Oriole Resources PLC 

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

Multiple Gold Targets Identified in eastern Central Licence Package, Cameroon

Oriole Resources PLC (AIM: ORR), the AIM-quoted exploration company focussed on West Africa, is pleased to provide an update on its 90%-owned Central Licence Package ('CLP' or the 'Package') in Central Cameroon. The district-scale CLP comprises eight contiguous licences covering 3,592 square kilometres ('km²') of previously unexplored Paleo-Proterozoic to Pan-African age rocks that are highly prospective for orogenic-style gold mineralisation. For context, the licenced area is approximately half the size of the Kédougou-Kéniéba inlier in Senegal, which has a current gold endowment of more than 45 million ounces ('oz').

In Q2 2020, the team commenced a Package-wide mapping and stream sediment sampling programme. Following initial positive results for the Niambaram and Tenekou licences (announcement dated 19 August 2021), the Company today reports results for the three easternmost licences, Pokor, Ndom and Mbe. Grades of up to 291 parts per billion ('ppb') gold ('Au') continue to support an association with the northeast-trending Tcholliré-Banyo shear zone ('TBSZ'), a key regional control on gold distribution in Cameroon. The sampling programme will continue over the three western licences in Q4 2021.

Highlights

·    Gold assay results received for 503 stream sediment samples related to the Ndom, Pokor and Mbe licences.

·    Strongly anomalous values returned from all three licences, with 26 samples grading >10 ppb Au and six samples returning >50 ppb Au.

·    The highest reported result of 291 ppb Au was returned from the Ndom licence.

·    Results continue to demonstrate a strong association with the northeast-trending TBSZ corridor and related structures.

·    The 18 targets (>30 ppb Au) identified to date will now be ranked ahead of designing follow-up programmes.

·    Mapping and sampling over the remaining three licences in the west of the Package will resume in Q4 2021.

Oriole Resources CEO, Tim Livesey, said: "We are excited to see widespread gold-in-stream anomalism across all five licences sampled to date at our extensive and contiguous Central Licence Package. These early indications will now enable us to rank and prioritise areas for rapid follow up exploration work. 

"We were initially attracted to the area in 2019 due it being crossed by the dominant TBSZ structural corridor, related to the globally significant Pan-Africa/Brazilliano fold belt that is known to be associated with orogenic-style gold mineralisation across central and eastern Africa and into Brazil.

"As a first mover in what we believe is a new gold district, these early results endorse our early targeting work and support our view that Cameroon is a new frontier for gold exploration. It is encouraging to see other groups following our lead, with licence applications being submitted at every level, from junior exploration companies right up to large multinationals - including proximal to the CLP and along the strike extensions of the TBSZ trend. 

"We believe Cameroon offers enormous potential for exploration and mine development, and we are very pleased to be working with an excellent partner in country and to have supportive relationships with the Ministry and Government. Cameroon will no doubt become busier as we see more and more groups follow us there, but we are confident that our early mover position has given us great advantages in allowing us to select the best package of gold exploration licences in this new jurisdiction."

Further Details

In Q1 2021, the Company's 90%-owned Cameroonian subsidiary, Oriole Cameroon SARL, was granted five new licences (Tenekou, Niambaram, Pokor, Ndom and Mbe) in central Cameroon, located to the west of the regional capital, Ngaoundéré (announcement dated 3 February 2021). Together with a further three new licences (Mana, Dogon and Sanga) granted to Reservoir Minerals Cameroon SARL, in which the Company has subsequently earned a 90% interest (announcement dated 6 April 2021), the CLP covers a contiguous, district-scale land package of 3,592km². The CLP is approximately half the size of the Kédougou-Kéniéba inlier in eastern Senegal, which has a current gold endowment of over 45 million oz and is host to the Company's 85%-owned Senala project.   

Covering Paleo-Proterozoic to Pan-African rocks, a well-known host for orogenic gold deposits worldwide, the CLP licences were initially targeted by the Company's technical team due to their apparent proximity to the dominant regional structure, the TBSZ, a major southwest-northeast-trending splay off the larger-scale Central African Shear Zone. The TBSZ and its associated shears, thrusts and faults are (according to academic literature) thought to be one of the significant structural controls for gold and other mineralisation in the region. Oriole is the first operator of the licences and there has been no known commercial exploration previously.

In Q2 2021, the Company commenced a first-pass regional mapping and stream sediment sampling programme, focussed on sampling active sediments on the primary (first to third order) stream beds at an average density of 0.4 samples per km². To date, the team has completed 64% of the programme, with 874 (including eight orientation) samples taken over the Oriole Cameroon SARL licences, which cover the east of the Package. Initial results (for 376 samples) from the Niambaram and Tenekou licences identified several anomalies, with a best result of 95 ppb Au, related to the TBSZ corridor (announcement dated 19 August 2021).

Further results reported today, relating to 503 (including 4 orientation) samples taken across the Pokor, Ndom and Mbe licences, continue to support that relationship. Multiple anomalies have been identified across all three licences, with 26 samples grading >10 ppb Au and six samples returning >50 ppb Au, which is strongly anomalous for stream sediment sampling. The highest reported result of 291 ppb Au was returned from the Ndom licence. A map showing results from the programme can be viewed at the following link: http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1287O_1-2021-10-5.pdf. Analysis of QAQC plots for standard certified reference materials, inserted blanks and duplicates was completed and found to be within acceptable ranges.

The 18 targets (>30 ppb Au) identified to date at the easternmost Oriole Cameroon SARL licences will now be ranked ahead of designing follow-up programmes that will look to identify the likely source of the anomalism. Meanwhile, the remainder of the stream sediment sampling programme is due to recommence over the three westernmost licences, held by Reservoir Minerals Cameroon SARL, in Q4 2021.

For further information on the Central Licence Package, please see the following page of the Company's website https://orioleresources.com/projects/central-cameroon/.

Elsewhere in Cameroon, a planned 1,650 metre ('m') Phase 2 diamond drilling programme has recently commenced at the Company's 90%-owned Bibemi gold project in the north of the country (announcement dated 13 September 2021). The programme is focussed on testing a c.1 kilometre-long zone at the southern end of Bakassi Zone 1, one of four targets at the licence, where the maiden drilling programme in H1-2021 returned multiple mineralised intersections, including 2.45m grading 2.96 grammes per tonne ('g/t') Au, 3.60m grading 1.75 g/t Au and 12.40m grading 0.71 g/t Au (announcement dated 29 June 2021). The programme is expected to be completed before the end of November 2021.

The team has also completed a 100m x 100m infill soil sampling programme for a total 1,455 sample points covering the southern extension of the Bakassi Zone 1 and Bakassi Zone 2 zones, towards the Lawa East and Lawa West prospects (announcement dated 13 September 2021). The work is intended to increase resolution of data in this area ahead of further drill hole targeting.

For further information on the Bibemi project, please see the following page of the Company's website https://orioleresources.com/projects/bibemi/.  

Competent Persons Statement 

The information in this release that relates to Exploration Results has been compiled by Claire Bay (Executive Director, Exploration & 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) which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (withdrawal) Act 2018. Following the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

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

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, 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. 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.