Aim-listed Oriole Resources has been granted another ten-year tenure for the 472 km² Dalafin land package under a new licence called Senala, based in the highly prospective south-eastern corner of Senegal.

The company in the year ended December 31, 2019, also applied for an additional eight licences in Cameroon, which, coupled with its two existing licences, provides for an extensive 3 500 m² licence package in the country.  

Oriole has done extensive exploration work at the Bibemi and Wapouzé licences in Cameroon, including 12 500 m of trenching at Bibemi, delivering best results of up to 9 m grading 3.14 g/t gold.

However, with Cameroon’s borders being closed amid Covid-19 contingencies and restrictions, the company expects limited exploration work to happen in Cameroon in the next three months.

The company has advised that directors and senior management have taken reduced salaries in the meantime, to preserve the company’s cash reserves in anticipation of the proposed drilling campaign later this year.

On the other hand, the Senala licence has seen continued exploration success, with help from earn-in partner Iamgold Corporation, which will undertake a 10 000 m aircore drilling programme over three years at the Faré target within the licence area.

After the year ended, Oriole made the first successful step in its asset realisation programme by selling its holding in Tembo Gold Corporation for £170 000, as well as closed a placing of equity to raise £240 000.

“During 2019, the company has worked hard to develop its West Africa portfolio, with significant investment made into the group’s exploration programmes and partnerships.

“Substantial progress has also been made on our investment and royalty portfolio, with management actively moving to monetise noncore assets in order to fund ongoing exploration activities in Cameroon and thus minimise the company’s requirement for dilutionary equity funds,” says nonexecutive chairperson John McGloin.

Oriole’s strategy is to develop a portfolio of exploration projects for gold and base metals, and identify potential partners to take them into the advanced exploration and mine development stages.

To this end, the company regularly reviews potential new projects and maintains an active dialogue with potential investment and joint venture partners.