Thani Stratex Djibouti Exploration Update

RNS Number : 1421T

Oriole Resources PLC

16 July 2020

 

Oriole Resources PLC

('Oriole' or 'the Company')

Thani Stratex Djibouti Exploration Update -

Positive Drilling Results at Pandora Gold Project

Oriole Resources PLC (AIM: ORR), the AIM-quoted exploration company focussed on West Africa, reports that, further to the Company's announcement on 25 June 2020, it has now received Phase 3 drilling results for the Pandora epithermal gold project ('Pandora' or the 'Project') in Djibouti. The 13-hole programme has delivered a number of significant intersections, including a near-surface interval of 16.86 metres ('m') grading 1.42 grammes per tonne ('g/t') gold ('Au'). Pandora is held by Thani Stratex Djibouti Limited ('TSD'), in which Oriole holds an 11.80% interest.

Highlights

· Results received for 1,242 m Phase 3 diamond drilling programme at Pandora;

· Best intersections from the 13-hole programme include (using 0.3 g/t Au cut-off):

o  16.86 m grading 1.42 g/t Au from 13.00 m, including 6.63 m at 2.68 g/t Au (Ok-D-46)

o  1.50 m grading 1.05 g/t Au from 43.25 m (Ok-D-35)

o  6.80 m grading 2.19 g/t Au from 23.58 m (Ok-D-36)

o  5.00 m grading 1.10 g/t Au from 107.00 m (Ok-D-44)

· Mineralisation is predominantly related to quartz vein and hydrothermal silica breccia, with associated demagnetisation of the basalt host rocks. Highest grades are related to the presence of sulphide-rich chalcedonic silica;

· Good potential for resource delineation in the structural zone between the Pandora and Pyrrha veins, subject to further exploration and infill drilling.

Oriole CEO Tim Livesey, said: " We are very pleased to see continued success with the drilling at Pandora, reconfirming this Project as a highly prospective gold target. 

"If drilling continues to deliver grades and widths like these, this could quickly be built into a resource with open pit potential. We look forward to further updates as the programmes in Djibouti restart.

"We also look forward to reporting results from Hesbada later this quarter and we wish the exploration team continued success."

Further Details

The Company has received an update from TSD with respect to the Pandora project, where a 1,242 m Phase 3 diamond drilling programme was completed earlier this year for 13 holes (Announcement dated 9 March 2020).

Located within the Oklila licence, the Pandora project is a low-sulphidation epithermal system that comprises a series of interconnected mineralised veins and structures (a total of seven prospects) that outcrop over a strike length of more than 6.0 kilometres ('km'). The system is hosted predominantly within stratiform basalts, that dip gently to the south-west. Geological markers identified at Pandora suggest that the epithermal system (and thus any potential resource) is largely intact, with the region having undergone very little erosion.

Work to date has been focussed on three main prospects: the northwest-trending Pandora Main and Pandora South structures, that dip sub-vertically (80-90 degrees) to the northeast and extend over a combined 2.0 km, with widths of up to 15 m at surface; and the sub-parallel west-northwest trending Pyrrha vein that dips steeply (70-80 degrees) to the north-northeast and extends over 1.5 km with surface widths of up to 1.7 m.

The Phase 3 programme predominantly focussed on the Pyrrha vein system, where 11 holes were drilled to test the lateral extent of the structure, aiming to intersect it at around 50 m below surface. A further two holes were drilled, at Pandora Main and Pandora South respectively, to test the geological model developed from the previous phases of drilling. All holes were drilled perpendicular to the prominent structure, to depths of between 60 m and 151 m down hole, equating to a maximum vertical depth of 132 m. The Company has reviewed the QAQC data, which equates to 9.5% of the total sample population, and has deemed the data to be within acceptable limits¹.

Results have identified a number of encouraging intersections, most notably at the north-western end of Pandora Main, which returned a best intersection of 16.86 m grading 1.42 g/t Au from 13.00 m, including 6.63 m at 2.68 g/t Au (Ok-D-46), and at the south-eastern end of Pyrrha, which returned up to 6.80 m grading 2.19 g/t Au from 23.58 m (Ok-D-36) and support results yielded from earlier drilling phases. Mineralisation is predominantly related to quartz vein and hydrothermal silica breccia, with associated demagnetisation of the basalt host rocks. Highest grades are related to the presence of sulphide-rich chalcedonic silica.

Table 1. Significant intersections (recalculated using a >0.3 g/t Au cut-off) from Phase 3 diamond drilling at Pandora.

Hole ID	Prospect	Azimuth (°)	Declination (°)	From (m)	To (m)	Interval (m) *, **	Grade
Ok-D-34	Pyrrha	207	-46	27.83	29.70	1.87	0.42 g/t Au
including				49.28	50.65	1.37	0.75 g/t Au
Ok-D-35	Pyrrha	208	-66	42.50	45.91	3.41	0.92 g/t Au
including				43.25	44.75	1.50	1.05 g/t Au
Ok-D-36	Pyrrha	207	-47	23.58	30.38	6.80	2.19 g/t Au
including				23.58	24.65	1.07	1.52 g/t Au
including				26.88	30.38	3.50	3.45 g/t Au
and				32.63	39.00	6.37	0.41 g/t Au
Ok-D-37	Pyrrha	207	-68	7.03	7.95	0.92	0.64 g/t Au
and				11.25	13.18	1.93	0.42 g/t Au
and				26.93	27.65	0.72	0.77 g/t Au
and				50.88	52.77	1.89	0.56 g/t Au
Ok-D-38	Pyrrha	028	-70	30.58	31.18	1.22	0.67 g/t Au
Ok-D-39	Pyrrha	044	-60	21.80	28.00	6.20	0.40 g/t Au
and				45.67	47.20	1.53	0.33 g/t Au
and				50.25	51.00	0.75	0.42 g/t Au
Ok-D-40	Pyrrha	039	-50	70.00	70.76	0.76	0.50 g/t Au
Ok-D-41	Pyrrha	046	-62	48.00	49.00	1.25	0.43 g/t Au
Ok-D-42	Pyrrha	045	-58	26.00	29.80	3.80	0.74 g/t Au
and				52.79	53.35	0.56	0.85 g/t Au
and				52.02	56.00	0.98	0.38 g/t Au
Ok-D-43	Pyrrha	221	-61	27.09	28.00	0.91	0.38 g/t Au
Ok-D-44	Pyrrha	207	-60	107.00	112.00	5.00	1.10 g/t Au
including				109.00	110.22	1.22	2.26 g/t Au
Ok-D-45	Pandora South	045	-51	No significant intersections
Ok-D-46	Pandora Main	051	-50	8.65	11.00	2.35	0.32 g/t Au
and				13.00	29.86	16.86	1.42 g/t Au
including				14.37	21.00	6.63	2.68 g/t Au
including				27.00	28.00	1.00	1.62 g/t Au
and				57.89	59.00	1.11	0.36 g/t Au

*For interval widths greater than 1.0 m, using a 0.3 g/t Au cut-off and no more than 2.0 m consecutive internal dilution.

**True widths are between 72% and 94% of the reported interval thickness.

Oriole believes that interactions between these sub-parallel structures could be an important factor in the gold deposition model here. Interestingly, the high-grade zone at Pyrrha is approximately 500 m to the south of the high-grade zone at Pandora Main. Review of the satellite imagery suggests a series of structural offsets (a sign of strain accommodation) in the zone between the Pandora Main and Pyrrha structures, that are likely to have created enhanced zones of dilation that support the higher grades and widths observed.

This is supported by a cross-sectional review of drill holes Ok-D-36 and Ok-D-37 that were drilled from the same collar but inclined at -47 degrees and -68 degrees respectively. Intersection of the Pyrrha vein with an apparent vertical structure in Ok-D-36 are related to a single 6.80 m zone grading 2.19 g/t Au, whereas the slightly deeper (15-20m) Ok-D-37 intersected two zones of silica veining in core, one that was barren and a second with relatively low anomalism; 1.89 m at 0.56 g/t Au. There also appears to be wider dispersion of gold within the oxide zone, which extends to approximately 50 m below surface.

As previously reported, TSD has advised that it will complete a full review of data from its projects in Djibouti ahead of planning any follow-up programmes. Results from a 1,931 m Phase 1 diamond drilling programme at the Hesdaba project, located 10 km northwest of Pandora, are anticipated later this quarter (Announcement dated 25 June 2020).

For further information on the Pandora project, including a drill plan and cross sections, please see the following page of our website https://orioleresources.com/investments/pandora-and-assaleyta/

¹Note that Oriole has not seen the original laboratory assay certificates related to this data. Oriole also notes that only one variety of Standard Reference Material (of moderate grade) was used during the QAQC checks. As the projects held within TSD are non-core for the Company, Oriole has not produced a Table 1 as required by the JORC Code 2012.

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.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Following the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

** ENDS **

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

or contact:

Oriole Resources PLC Tim Livesey / Bob Smeeton / Claire Bay	Tel: [phone]
Blytheweigh (IR/PR contact) Tim Blythe / Megan Ray / Rachael Brooks	Tel: [phone]
Grant Thornton UK LLP Samantha Harrison / Niall McDonald	Tel: [phone]
Shard Capital Partners LLP Damon Heath / Erik Woolgar / Isabella Pierre	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors:

Oriole Resources PLC is an AIM-listed exploration company, operating West Africa. It is focused on early-stage exploration in Cameroon (Bibemi and Wapouzé projects) and the more advanced Senala gold project in Senegal, where IAMGOLD has the option to spend US$8m to earn a 70% interest. Year 2 commitments have been met at all three projects. The Company has several interests and royalties in companies operating throughout Africa and Turkey that could deliver future cash flow, and it continues to assess new opportunities in both regions.

 

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