Final Results and Notice of AGM

RNS Number : 2910H

Oriole Resources PLC

24 March 2020

 

Oriole Resources plc / Index: AIM / Epic: ORR / Sector: Mining

Oriole Resources PLC 

('Oriole' or 'the Company' or 'the Group')

Final Results and Notice of AGM

Oriole Resources, the AIM-quoted exploration company focused on West Africa, announces its final results for the year ended 31 December 2019.

Copies of the Company's Annual Report will be posted to shareholders on or before 9 April 2020. The Company's Annual General Meeting will be held at 1.00pm on 26 May 2020 at its offices located at Wessex House, Upper Market Street, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO50 9FD.

Operational Highlights:

· Successfully re-applied for the 472.5 square kilometer ('km²') Dalafin land package, under a new licence named Senala, securing up to another 10 years tenure in this highly prospective south-eastern corner of Senegal;

· Continued exploration success by IAMGOLD Corporation ('IAMGOLD') through an extensive drill programme, which has seen it continue to earn-in to the Senala licence. Recent confirmation of the year three programme will see an anticipated 10,000 metres ('m') aircore ('AC') drilled at the Faré target in the north of the licence;

· Extensive exploration work at the Bibemi and Wapouzé licences in Cameroon undertaken, including 12,500m of trenching at Bibemi, delivering best results of up to 9.00m at 3.14 grammes per tonne ('g/t') gold ('Au');

· Application for an extensive 3,500 km² licence package in central Cameroon.

Financial Overview:

· Operating loss of £1.41 million reported for the year to 31 December 2019; a significant reduction compared to a loss of £2.55 million in the prior year. This was driven by increased cost discipline, including a 14% reduction in administration costs;

· Loss for the year reduced to £1.66 million, a reduction of 64% when compared to the prior year;

· Investment of £0.71 million into Oriole's exploration projects in Cameroon, as the Group seeks to maximise cash available for exploration purposes;

· UK Administration expenses reduced by 22% to £1.03 million.

Post Year End:

· Post year end the Company made the first successful step in its asset realisation programme with the sale of its holding in Tembo Gold Corp ('Tembo') for £0.17 million;

· Closed a placing of equity to raise £0.24 million;

· In response to the current global situation relating to COVID-19, and with Cameroon's borders closed, limited exploration work is expected in the next three months. Consequently, the Directors and senior management have taken reduced salaries for this period, in order to preserve the Company's cash reserves in anticipation of the proposed drilling campaign later in the year.

Tim Livesey, CEO of Oriole, commented:

"It has been a successful year for Oriole, that has continued through to 2020. We have focused on advancing our early-stage exploration projects in Cameroon and the continuation of IAMGOLD's earn-in at Senala, in Senegal, as well as progress on our asset realisation plans.

"We released results from trenching at Bibemi during 2019 that confirmed two adjacent gold mineralised corridors. The information obtained has been used to plan follow-up exploration work and has enabled drill target definition ahead of our drill campaign, expected to commence later this year. During the period, the Cameroonian government released results from the first phase of its PRECASEM programme, funded by the World Bank, which included regional-scale geochemistry. We recognise the exploration potential for precious metals in Cameroon and, based on our confidence from the early successes at Bibemi and Wapouzé , we submitted applications for an additional eight licences, consolidating our land holding in the country.

"In Senegal, our earn-in partner, IAMGOLD, has to date allocated US$1.50 million of exploration funding at Senala, targeting the Madina Baf é and Saroudia prospects and has recently announced its Year 3 programme which will focus on the Faré prospect. At the start of this year we received the renewal of our licence at Senala (previously Dalafin) which has secured tenure for up to a further 10 years. Additionally, IAMGOLD's Boto gold project received its mine permit. Boto is located only 10km from the Madina Bafé prospect, and the prospects at Senala have the potential to identify additional mine feed for the project.

"Over the year we have been working on delivering our strategy to execute asset realisation and we were pleased to report the sale of the Company's shares in Tembo. As a Board, and company, we strive to bring value to shareholders, focusing on advancing our projects and, where possible, minimising dilution. We reduced administration costs by 14% compared to 2018 and late last year the Board further aligned itself with shareholders by taking options in lieu of salaries. This has also allowed the Company to continue to prioritise and advance its exploration efforts.

"Finally, I would like to thank our employees for their hard work over the year and their continued support and commitment during the current difficult global health and financial crisis."

Chairman's Statement

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 non-core assets in order to fund ongoing exploration activities in Cameroon and thus minimise the Company's requirement for dilutionary equity funds.

The Company'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, we regularly review potential new projects and maintain an active dialogue with potential investment and joint-venture partners.

Operations

Senala, Senegal

In south-eastern Senegal, our 472.5km² Dalafin licence reached its maximum term during the period. However, as a result of the recent progress at the project and our partnerships with IAMGOLD and Energy & Mining Corporation S.A.   (' EMC'), we were able to reapply for a new licence, covering the same coordinates but now renamed Senala. This has provided security of tenure for up to a further 10 years and IAMGOLD continues to invest in the exploration work, under the terms of the earn-in agreement we signed in March 2018. To date IAMGOLD has spent approximately US$1.5 million and earlier this month it confirmed that it will shortly commence Year 3 of the earn-in.   As per the terms of the option agreement, IAMGOLD must spend a further US$1 million during Year 3 (to end February 2021) to keep the option in good standing.  

To date IAMGOLD has focused on the Madina Baf é prospect, which lies within 10km of its 2.5 million-ounce Boto project. Boto received mine permitting in January 2020, positioning it for a development decision and eventual production. As per its fourth quarter 2019 results, it has already announced US$30 million of infrastructure investment. Best results at Madina Bafé to date include 9.60m grading 16.08 g/t Au from 15.10m, 15.00m grading 6.10 g/t Au from 14.00m and 8.00m grading 2.56 g/t Au from 76.00m (Announcements dated 16 July 2014 and 6 February 2018).

The Year 3 programme will see exploration move to the more advanced Faré prospect in the north, which showed significant potential during the Group's own exploration programmes with best results to date of 96.00m grading 1.51 g/t Au and 7.00m grading 86.39 g/t Au (Announcements dated 18 December 2013 and 19 February 2014). An initial programme involving approximately 10,000m of AC drilling is planned to further define and confirm areas of anomalism. A follow up reverse circulation ('RC') drilling programme will be designed contingent on results from the AC drilling. As a result of the new licence, new permit (environmental, water and forestry) applications are underway to enable commencement of the programme and we look forward to reporting on the results as they become available.

The proximity of Senala to Boto, and its prime location within the highly gold-endowed Kédougou-Kéniéba inlier, represents a significant driver of value for the Group, and securing tenure for up to another 10 years has been an exceptional result.  

Bibemi, Wapouzé and new licences, Cameroon

In 2018 we were delighted to announce the completion of an earn-in agreement with Bureau d'Etudes et d'Investigations Géologico-minières, Géotechniques et Géophysiques SARL ('BEIG3'), a well-established Cameroonian company with strong in-country technical and logistic support, for its two early-stage gold exploration projects, Bibemi and Wapouzé, in northern Cameroon. Through 2019 we have advanced the Bibemi project significantly, having completed 12,500m of trenching that has confirmed two adjacent gold-mineralised corridors, the most robust of which extends over 5.3km and includes best intersections of up to 9.00m at 3.14 g/t Au (Announcement dated 21 May 2019). During the period we have developed a strong geological model at the Bakassi Zone and are planning a drill campaign in 2020 to test the system at depth. To date, drill targets for an initial 1,500m of drilling (over 14 holes) have been pegged.

Work at Wapouzé is less advanced, but the two phases of soil sampling identified c.13km strike length of gold anomalism within the eastern Bataol Zone. A targeted trenching programme is planned for 2020 to follow-up on the most significant anomalies.

We continue to see great potential in Cameroon becoming the next frontier for gold exploration. The countrywide-survey funded by the World Bank has delivered regional scale geological information, and identified a number of areas of interest which correlated to the views of our own technical team. In addition to our existing Bibemi and Wapouzé licences, we have applied for eight contiguous licences covering 3,500 km ² in central Cameroon. We are discussing funding options with a number of potential partners, with the intention of commencing exploration work as soon as possible once the licences are formally granted. 

Investments and Royalty positions

The Group has a range of investment and potential royalty positions arising from exploration activities in prior years. We take an active interest in managing these positions, with the ultimate goal of maximising shareholder value. These positions provide a potential source of funding for the Group and are subject to an active and ongoing asset realisation programme. Although the timing and quantum of proceeds from that plan are not easily predictable, the recent disposal of the Company's 12.27% holding in Tembo for net proceeds of £172k (Announcement dated 25 February 2020) represents the first significant success in that programme. The Company anticipates making a number of further announcements around non-core asset disposals in the coming months. The most significant remaining positions within the Group are set out below.

Thani Stratex Resources ('TSR')

TSR has undergone a significant restructuring that has resulted in the spin-out of its 50%-owned joint venture, Thani Stratex Djibouti. As such, TSR is now exclusively focused on its 100%-owned Hodine licence in Egypt that hosts the Anbat and Hutite projects. At Hutite, former operator Thani Ashanti drilled over 30,000m of RC and diamond drilling between December 2010 and March 2013. On the basis of this work, South Africa-based Quantitative Group estimated an Inferred Resource (non-JORC) of 11,410,000 tonnes grading 1.41 g/t Au for 520,000 in-situ ounces using 0.4 g/t Au cut-off . At Anbat, TSR has previously announced a maiden JORC 2012-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of 209,000 oz at 1.11 g/t Au within porphyry sills (Announcements dated 6 and 13 December 2017). Limited work has been performed at either project since 2017, and we continue to look for opportunities to maximise value from our 26.1% holding in TSR.

Thani Stratex Djibouti ('TSD')

The above restructuring of TSR, has resulted in TSD becoming a standalone vehicle that is now funded and managed independently. The company is focused on the exploration of epithermal gold projects in Djibouti, namely Pandora, Assaleyta and Hesdaba. Results from previous drill campaigns at Pandora in particular have demonstrated broad zones of multi-gramme gold mineralisation, with narrower zones of higher-grade mineralisation. Best drilling results to date at Pandora include 35.07m at 1.28 g/t Au and 8.30m at 7.21 g/t Au (Announcement dated 19 April 2018).

In the fourth quarter of 2019, African Minerals Exploration & Development Fund III ('AMED') committed to funding an exploration programme in Djibouti (Announcement dated 19 November 2019). Exploration is currently underway at the Pandora and Hesdaba projects, with further funding to be released in tranches that are subject to performance milestones. Oriole currently has an 11.80% interest in TSD and maintains a monitoring role in its management, with Tim Livesey to shortly be appointed to the board (Announcement dated 9 March 2020). We look forward to reporting results of the ongoing drilling campaign as they become available. 

Karaağaç

At the Company's former Karaaǧaç gold project in Turkey, the current owner, Anadolu Export Maden Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Şirketi ('Anadolu'), has confirmed an Indicated Resource significantly in excess of the 50,000 ounces of gold necessary to trigger the success-based payment due to Oriole upon meeting that milestone. Currently only US$75k has been received, with US$425k outstanding. We continue to push for full recovery of this debt.

Muratdere

Our interest in the Muratdere gold project in Turkey converted to a 1.2% net smelter return royalty during the year (Announcement dated 21 November 2019). Our joint-venture partner, Lodos Maden Yatırım Sanayii ve Ticaret A.Ş. ('Lodos'), is continuing to develop the Environmental Impact Assessment ('EIA') programme, and we are awaiting the successful conclusion of this key phase.

Hasançelebi and Doğala

At two of the Company's gold projects in Turkey, Hasançelebi and Doğala, the Company has signed an exploration agreement with Turkish private company Bati Toroslar Sti ('Toroslar'), to replace a similar agreement signed the previous year. Due to the need to change partners, progress has been slow, but we anticipate a more active exploration programme during 2020. Oriole will be involved in the exploration programme and so its operational overheads in Turkey will be further reduced as costs will be recharged to Toroslar.

Financial Review

We are pleased to be reporting a considerably reduced loss for the year, of £1.66 million (2018: £4.66 million), with significant cost reductions targeted and achieved, despite an increase in exploration activity. The Group reported reduced administrative costs of £1.56 million, 14% down on the prior year. With a significant reduction reported last year, the Group has now achieved a 36% reduction in administrative expenses since 2018 when the new Board was appointed.

In addition, Research and Development credits of £142k were received as cash in 2019, relating to claims from 2016 to 2018. We anticipate a similar success when we submit our claim for 2019, a year where research and development-related costs were significantly higher as our exploration activities in Cameroon increased.

The Board's commitment to maximising the cash available for exploration work was demonstrated by the agreement to move to an equity-only remuneration plan in November 2019, and into early 2020.The issue of the options that underpin the plan will be delayed pending the Company coming out of a close period, and the necessary shareholder authorities. Salary costs have been accrued until such time as the options are issued.

The successful realisation of our 12.27% stake in Tembo and the £245k equity raise early in 2020 will provide funding for continued work on our Cameroonian licences.

Covid-19

The Board is monitoring the global health crisis and considering its impact on the position of the Company from an operational and financial perspective, including the measures required to protect our staff. With extreme international travel restrictions in force, and the effects of Covid-19 impacting the Company's operational areas of Cameroon and Senegal, it is clear that limited exploration work will be possible, at least in Cameroon, until later in the year. Unless advised otherwise, we anticipate that the IAMGOLD-drilling campaign in Senegal will continue as planned and we will continue to drive our asset realisation programme, albeit in difficult markets. In the UK and Turkey, the Company has systems in place for all staff to be able to work remotely for home.

With limited exploration work expected over the next three to six months, the Directors and senior management team have decided to go onto reduced salaries from April for three months, in order to conserve cash for the planned drilling campaign later this year.

Annual General Meeting ("AGM") Update

The Company's AGM is scheduled for 26 May 2020 at Wessex House, Upper Market Street, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO50 9FD. The Company encourages all shareholders to vote via proxy form in advance of the meeting date and not to attend the meeting in person to minimise the number of individuals present in response to the COVID-19 situation. Guests will not be permitted to attend the meeting. The legal requirements of the AGM will be completed, with no social reception or investor presentation. The Company will adhere to all restrictions and recommendations regarding public meetings, and social distancing measures will be in place.

Outlook

In 2020, we look to continue the progress we have made, and to drive shareholder value through the targeted exploration and development of our position in Cameroon. Funding remains difficult for exploration companies in general but with a well-advanced programme of asset realisation and a strong gold price, we believe we can procure the funds we need whilst minimising shareholder dilution and ultimately driving shareholder value.

IAMGOLD's continued investment at Senala, and its progression towards mine development at Boto, should provide an excellent value creation dynamic throughout 2020, whilst we further develop our earlier-stage projects in Cameroon. Cameroon is largely unexplored from a gold and other metals perspective, and we believe that our operational presence over what has been almost two years, gives us first mover advantage for acquiring further prospective ground. The identification of a 3,500 km ² district with proven gold prospectivity has garnered significant interest among the exploration departments of a number of mid-tier mining companies and we look forward to commencing exploration on these licences as soon as possible.

On behalf of Oriole's Board of Directors, I would like to express our appreciation and thanks to all of our employees for their efforts and hard work during the past year.

John McGloin

Non-Executive Chairman

23 March 2020

 

Extracts from the Strategic Report

Principal Activities

The principal activity of the Group is the exploration and development of gold and other high-value base metals projects.

Strategic approach

The Board's strategy is to establish the Company as a leading value-adding project-generator in our chosen mineral specialisations and in our geographic areas of operation. We seek to acquire exposure to highly prospective districts, primarily in West Africa, and have developed a first-mover position in Cameroon, an exciting new frontier for gold-exploration. The Board aims to develop a portfolio of projects that cover a range of mineral deposits across multiple jurisdictions, thus mitigating sovereign, technical and operational risks.

The Group finances its activities through the monetisation of more advanced projects and through periodic capital raisings.

Organisation overview

The Board of Directors, appointed in 2018, provide extensive experience in the exploration of mineral projects and the operation of public companies. The Board is ably supported by a management team who, for many years, have delivered successful exploration projects across Turkey and Africa.

Business environment

The price of gold increased by 19% during the year, from an opening position of US$1,281 per ounce, to US$1,523 per ounce at 31 December 2019. With continued economic uncertainty, we believe gold's reputation as a safe haven will continue to give upward pressure on its price.

In addition, since 2012, exploration budgets and teams have been cut in the major gold producers, and resource pipelines have not been replenished. The need to replenish resources is driving renewed interest in early-stage exploration. The junior exploration sector will benefit from this and we expect to see increased appetite for investment into our sector, once financial markets start to recover from the current Covid-19 related downturn.

Business performance

2019 Operations

The Group's main operations are split between active exploration projects and the management of our investment and royalty positions.

Active Exploration projects:

The primary focus for the Group's own exploration activities is our position in Cameroon. In 2018 the Group signed an earn in agreement with BEIG3 to gain an interest in the Bibemi and Wapouzé licences in northern Cameroon. Work on the licences has progressed throughout 2019, with 12,500m of trenching at Bibemi, and two phases of soil sampling at Wapouzé. Encouraging results have been observed at both licences and further exploration programmes have been planned for 2020. We are currrently awaiting confirmation of licence renewal for both Bibemi and Wapouzé. Both applications are moving through the renewal process, with our rights secured by deemed tenure rules.

In addition, the Group has applied for a district scale package of licences in central-Cameroon, covering 3,500 km² of highly prospective ground that has yielded anamolous gold samples during a World Bank-funded, regional-scale stream sediment sampling programme. Exploration activities are being planned, with the licence application process expected to be completed shortly.

In 2018, the Group entered an agreement with Canadian-listed gold miner IAMGOLD, for it to earn-in to the exploration licence at Dalafin in Senegal. This 472 km² of highly prospective ground, in the middle of the Kédougou-Kéniéba inlier, is surrounded by historic and contempary gold discoveries. As a result of the US$8 million earn-in programme, around US$1.5 million of exploration expenditure has been incurred by IAMGOLD, and further substantial drilling is planned for 2020, subject to possible operational restrictions as a result of Covid-19.

Importantly, the Group managed to re-licence the Dalafin land package which, under its new name Senala, now has security of tenure for up to a further 10 years. The earn-in is progressing as scheduled and exploration is now planned to move to the stand-alone Faré target in the north of the licence. We look forward to reporting on these drill results as they become available, which will add to the already extensive results from previous work by the Group that delivered best results of 96.00m grading 1.51 g/t Au and 7.00m grading 86.39 g/t Au (Announcements dated 18 December 2013 and 19 February 2014).

Investment and royalty positions:

TSR has recently completed a re-organisation, with its TSD subsidiary hived out to become a standalone company. TSD, which operates the Pandora, Assaleyta and Hesdaba licences in Djibouti, is currently undergoing an active drilling campaign, managed and funded by AMED Funds, the 50% main shareholder, and we look forward to receiving preliminary results shortly. Oriole currently has an 11.80% interest in TSD and continues to have a 26.10% interest in TSR and its Egyptian assets.

At the Company's former Karaaǧaç gold project in Turkey, Anadolu has confirmed a JORC 2012-compliant Indicated Resource of 156,798oz, which has triggered a success based payment of US$500k to Oriole. We are disappointed to report the continued failure by Anadolu to meet an agreed repayment schedule for this debt but we are continuing to pursue its repayment. Oriole also retains a 1.5% net smelter return royalty on any future mineral production.

At the MuratdereMadencilik copper-gold project in northern Turkey, our joint-venture partner, Lodos, exercised its option to convert our sub-10% interest into a 1.2% post-Turkish tax royalty position.

The other investment assets held by the Group during 2019 were holdings in Tembo and Aforo. Tembo was held to the year end but disposed of in early 2020, for net proceeds of £172k, as part of the Company's asset realisation strategy. Aforo unfortunately found funding hard to come by and the business closed in 2019, leading to a write off of £227k in these financial statements.

Financial Review:

The Group's loss after tax for the year was £1,660k (2018: loss of £4,661k).

Administration expenses of £1,556k (2018: £1,806k) were 14% lower than the previous year, building on that years' 26% reduction from 2017. Work to reduce the cost base is continuing. In addition to the savings, an accrual of £69k for salaries will be released as soon as the Directors Share Option Remuneration plan can be fulfilled by the issue of options.

The Group loss after tax was inflated due to an exchange loss of £325k on the translation of the Dalafin (now Senala) asset, which is denominated in Euro's.

The Group ended the year with a cash balance of £163k, a decrease in the year of £1,124k following £711k investment into the Group's exploration work in Cameroon. Incoming funds included £522k from successful conculsion of the long-running VAT dispute (Announcement dated 29 April 2019) and £142k from the reclaimation of Research and Development tax credits from HMRC. During 2019, the Group commenced an asset realisation programme with the intention of raising incoming cash to fund forthcoming exploration activities whilst minimising share holder dilution.  Significant progress has been made, including the disposal of the Tembo holding (Announcment dated 25 February 2020).

Tim Livesey

Chief Executive Officer

23 March 2020

 

Financial Statements

Statement of consolidated comprehensive income

				Year ended 31 December 2018 £'000
			Year ended 31 December 2019 £'000
Continuing operations
Administration expenses			(1,556)	(1,806)
Other income/(losses)			150	(741)
Operating loss			(1,406)	(2,547)
Finance income			5	67
Share of losses in equity-accounted investments			(126)	(2,042)
Loss on change of ownership interest			(212)	(98)
Loss before income tax			(1,739)	(4,620)
Income tax credit/(charge)			79	(41)
Loss for the year			(1,660)	(4,661)
Other comprehensive income for the year
Items that may be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss
Exchange differences on translating foreign operations			102	134
Items that may not be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss
Change in fair values of other financial assets			(240)	(167)
Other comprehensive income for the year, net of tax			(138)	(33)
Total comprehensive loss for the year			(1,798)	(4,694)
Loss for the year attributable to:
Owners of the Parent Company			(1,554)	(4,574)
Non-controlling interests			(106)	(87)
Loss for the year			(1,660)	(4,661)
Total comprehensive loss for the year attributable to:
Owners of the Parent Company			(1,692)	(4,607)
Non-controlling interests			(106)	(87)
Total comprehensive loss for the year			(1,798)	(4,694)
Earnings per share from losses attributable to the equity holders of the Company (expressed in pence per share).
- basic and diluted, continuing operations			(0.22)	(0.77)

 

Statement of consolidated financial position

			As at 31 December 2018
		As at 31 December 2019
		£'000	£'000
ASSETS
Non-Current Assets
Property, plant and equipment		21	27
Intangible assets (note 5)		7,244	6,780
Investments in equity-accounted associates (note 3)		2,250	2,250
Financial assets held at fair value through other comprehensive income (note 4)		165	414
Deferred tax asset		38	111
		9,718	9,582
Current Assets
Trade and other receivables		121	783
Cash and cash equivalents		163	1,287
		284	2,070
Total Assets		10,002	11,652
EQUITY
Equity attributable to owners of the Company
Share capital		4,908	4,908
Share premium		21,253	21,253
Other reserves		1,185	1,701
Retained earnings		(17,578)	(16,427)
Total equity attributable to owners of the Company		9,768	11,435
Non-controlling interest		(209)	(103)
Total Equity		9,559	11,332
LIABILITIES
Non-Current Liabilities
Employee termination benefits		30	30
Current Liabilities
Trade and other payables		413	290
Total Liabilities		443	320
Total Equity and Liabilities		10,002	11,652

Statement of consolidated changes in equity

		Attributable to owners of the Company										Non-Controlling Interest
		Share Capital		Share Premium		Other Reserves		Retained earnings		Total			Total Equity
		£'000		£'000		£'000		£'000		£'000		£'000	£'000
Balance at 1 January 2018		4,673		20,427		1,683		(11,853)		14,930		(16)	14,914
Comprehensive income for the year:
- loss for the year		-		-		-		(4,574)		(4,574)		(87)	(4,661)
- other comprehensive income		-		-		(33)		-		(33)			(33)
Total comprehensive income for the year			-		-		(33)		(4,574)		(4,607)	(87)	(4,694)
Issue of share capital net of expenses		235		826		-		-		1,061		-	1,061
Share-based payments		-		-		51		-		51		-	51
Total contributions by and distributions to owners of the Company		235		826		51		-		1,112		-	1,112
Balance at 31 December 2018		4,908		21,253		1,701		(16,427)		11,435		(103)	11,332
Comprehensive income for the year
- loss for the year		-		-		-		(1,554)		(1,554)		(106)	(1,660)
- other comprehensive income		-		-		(138)		-		(138)		-	(138)
Total comprehensive income for the year		-		-		(138)		(1,554)		(1,692)		(106)	(1,798)
Share-based payments		-		-		25		-		25		-	25
Share options expired		-		-		(403)		403		-		-	-
Total contributions by and distributions to owners of the Company		-		-		(378)		403		25		-	25
Balance at 31 December 2019		4,908		21,253		1,185		(17,578)		9,768		(209)	9,559

Statement of consolidated cash flows

		Year ended 31 December 2018
	Year ended 31 December 2019
	£'000	£'000
Cash flow from operating activities:
Net cash used in operating activities	(560)	(2,259)
Cash flow from investing activities:
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	(2)	(25)
Disposal of property, plant and equipment	-	2
Purchase of intangible assets	(711)	(229)
Investment in associate company (note 3)	-	(156)
Tax received	142	-
Loans to third party	-	787
Interest received	7	67
Net cash (used)/generated in investing activities	(564)	446
Cash flow from financing activities:
Net funds received from issue of shares	-	1,061
Net cash generated from financing activities	-	1,061
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents	(1,124)	(752)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period	1,287	2,039
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period	163	1,287

 

Notes to the consolidated financial statements

1.  Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union (EU), IFRIC interpretations and those parts of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to companies reporting under IFRS. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention as modified by the measurement of certain investments at fair value and have been prepared on a going concern basis.

The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute the Group's statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2019 or the year ended 31 December 2018 under the meaning of Section 434 the Companies Act 2006 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2018 have been reported on by the Independent Auditors.  The Independent Auditors' Reports on the Annual Report and Financial Statements for  2018 was unmodified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis and did not contain a statement under 498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006. The Independent Auditors' Reports on the Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2019,  did not contain a statement under 498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006, but did include a material uncertainty in relation to going concern.

The statutory accounts are available at www.orioleresources.com and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company's Annual General Meeting. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2018 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies.

It is the prime responsibility of the Board to ensure the Company and the Group remains a going concern. At 31 December 2019 the Group had cash and cash equivalents of £0.16m, expected incoming funds from asset-realisations (of which £0.17m has now been received), an expectation of further research and development tax credits, and no borrowings. The Company and the Group have minimal contractual expenditure commitments. Following the successful equity placing which raised net funds of £0.25m, the Board considers the present funds sufficient to maintain the working capital of the Company and Group for a period of at least 12 months from the date of signing the annual report and financial statements based on the forecasts of the Directors. For these reasons the Directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in the preparation of the financial statements although there can be no guarantee that the funds from the asset realisations will inflow as expected. As noted above , in the Audit Report for the year ended 31 December 2019 the auditors have made reference to going concern by way of a material uncertainty.

2.  Segment reporting

The Group's main operations are located in Turkey, East Africa and West Africa. The Group's head office is located in the UK and provides corporate and support services to the Group and researches new areas of exploration opportunities. The management structure and the management reports received by the Directors and used to make strategic decisions reflect the split of operations. 

a)  The allocation of assets and liabilities by segment is as follows:
				Exploration										UK support & other	Group
				Turkey		East Africa				West Africa					Total
				£'000		£'000				£'000				£'000	£'000
At 31 December 2019
Intangible assets				-				-			7,244		-		7,244
Property, plant and equipment				1				-			-		20		21
Investment in associate companies				-				2,250			-		-		2,250
Cash and other assets				80				165			41		201		487
Liabilities				(98)				-			(5)		(340)		(443)
Inter-segment				(2,617)				-			(2,213)		4,830		-
Net assets/(liabilities)				(2,634)				2,415			5,067		4,711		9,559
					Exploration									UK support & other	Group
					Turkey		East Africa				West Africa				Total
					£'000		£'000				£'000			£'000	£'000
At 31 December 2018
Intangible assets					-				-			6,780	-		6,780
Property, plant and equipment					1				-			1	25		27
Investment in associate companies					-				2,250			-	-		2,250
Cash and other assets					203				187			284	1,921		2,595
Liabilities					(136)				-			(3)	(181)		(320)
Inter-segment					(2,422)				-			(1,967)	4,389		-
Net assets/(liabilities)					(2,354)				2,437			5,095	6,154		11,332

b)  The allocation of profits and losses for the year by segment is as follows:

			Exploration						UK support & other	Group
			Turkey	East Africa		West Africa				Total
			£'000	£'000		£'000			£'000		£'000
2019
Administration expenses			(373)		-		(142)	(1,034)			(1,549)
Depreciation charge			(1)		-		-	(6)			(7)
Other income/(losses)			149		446		-	5			600
Share of associate company losses			-		(338)		-	-			(338)
Exchange gains/(losses)			(5)		-		(437)	(3)			(445)
Inter-segment charges			(148)		-		(103)	251			-
Income tax			(63)		-		-	142			79
Profit/(loss) for year			(441)		108		(682)	(645)			(1,660)

			Exploration						UK support & other	Group
			Turkey	East Africa		West Africa				Total
			£'000	£'000		£'000			£'000		£'000
2018
Administration expenses			(281)		-		(197)	(1,324)			(1,802)
Depreciation charge			(1)		-		(1)	(2)			(4)
Other income/(losses)			120		(1,430)		-	698			(612)
Share of associate company losses			-		(2,140)		-	-			(2,140)
Exchange gains/(losses)			(65)		-		77	(74)			(62)
Inter-segment charges			(131)		-		(209)	340			-
Income tax			(41)		-		-	-			(41)
Profit/(loss) for year			(399)		(3,570)		(330)	(362)			(4,661)

3.  Investment in equity-accounted associates

	Group
	2019	2018
	£'000	£'000
At1January	2,250	5,524
Exchangemovements	(108)	140
Share of losses	(126)	(2,042)
Additions	-	156
Provision for impairment	-	(1,430)
Release of impairment provision	446	-
Loss on change of ownership interest	(212)	(98)
At31December	2,250	2,250

_{The balance at 31 December represents the Company's investment in Thani Stratex Resources Limited ("TSRL") group of companies. The shareholding interest reduced from 29.0% at 31 December 2018 to 26.1% at 31 December 2019}.

4.  Financial assets

Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income

	Group
	2019	2018
	£'000	£'000
At1January	414	581
Disposals	(9)	-
Fair value adjustment	(240)	(167)
At 31 December	165	414

Financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income comprises an 11.7% investment in Tembo Gold Corporation. The 8% investment in Aforo Resources Limited was written off during the year, resulting in a loss of £227k.

The fair value of the investment in Tembo has been valued under level 1 of the fair value hierarchy and has been reduced to £165k following a reduction in the quoted value of its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This has resulted in a loss of £13k being recognised in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income.

5.  Intangible assets

The Group's Intangible assets comprise entirely of exploration assets.

	Group
	2019	2018
Cost	£'000	£'000
Cost at 1 January	6,780	6,484
Exchange movements	(328)	67
Additions	792	229
At 31 December	7,244	6,780

The capitalised cost of the principal projects and the additions during the year are as follows:

		Capitalised cost			Additions in year
			2019	2018	2019	2018
			£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
West Africa
	Dalafin		6,225	6,551	-	67
	Bibemi / Wapouze		1,019	229	792	229
Total Intangible assets			7,244	6,780	792	296

** ENDS **

Competent Persons Statement 

The information in this release that relates to Exploration Results has been compiled by Claire Bay (VP Exploration and Business Development). Claire Bay (MGeol, CGeol) is a Competent Person as defined in the JORC code and takes responsibility for the release of this information. Claire has reviewed the information in this announcement and confirms that she is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information reproduced here.

For further information please visit www.orioleresources.com, @OrioleResources on Twitter, or contact: 

Oriole Resources Plc                                                     Tel: [phone]

Tim Livesey / Bob Smeeton / Claire Bay

Blytheweigh (IR/PR contact)               Tel: [phone]

Tim Blythe / Megan Ray / Rachael Brooks

Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nomad)                                  Tel: [phone]

Samantha Harrison / Niall McDonald

WH Ireland (Corporate Broker) Adrian Hadden / Darshan Patel / Lydia Zychowska

Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors:

Oriole Resources PLC is an AIM-quoted exploration company, operating in Africa and Europe. It is focused on early-stage exploration in Cameroon and the more advanced Senala gold project in Senegal, where IAMGOLD has the option to spend US$8m to earn a 70% interest. The Company has a number of interests and royalties in companies operating throughout Africa and Turkey and is assessing new opportunities in both regions.

 

END

 

 

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