Oriole Resources has issued an update on its five Eastern CLP licences in central Cameroon, which form the wider Central Licence Package (CLP). The AIM-listed exploration company currently holds a 90% stake in the Eastern CLP licences, which include Tenekou, Niambaram, Pokor, Ndom, and Mbe, and is expected to increase its ownership to 100% after resource definition.
New sub-holding company to advance exploration
To facilitate project-level investment, Oriole will transfer its interest in the Project into a sub-holding company named NewCo, which will help the company to advance exploration and reduce equity dilution for shareholders at the company level.
Canadian investment banking firm to provide $1m funding
Oriole has signed a letter of engagement with a Canadian investment banking firm to secure $1m of project-level exploration financing in return for a 10% non-carried interest in NewCo. The investment will be used exclusively for gold exploration, funding the firm’s proposed work programme on the project, and allowing the company to pursue other funding opportunities to further lithium exploration within the CLP.
Positive findings from exploration work
The Eastern CLP licences were granted for their first term in February 2021, and the project has since identified several two-to-three kilometre-long gold-in-soil anomalies across the project, in addition to a 12.5 kilometre-long zone of anomalism at Mbe. Follow-up rock-chip sampling at Mbe recently returned up to 134.1 grams of gold per tonne from a cross-cutting structural corridor that extends over a strike length of three kilometres, and over a width of at least 70 metres.
Expectations of financing deal closure
Oriole expects to close the financing deal in the second quarter, subject to finalisation of terms and securing of funding. While the company has engaged an adviser, there can be no guarantee that financing will be obtained.
The exploration work in central Cameroon appears to be yielding positive results for Oriole, and the company’s efforts to secure funding for further exploration will provide a more focused approach to advancing exploration at the project level.
