Updated EIA Report Submitted for Muratdere Project

RNS Number : 7011P

Oriole Resources PLC

22 June 2022

 

Oriole Resources PLC 

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

Updated EIA Report Submitted for Muratdere Project, Turkey  

Oriole Resources (AIM: ORR), the AIM-quoted exploration company focussed on West Africa, is pleased to provide an update on the Muratdere copper-molybdenum porphyry development project ('Muratdere' or 'the Project') in Turkey. The Company has a 1.2% post-tax net smelter return ('NSR') royalty in the Project, which is operated by Lodos Maden Yatırım Sanayii ve Ticaret A.Ş. ('Lodos'), a wholly-owned mining investment company of Istanbul-quoted investment company Pragma Finansal Danımanlık Ticaret A.Ş. ('Pragma').

Highlights

·   An updated Environmental Impact Assessment ('EIA') report has been submitted to the Environmental and City Planning Office;

·   Mine plan includes 16 million tonnes of ore Reserves with an average ore grade of 0.52% copper ('Cu'), 0.0125 % molybdenum ('Mo'), 0.11 grammes per tonne ('g/t') gold ('Au') and 2.40 g/t silver ('Ag');

·   An average of 1.60 million tonnes of copper-molybdenum ore will be extracted per year, through an open pit operation, over a mine life of 10 years;

·   The ore will be enriched in a state-of-the-art flotation facility to be built on site to produce a copper and molybdenum concentrate, that will also have payable gold and silver credits. This facility is designed to operate with the principle of zero discharge out of the facility;

·   Gross metal revenues over the mine life are expected to be in excess of US$650 million[1];

·   Oriole's 1.2% NSR royalty is estimated to be approximately US$7.5 million over the same period, though this does not take into account any value from the underlying Resource, which is outside of the current mine plan;

·   The Project will be funded by Pragma and therefore does not require external financing to take into production.

Oriole Resources  CFO,  Bob Smeeton , said:  "After a false-start back in 2019/2020, we commend Lodos' tenacity and professionalism in working alongside more than a dozen governmental departments to reach this point of EIA resubmission. All this whilst dealing with the global chaos of Covid-19, which has hit Turkey particularly hard. We anticipate a positive outcome, and a subsequent move towards the mine development stage, later this year.

"During what is a strong bear market, having legacy assets like this is extremely important for future sources of cashflow for the Company. Being focused on the development of a strategic and globally significant metal, the Muratdere royalty is a highly saleable asset for the Group and, with a positive outcome on the EIA report expected later this year, the value of that sale is likely to increase markedly in line with the enhanced level of de-risking that brings. We are actively engaging with royalty groups regarding a potential sale."

Further Details

The Company was operator at the Project between 2005 and 2011 and during that period delivered a JORC-compliant Inferred Resource of 51 million tonnes grading 0.36% Cu, 0.12 g/t Au, 2.40 g/t Ag, 0.0125% Mo and 0.34 ppm rhenium ('Re') (announcement dated 15 June 2011). This Resource was primarily defined within a 2 kilometre ('km')-long section of a 4km-long porphyry system and remains open along strike and at depth. The total metal contents of the Resource are approximately 186,000 tonnes Cu, 204,296 oz Au, 3.9 million oz Ag, 6,390 tonnes molybdenum and 17,594 kg Re.

In 2012, the Company signed a joint-venture agreement whereby it sold a 51% interest in the Project to Lodos in return for US$1.7m (announcement dated 30 July 2012). Further investment by Lodos, including the completion of 7,900 metres of diamond drilling, the payment of US$500,000 and completion of a Feasibility Study in 2015 saw it earn a 70% interest in Muratdere and commence the EIA permitting process (announcement dated 11 March 2015). The Feasibility Study was based on a 16 million tonne optimisation which, on the basis of open-pit extraction and ore-enrichment by a state-of-the-art flotation facility (designed with zero discharge), would produce a copper concentrate with an average ore grade of 0.52% Cu, 0.0125% Mo, 0.11 g/t Au, and 2.40 g/t Ag over a mine life of 10 years.

In 2019, following continued investment in the Project by Lodos, Oriole's prior equity interest was converted to a 1.2% post-tax NSR royalty in accordance with the terms of the joint venture. At that time, Lodos was awaiting approval of its initial EIA submission but this was unfortunately rejected the following year. Since then, Lodos has been working through the resubmission process, liaising with more than 10 governmental departments to ensure that all issues were addressed appropriately.

The Company today reports that the re-submission has now been made and a positive outcome is anticipated later this year. The Project will be funded by parent company, Pragma, and therefore does not require external financing to take into production.

Gross metal revenues over the mine life are expected to be in excess of US$650 million[2], of which Oriole's 1.2% NSR royalty is estimated to be worth approximately US$7.5 million over the same period. The reduction in project risk that the receipt of EIA permitting will deliver is likely to significantly increase the net present value of Oriole's NSR and the Company is actively engaging with royalty groups towards an asset sale.

For further information on the Muratdere project, please see  Muratdere Madencilik's website .

Competent Persons Statement  

The technical information in this release has been compiled by Claire Bay (Executive Director, 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.

** ENDS **

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the retained EU law version of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the UK MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.  

The content of the website referred to in this announcement is not incorporated into and does not form part of this announcement.

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

Oriole Resources PLC Bob Smeeton / Tim Livesey / Claire Bay	Tel: [phone]
BlytheRay (IR/PR contact) Tim Blythe / Megan Ray / Rachael Brooks	Tel: [phone]
Grant Thornton UK LLP Samantha Harrison / George Grainger /Ciara  Donnelly	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 in West Africa. It is focussed on early-stage exploration in Cameroon (Bibemi, Wapouzé and Central Licence Package projects) and the more advanced Senala gold project in Senegal, where IAMGOLD has the option to spend US$8 million to earn a 70% interest. Under the terms of the Option Agreement, IAMGOLD has recently met its first commitment by spending US$4 million within an initial four years and will shortly acquire a 51% interest in Senala. The Company also 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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[1] Gross metal revenues have been calculated using the following fixed prices: US$9,100/t Cu, US$1,800/oz Au, US$21/oz Ag, US$41,800/t Mo.

[2] Gross metal revenues have been calculated using the following fixed prices: US$9,100/t Cu, US$1,800/oz Au, US$21/oz Ag, US$41,800/t Mo.

 

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