Cameroon
Bibemi and Wapouzé are early-stage gold exploration projects, covering highly prospective Neoproterozoic Pan-African greenstone belts in north-eastern Cameroon. Oriole has the option to earn a 90% interest by spending US$3.12m.
The Company’s interests in the projects are held 100% by local company BEIG3 through its wholly-owned subsidiary, RMC Cameroon SARL, formerly held in JV with Reservoir Minerals Corporation. The majority of work to date has been completed at the Bibemi licence.
BEIG3 Option Agreement
Under the terms of the Option Agreement, the Company will earn an initial 51% of both Projects by funding US$1.56m of exploration over the next two years. Thereafter, Oriole can earn a further 39% for an additional U$1.56m exploration expenditure, or on the completion of a pre-feasibility study on at least one of the Projects, over the subsequent two years. BEIG3 will retain a 10% free carried interest in both projects up to completion of the Second Option or the completion of a pre-feasibility study on at least one of the Projects.
Bibemi
Bibemi (202 km2 ) is held by BEIG3’s wholly-owned subsidiary Reservoir Minerals (BVI) Cameroon.
Surface exploration – predominantly stream sediment, soil, rock and trench sampling – on the Bibemi project to date has focused on the central Bakassi area of the licence where gold is predominantly hosted in a series of irregular quartz veins. Three parallel NNE-trending mineralised trends were identified on the licence by former operator Reservoir Minerals Inc., over a strike distance of c.20km. Historic best results from 7,744 trench samples included 8.5m @ 4.04g/t Au and 6.2m @ 8.05g/t Au (Reservoir announcement dated 18 November 2014).
In July and August, the Company undertook mapping and a rock-chip sampling programme on the Bakassi area. A total of 454 rock chips samples were taken from quartz and quartz-tourmaline veins, and the host wall rock. Best results include 135.4 g/t Au, 119.7 g/t Au, 117.2 g/t Au and 107.2 g/t Au, with 16 samples returning >10 g/t Au and 43 samples assaying >1 g/t Au. The results extended the previously defined NE-trending ‘Zone 1’ gold anomaly to more than 4km in strike, as well as defining parallel zones of mineralisation (100-200 m to the east) extending over 500 m. The mineralisation is off-set in places by late NW-trending faulting. Results also confirmed mineralisation in Zone 2, a parallel NE-trending zone c.1km to the east, where results up to 35.9 g/t Au have extended the known mineralisation to over 1km.
In Q1-2019, the Company completed Phase 1 trenching on 200m-spaced lines for a total of 8,742m (22 trenches). To date, results have been received for 3,608 samples from the first 13 trenches (BT-001 to BT-013) and have confirmed multiple zones of orogenic-type mineralisation, with best results of 6m @ 3.02 g/t Au (BT-010) and 1.4m @ 6.31 g/t Au and 1.2m @ 1.48 g/t Au (BT-005) (Table 1). Mineralisation is associated with quartz and quartz-tourmaline veins hosted in amphibolite schist and granodiorite, commonly enveloped by wider zones of sericite-chlorite-epidote alteration. Results for the remainder of the Phase 1 trenching programme are anticipated by early Q2-2019.
Fourteen channel samples taken across individual quartz veins within the trenches have also confirmed the potential for higher-grade mineralisation with best results of 13.70 g/t Au from 25cm quartz-tourmaline vein and 9.55 g/t Au over 10cm from a quartz vein in trench BT-010.
On the basis of results received to date, a Phase 2 infill trenching (100m spacing) will shortly commence across the most prospective areas, for a planned 4,360m.
Bibemi JORC Table 1
Wapouzé
Wapouzé (180 km2 ) is held by BEIG3’s wholly-owned subsidiary Reservoir Minerals (BVI) Cameroon.
Located 20 km north of Bibemi, and in a similar geological setting, the main gold anomaly is located in the east of the licence. Reservoir Minerals conducted 1.5/ km2 stream sediment sampling between 2011 and 2015 and results (with 269 out of 573 samples analysed) included 14 samples >10ppb Au, 6 samples >25ppb Au and 3 samples >50ppb Au. The main anomalous structure follows the same orientation as at Bibemi and additional zones showing signs of mineralisation have been identified for follow-up.
Systematic soil sampling has recently been completed on a 400m by 100m grid to test the eastern portion of the licence for a total of 2,119 samples. Results, up to 531 ppb Au, have identified two main zones of NE-trending mineralisation, associated with quartz veins hosted within a NE-trending package of sheared lithologies (amphibolite, diorite, marble and granodiorite) – the Bataol Zone (8km x 5km) in the north-east of the licence, which covers the previously identified stream sediment anomaly and the Bizdar Zone (2km x 4km) in the south-east of the licence.
At the Bataol Zone, multiple parallel >10 ppb Au anomalies have been defined, including an 8km-long by 0.2km-wide NE-trending anomaly. Multiple further anomalies have been defined in the Bidzar Zone, one of which (0.4km x 0.1km anomaly, >60 ppb Au) is supported by a 7.36 g/t Au selective rock-chip sample from an outcropping quartz vein. An infill soil sampling programme (to 200m x 100m) is now planned at the Bataol Zone and will commence shortly.
Wapouze JORC Table 1