Oriole Resources PLC provided an update for its 82.2%-owned Bibemi orogenic gold project (Bibemi or the Project) in Cameroon, where a Phase 5 diamond drilling programme has been planned and is scheduled to commence in second quarter of 2024. Highlights: In January 2024, the Company reported an updated pit-constrained Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Bakassi Zone 1 prospect (Bakassi Zone 1) of 5.1 million tonnes grading 2.30 grammes per tonnes (g/t) gold (Au) for approximately375,000 ounces (oz) Au in the JORC Inferred Resources category. The MRE remains open along strike to the northeast and at depth; Subsequent interpretation of ground-based geophysics data has identified eight point targets and six elongated targets across the survey area; The elongated targets are parallel to the known shear zones and largely represent untested zones along-strike of known mineralisation trends; The results have been used to update the company?s Phase 5 diamond drilling programme, which has been planned for 7,060 metres (m) in 62 holes, with the new locations being based on a combination of surface exploration data and ground magnetics data; A total of 4,560m in 37 holes has been planned as infill and extensional drilling at the existing Bakassi Zone 1 MRE zone, focussed on upgrading and expanding the current MRE; A further 2,500m in 25 holes has been planned largely to test two areas, BZ1-NE and BZ1-SW, which are proximal to two geophysics targets that are along-strike extensions to Bakassi Zone 1 and have coincident gold anomalism and quartz veining at surface.

These shallow holes are focussed on identifying additional, near-surface Resources within 1 to 2 kilometres (km) of the existing MRE; Mobilisation of the drilling equipment is currently underwayand the programme is scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2024. At the Bibemi orogenic gold project in northern Cameroon (177km2 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 the first quarter of 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, 9 February 2022 and 15 September 2022). The shear corridor at Bakassi Zone 1 has been confirmed up to 150m wide and contains a package of steeply-dipping quartz-tourmaline veins as well as extensional, sub-horizontal quartz veins. Both vein sets appear to be mineralised.

In January 2024, the Company reported an updated MRE for the Bakassi Zone 1, as part of ongoing technical studies to support the application for an exploitation licence later this year. The MRE for Bakassi Zone 1 now stands at 5.1 million tonnes grading 2.30 g/t Au for approximately 375,000 oz Au in the JORC Inferred Resources category, based on a 0.45 g/t Au cut off and within a USD 2,000/oz gold price pit shell (announcement dated 15 January 2024). During the first quarter of 2024, Terra Resources (Terra) completed an interpretation of geophysics (ground magnetic) data collected by the Company in 2023.

Two broadly parallel NE-SW positive magnetic trends dominate the central and northeastern part of the survey (covering Bakassi Zone 1 and Bakassi Zone 2) and represent the known shear zone. A less pronounced NE-SW magnetic trend is present in the southern half of the survey area (around Lawa West and Lawa East) with an influence of ENE-WSW positive magnetic trends. Terra has identified eight point targets, over areas of interpreted remnant pyrrhotite mineralisation, and six elongated targets across the 34 km2 survey area which covered all four prospects.

The point targets relate to zones of coincident low magnetic susceptibility and high magnetic vector inversion, whereas the elongated targets represent areas which share multiple geological and magnetic characteristics with BZ1-MRE. The elongated targets represent largely untested zones along-strike of known mineralisation trends or parallel to the known shear zones. The targets are adjacent to negative magnetic ENE-WSW trends that crosscut the NE-SW shear-related magnetic trends, interpreted to reflect magnetic destruction by hydrothermal fluids, and also sit between ENE-WSW or NW-SE trending faults that are interpreted to correspond with breaks in the mineralisation, as seen at BZ1-MRE.