Oriole signs earn-in for Mbe gold project

Oriole Resources plc has signed a definitive earn-in agreement with BCM International Ltd for its 90%-owned Mbe gold licence in Cameroon.

OPPORTUNITY

The transaction is Oriole’s second after the Bibemi deal signed earlier this month and follows the heads of terms signed in November for both projects.

BCM will earn up to a 50% interest in Mbe in return for meeting certain commitments, a US$1 million signature payment, of which Oriole has already received $50,000, $4m in exploration expenditure, and future resource-linked success-based payments.

The earn-in agreement and signature payment are conditional on BCM completing a review of due diligence on or before 31 January.

The Australian mining and civil contractor has to date completed a three-week site visit and collected 639 rock samples, each weighing to two to five kilograms, over the main 3km-long zone.

Analysis results are expected later this month.

Mbe, covering 312km^₂, is an early-stage project within the Oriole’s broader 2,266km^₂ Eastern Central Licence Package of contiguous gold-focused licences in central Cameroon.

During 2023, the company identified a 3km-long geological zone containing areas of high-grade gold mineralisation.

Oriole chief executive Tim Livesey said that exploration at Mbe would progress in parallel with resource expansion at Bibemi.

“Since Oriole was granted its package of eight contiguous licences in central Cameroon back in February 2021, we have advanced with great success, identifying a large number of significant gold anomalies in what we suggest could be a corridor of mineralisation some 75km long.

“Prior to our licence application, this area was open ground and indicates the huge opportunity Cameroon has for new discoveries.

“At Mbe, the originally identified 12km-long gold-in-soils anomaly has delivered several zones of significant surface gold mineralisation in vein sets grading up to 134 g/t Au.

“We expect the current period of due diligence by BCM will show further support for this area when results are received from their sampling programme later this month.”