Oriole Resources an exploration company focused on West Africa, has announced that it has secured a controlling position in Reservoir Minerals Cameroon Sarl, a former subsidiary of Bureau d’Etudes et d’Investigations Géologico-minières, Géotechniques et Géophysiques SARL, for its early-stage exploration licences in Cameroon.
Following completion of an initial funding commitment of US $1.56m over two years at the Bibemi and Wapouzé projects in northern Cameroon, the Company has now formalised its 51% ownership of the local holding company, RMC Sarl, that also holds three of the newly-granted licenses in central Cameroon. Completion of the drilling programme at Bibemi is expected to see the Company meet its second expenditure commitment to acquire a 90% interest in all five licenses.
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Exploration Licenses in Cameroon
Under the terms of an Option Agreement signed in June 2018, the Company recently completed US $1.56m of exploration funding at BEIG3’s Bibemi and Wapouzé gold projects in return for an initial 51% interest. The Company has confirmed that is has formalised its majority ownership of the projects through the acquisition of a 51% interest in the local holding company RMC Sarl, a former wholly-owned subsidiary of BEIG3.
At the more advanced Bibemi project, a maiden drilling programme is currently underway for a planned 3,080m in 28 holes. Recently reported results for the first hole have confirmed the continuity of the orogenic gold system to more than 90m below surface, with a best intersection of 1m grading 4.09 grammes per tonne (‘g/t’) gold (‘Au’). Further results from the programme are expected throughout Q2-2021. At the Wapouzé project, located 20km to the north, a recent 150m pilot trenching programme across of portion of the 8km-long gold-in-soil anomaly has not returned any significant intersections. The team is currently reviewing all data, including what it is seeing in the drill core at Bibemi, ahead of potential follow-up work later in the year.
The Company has also acquired, at no additional cost, a 51% interest in RMC Sarl’s recently-granted Mana, Dogon and Sanga licenses in central Cameroon. These licenses, together with the five licenses held through the Company’s 90%-owned local subsidiary, Oriole Cameroon Sarl, are part of a contiguous, district-scale land package that covers 3,592km2 of highly prospective geological terrane. An orientation study has recently been completed at the licenses ahead of a package-wide mapping and stream sediment sampling programme, planned to commence later this quarter.
Completion of the drilling programme at Bibemi is expected to see the Company meets its second commitment to earn a 90% interest in all five licenses, after which BEIG3 will have a 10% free-carried interest in each of the licenses up until the definition of a minimum Measured and Indicated resource of 50,000 ounces of gold with Oriole having the remaining beneficial interest. Thereafter, funding will be pro-rata on a contribute or dilute basis.
