Oriole Resources PLC (AIM:ORR) has received a two-year licence extension for its 90%-owned Bibemi orogenic gold project in Cameroon.
Under Cameroonian law, there is no mandatory ground relinquishment required on renewal and, as such, the company has maintained the full 177 square kilometre licence area.
The non-renewable extension is valid until 26 September 2024, at which point the company will need to apply for an exploitation licence.
Exploration to date at the project has identified shear-hosted gold mineralisation at four main prospects: Bakassi Zone 1, Bakassi Zone 2, Lawa West and Lawa East.
Bakassi Zone 1 is the most advanced in terms of work completed.
Since the first quarter of 2021, Oriole Resources has completed four phases of diamond drilling for a total of 6,685.40 metres in 54 holes.
The majority of the drilling has been focussed on a circa one kilometre section at the southern end of the Bakassi Zone 1 prospect, and has delivered best intersections of 14.8 metres grading 4.27 grammes per tonne, and 7.7 metres grading 2.74 grams.
The mineralised corridor at Bakassi Zone 1 is up to 150 metres wide and contains a package of sub-vertical quartz-tourmaline veins as well as extensional, sub-horizontal quartz veins. The system remains open along strike and at depth.
The latest Phase 4 drilling has supported the potential for mineable widths of mineralisation at the project and estimation of a JORC exploration target for Bakassi Zone 1 is now underway, with delivery anticipated early in the current quarter.
"We are pleased to have received this two- year extension for Bibemi,” said Oriole Resources chief executive Tim Livesey.
“Having only started drilling at the project a year and a half ago, we have been able to move quickly to test our priority targets and look forward to reporting a JORC exploration target shortly.”