Sharecast - The AIM-traded firm said the maiden JORC-compliant resource estimate, delivered in December, reported a total of 305,000 troy ounces of gold with a grade of 2.19 grams per tonne for Bakassi Zone 1, one of the four prospects within the Bibemi project.
In addition, an exploration target was also identified for Bakassi Zone 1, estimating an additional 1.5 million to 2.2 million tonnes at grades ranging from 1.10 to 2.10 grams per tonne, potentially adding between 53,000 and 148,000 ounces of gold.
Both the resource estimate and exploration target at Bakassi Zone 1 remained open at depth and along strike to the northeast, indicating the potential for further expansion.
The Bibemi project also held promise for identifying additional resources at the other three prospects within the licence area, namely Bakassi Zone 2, Lawa West, and Lawa East.
Oriole (LON:ORR) said those prospects were located within a few kilometres of Bakassi Zone 1.
To support the expansion of the resource estimate and identify potential resources at the other prospects, Oriole recently completed an infill ground magnetics programme.
The programme aimed to provide more comprehensive and detailed coverage compared to the prospect-level data acquired in 2022.
It said the collected data was currently scheduled for processing in the second half of the year, which would aid in determining drill targets for resource expansion at Bakassi Zone 1 and the other prospects, all of which had shown evidence of gold mineralization.
In addition to the geophysics programme, Oriole said it had initiated local-level technical studies, including a baseline environmental impact assessment.
“Following the delivery of our JORC-compliant maiden Resource in December, our team has focussed on the identification of additional targets to expand and extend the global resource at the project,” said chief executive officer Tim Livesey,
“The detailed geophysical interpretations from this new dataset are still being processed but the early imagery clearly indicates a much finer structural detail than had previously been visible, and one that we already know to be highly significant with respect to controlling gold deposition.
“With a very high success rate on our drilling programmes in 2021-2022, we are seeking to use this new data to further refine targets, both to extend the existing resource at Bakassi Zone 1, and to identify additional resources within the project, by drill testing significant gold anomalism and mineralisation previously identified - and in some cases intersected by drilling - at Bakassi Zone 2, Lawa West and Lawa East.”
Livesey said the four gold prospects were at most three kilometres apart.
“Due to this proximity, we believe there is a good potential to develop a substantial global, economic resource, comprising a series of open pits centred on these prospects and a centralised ore processing facility.”
At 1204 BST, shares in Oriole Resources were up 10.53% at 0.21p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.