Aim-listed Oriole Resources has completed a Phase 5 drilling programme at its 90%-owned Bibemi orogenic gold project, in Cameroon, for a total of 6 915.40 m in 56 holes at the Bakassi Zone 1 (BZ1) prospect, over three sub-prospects: BZ1-MRE, BZ1-NW and BZ1-SW.

Results for the remaining seven holes in the programme (BBDD103 to 109), representing infill drilling at the BZ1-MRE zone, are expected this quarter.

Subject to receiving these final Phase 5 results, a review of all drilling data to date (about 13 600 m in 110 holes) will be conducted.

It is expected that the infill drilling results at BZ1-MRE, and subsequent review of the complete drilling dataset, will enable a partial upgrade of the existing Australasian Joint Ore Reserve Committee Code inferred mineral resource estimate (MRE) to the measured and/or indicated categories.

The MRE is also expected to benefit from significantly improved gold price assumptions.

Bibemi currently has an inferred MRE of 375 000 oz contained gold, grading at 2.30 g/t gold, based only on drilling data from phases 1 to 4 and a $2 000/oz gold price.

CEO Martin Rosser says the company will make a detailed announcement on the next steps once it has assimilated and reviewed all the data from the campaign.

“Although the programme has ended and the team has worked tirelessly throughout the programme, the completion of drilling is somewhat later than we had originally planned. This was largely due to factors beyond our control.

“However, we also have worked hard to deliver efficiencies across the group. We are confident that this will allow the Mbe drilling programme to continue at a swifter pace, which is what we have seen to date with the programme already being 25% complete,” Rosser indicates.

“The decision has been made to continue the drilling programme at Mbe with a single rig so that we can optimally manage the exploration programme, including, most importantly, the structural model interpretation.

“However, the company will keep a watching brief on this. Currently, the programme is advancing at an appropriately measured pace whilst the company works to delineate a mineral resource,” he adds.