR) said it intercepted "bonanza" gold grades at its 90%-owned Bibemi project in Cameroon.

Bonanza grades are defined as being equal to or greater than 31.10 grammes a tonne (g/t) of gold.

A recently completed Phase 3 diamond drilling programme at the Bakassi Zone 1 prospect delivered mineralised intervals of up to 9.20 metres (m) grading 1.31 g/t and 2.10m at 19.04 g/t, including the bonanza intersection of 1.10m at 36.06 g/t.

"The Phase 3 infill and extension drilling has again delivered multiple gold intersections at the Bakassi Zone 1 target, confirming our ideas on the prospectivity of the area," said chief executive Tim Livesey. "This programme has given us additional geological, structural and mineralisation data with which we move closer to the definition of an 'Exploration Target', under JORC rules.

"We are pleased that the infill drilling in particular has given us such good correlation with previous intersections and we are working to continue the development of our exploration targeting model at Bakassi Zone 1."

The results confirmed that the mineralised corridor at Bakassi Zone 1 extends over widths of up to 150m and over a strike length of more than 1km.

"It is important to note that Bakassi Zone 1 remains open along strike in both directions and at depth," Livesey said.

"Learnings from this programme will also be applied across the other three target areas on the project, where we are yet to carry out any additional drilling and where we have evidence of gold systems from previous work by our team," he said.

The AIM-listed company also provided an exploration update on its 90%-owned Wapouzé gold project in Cameroon.

In the final quarter of 2021, Oriole completed a soil sampling programme of over the southwest extent of the licence and trenching over previously identified soil anomalies at the Bataol Zone in the east.

The best result from the five trenches completed was 2.0m at 4.06 g/t of gold.

"Previous sampling at the project had identified extensive surface anomalies, with some significant gold grades in soils," said Livesey.

"As we better understand the local geology and the likely influences of structure on the mineralisation here, as at Bibemi to the south, the team continues to develop the exploration programme with a view to identifying drill targets."