Oriole Resources PLC (AIM:ORR) shares strengthened further in Tuesday's trade, thanks to its high-grade results from its maiden drilling programme at the Mbe gold project in Cameroon.
Results from three additional holes delivered 31 gold-bearing intersections, including 6.15 metres at 19.67 grams per tonne gold with a one-metre interval at 119.1 grams per tonne.
The company said the new results extend mineralisation beyond its current model, with the sub-surface system open in all directions. Rock chip samples from artisanal pits outside the defined target also returned grades up to 13.1 grams per tonne.
"The latest drilling results for Mbe are significant for several reasons," chief executive Martin Rosser said in a statement.
"Firstly, they confirm the potential for very high grades within the deposit, consistent with what we have already confirmed at surface. Secondly, they extend the known gold system boundaries, which has the potential to enhance the size of the recently published Mbe Exploration Target and the maiden MRE for MB01-S, which is earmarked for Q4-2025.
"Finally, with the system remaining open in all directions, the potential scale of Mbe is currently uncapped and is therefore hugely exciting."
In total, the Phase 1 programme is more than 90% complete, with over 6,400 metres drilled. An independent consultant has completed a site visit ahead of a maiden mineral resource estimate for the MB01-S target, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025.
In London, at 0.46p per share Oriole is up over 130% from Friday's closing price of 0.2p.
“Today’s higher-grade results have been delivered outside of the existing mineralisation model, supporting potential for the MRE to increase,” stockbroker SP Angel said in a note.
The broker noted that Oriole is advancing metallurgical work at the same time as expanding the scale of the project. “We look forward to further test results as they explore fine grinding, Albion process and various oxidation processes,” SP Angel added.