Aim-listed Oriole Resources has announced further positive drill results at its 90%-owned Mbe orogenic gold project, in Cameroon, including the start of a Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant exploration target study for the MB01 prospect.

Results from drill hole MBDD013 revealed further mineralised gold intersections from the maiden Phase 1 drilling programme, using a 0.20 g/t gold lower cutoff grade.

Among these results was 2 m at 3.21 g/t gold from 149 m, including 1 m at 6.03 g/t gold; 6.35 m at 0.52 g/t gold from 3.8 m, including 2 m at 1.03 g/t gold; and 1 m at 3.24 g/t gold from 128.1 m.

Hole MBDD013 was drilled at the western limit of fence line N872582, which also delivered several wide zones of gold mineralisation including 21.3 m at 1.61 g/t gold from 2.4 m in hole MBDD012.

Oriole said on June 24 that the fully funded Phase 1 drilling programme at the MB01-S target was now more than 70% complete, with 4 918.9 m drilled to date, and with 16 holes completed. A seventeenth hole is currently in progress. The results from holes MBDD014 to MBDD017 are expected in the third quarter.

Oriole said the results reported to date have confirmed sub-surface mineralisation over a strike length of at least 200 m, a width of up to 400 m and to a vertical depth of at least 290 m. The system remains open in all directions and at depth.

The results for holes MBDD001 to MBDD013, as well as results from the 2024 trenching programmes, will now be used to produce a Jorc-compliant exploration target estimation for the MB01 prospect. The results of this work are expected to be published early in the third quarter and will provide early guidance on the resource potential of the project, the company said. 

The drilling programme is currently scheduled for completion in the third quarter and the company expects to publish an independent consultant's maiden, pit-constrained mineral resource estimate in the fourth quarter. Oriole expects the project could be mined using openpit mining methods.

“The Mbe maiden drilling programme continues to make good progress. Importantly, now that we have the results for holes MBDD001 to MBDD013, and along with the 2024 trenching programmes' data, our independent consultant can produce a Jorc-compliant exploration target estimation for the MB01 prospect. 

“We anticipate that the estimate will . . . provide valued early guidance on the resource potential of the project," Oriole CEO Martin Rossier said.