Aim-listed Oriole Resources has reported that the maiden – Phase 1 – drilling programme at MBO1-S on the company’s 90%-owned Mbe orogenic gold project, in Cameroon, is about 44% complete for a total of 2 895.1 m drilled, with nine holes drilled – MBDD001-09 – and a tenth hole – MBDD010 – in progress.

Results from holes MBDD005 and MBDD006, over 609.1 m of drilling, have returned a further 30 gold mineralised intersections – using a 0.2 g/t gold lower cutoff grade.

This includes 23.1 m at 0.71 g/t gold from 76 m, including 7.2 m at 1.02 g/t gold and 2 m at 2.48 g/t gold; 5.6 m at 1.03 g/t gold from 7.5 m; and 1 m at 1.87 g/t gold from 38.3 m at hole MBDD005.

Additionally, hole MBDD006 has returned 13.8 m at 0.61 g/t gold from 103.1 m, including 3.4 m at 1.17 g/t gold and 2.1 m at 1.06 g/t gold; 7.3 m at 0.51 g/t gold from 8.3 m, including 1.9 m at 1.18 g/t gold; 1 m at 1.12 g/t gold from 60.9 m; and 1 m at 1.64 g/t gold from 71.5 m.

Oriole says the system is confirmed to a depth of about 150 m from surface on this drill fence line. 

It notes that the results continue to demonstrate wide zones of bulk-tonnage gold mineralisation, which should be openpit mineable, related to sulphide-rich quartz veins, veinlets and breccias that have developed predominantly within quartz-feldspar porphyry units.

The company says samples from holes MBDD007 and MBDD008 are already on their way to Bureau Veritas, in Côte d'Ivoire, for fire assay analysis. Results for these drill holes are expected to be reported later this quarter.

The programme is currently scheduled for completion in the third quarter of this year, and the company says it anticipates publishing a maiden, pit-contained mineral resource estimate in the second half of this year, which will be estimated in accordance with the Australasian Joint Ore Reserve Committee 2012 code.

“The latest Mbe drilling results continue to return significant widths of gold mineralisation. 

“As we continue to build the 3D picture of the geology and gold mineralisation, it supports our opinion that there could be a substantial volume of material delineated that is potentially amenable to a large-scale openpit mining method.  As we approach the halfway mark in the planned programme’s metreage, we very much look forward to reporting the next set of results,” says CEO Martin Rosser.