Thani Stratex Djibouti Exploration Update

Oriole Resources PLC

('Oriole' or 'the Company')

Thani Stratex Djibouti Exploration Update -

Latest Drilling Results Deliver up to 5.00m at 8.97 g/t Au

Oriole Resources PLC (AIM: ORR), the AIM-quoted exploration company focussed on West Africa, provides an update on its 10.61% interest in Thani Stratex Djibouti Limited ('TSD'), where African Minerals Exploration & Development Fund III ('AMED Fund III') is managing and funding a multi-million dollar exploration programme across a portfolio of low-sulphidation epithermal gold projects in the East African Rift Valley. The first US$2.5 million tranche of the funding was used to undertake drilling programmes at the Pandora and Hesdaba projects and the second US$2.5 million tranche is being used to fund further work at the Hesdaba and Assaleyta projects.

Further to its announcement on 23 March 2021, the Company today reports initial results from TSD's Phase 2 exploration programme at the Assaleyta project. Best results from reverse circulation ('RC') drilling include 16.00 metre ('m') grading 1.08 grammes per tonne ('g/t') gold ('Au') from 12.00m and 5.00m grading 8.97 g/t Au from 110.00m including 1.00m grading 43.00 g/t Au.   

A total of 1,106 diamond core and RC samples (inclusive of QAQC) for Assaleyta and 2,159 rock, diamond core and RC samples (inclusive of QAQC) from Hesdaba are currently pending ministerial clearance in Djibouti, with final gold assay results for the programmes anticipated in H2-2021.

Highlights

·    Results received for 452 RC samples related to the selective sampling of five drill holes (Ay-R-11 to Ay-R-15) from the Red Eagle prospect at the Assaleyta project. Best results include (using 0.3 g/t Au cut-off):

Ay-R-12

o  2.00m grading 1.15 g/t Au from 12.00m

o  1.00m grading 1.01 g/t Au from 17.00m

Ay-R-14

o  2.00m grading 1.15 g/t Au from 9.00m

o  2.00m grading 1.16 g/t Au from 107.00m

o  5.00m grading 8.97 g/t Au from 110.00m including 1.00m grading 43.60 g/t Au

Ay-R-15 (only partial results received)

o  16.00m grading 1.08 g/t Au from 12.00m including 1.00m grading 7.89 g/t Au

o  7.00m grading 1.12 g/t Au from 49.00m

·    All outstanding samples from both Hesdaba and Assaleyta are pending ministerial clearance in Djibouti before being dispatched for assay:

o  1,106 diamond core and RC chip samples (inclusive of QAQC) for Assaleyta;

o  2,159 rock, diamond core and RC chip samples (inclusive of QAQC) for Hesdaba.

·    Further work at the projects is pending receipt and assessment of all outstanding results.

Oriole CEO, Tim Livesey, said: "It's great to see yet more encouraging results from this project, with targeted second phase drilling building on the results of the earlier exploration phases. As work progresses in Djibouti, we are happy to see this continued success as we expect this will ultimately be reflected in an increased value in our equity position in the projects.

"We look forward to updating the market when complete results from the phase 2 exploration drill programme are returned.  In the meantime, we will carry on providing oversight of the programmes on behalf of the Oriole shareholders."

Further Details

In 2019, TSD signed an agreement with AMED Fund III for the management and funding of TSD and its epithermal gold projects in the East African Rift Valley of Djibouti (announcement dated 19 November 2019). The first US$2.5 million tranche of the funding was used to undertake drilling programmes at Pandora and Hesdaba, with the current second US$2.5 million tranche being focussed on further exploration at Hesdaba and Assaleyta.

Initial surface sampling at Assaleyta confirmed low-sulphidation gold mineralisation over a vertical interval of 150m and 3km along strike. Best intersections from channel sampling included 15.70m grading 5.05 g/t Au, 6m grading 10.35 g/t Au and 26m grading 4.72 g/t Au (calculated using a 0.3 g/t Au cut-off), whilst five selective grab samples assayed >20 g/t Au (highest grade of 41 g/t Au). In 2016, a limited Phase 1 drilling programme was completed across two key prospects, Porcupine Hill and Black Mamba. The drilling confirmed vertical continuity of the system to a depth of at least 175m and returned best intercepts of 17.38m grading 2.25 g/t Au from surface (AY-DD-01) and 5.18m grading 4.50 g/t Au from 12.09m and 1.58m grading 8.67 g/t Au from 177.19m (AY-DD-03) (calculated using a 0.3 g/t Au cut-off).

TSD has recently completed a Phase 2 exploration programme comprising 687.80m diamond drilling in three holes and 2,508m RC drilling in 22 drillholes. The programme was designed to further-evaluate the depth extension of surface mineralisation at the two prospects and to test a third prospect, Red Eagle Mountain, where previous channel-sampling has returned up to 6.00m grading 10.35 g/t Au (Ay-CH-12; calculated using 0.3 g/t Au cut-off, not previously reported). Visually, the drilling confirmed a thick sequence (c. 100m) of rhyolite overlaying a thin layer of lacustrine sediments (reflecting a hiatus in volcanic inactivity) and deeper basalts. Quartz-carbonate veins and breccia, with grey, sulphide-rich chalcedonic silica, were reportedly observed in both the rhyolite and basalt units and are thought to be related to major normal faulting that displays vertical displacements of up to 50m. At Red Eagle Mountain, zones of such veining and brecciation (and associated hydrothermal alteration) have reportedly been identified over downhole widths of up to 40m.

The results reported today relate to 452 samples (selectively sampled, based on visual geology, over 1m intervals) for five RC drill holes, Ay-R-11 to Ay-R-15, all of which were drilled at Red Eagle Mountain; only partial results are available for Ay-R-15 (Table 1). Mineralisation is predominantly associated with epithermal quartz vein and vein breccia within a rhyolitic host rock. Whilst there are a number of narrow, plus 1 g/t Au intervals, the wider zones intersected near surface in hole Ay-R-15, including 16.00m grading 1.08 g/t Au from 12.00m, and at the end of hole in Ay-R-14, including 5.00m grading 8.97 g/t Au that comprises a bonanza-grade interval of 1.00m grading 43.60 g/t Au, are particularly encouraging.

Table 1. RC drilling results for holes Ay-R-11 to Ay-R-15 at the Assaleyta project's Red Eagle Mountain prospect

*Intervals greater than 1 gramme per metre average grade, calculated using a 0.3 g/t Au cut-off and no more than 50% internal dilution. True widths are not known.

**109.00-110.00m not currently sampled.

***Only partial results available for this hole.

A total of 1,106 diamond core and RC cutting samples (inclusive of QAQC) relating to 17 further holes, as well as the 50 remaining samples from hole Ay-R-15, are currently pending ministerial clearance for export to ALS Laboratories for gold assay, with results anticipated in H2.

At Hesdaba, located immediately to the west of Assaleyta, TSD recently reported results for 284 core samples - comprising selective intervals from two diamond drill holes at the Caravan prospect (Hd-D-11 and Hd-D-14) and two diamond drill holes at the Maranzana prospect (Hd-D-12 and Hd-D-13) - included a best intersection of 1.00m grading 2.1 g/t Au from hole Hd-D-14 (announcement dated 23 March 2021). Additionally, surface grab sampling of a single sample at Caravan has returned 7.62 g/t Au, with a further 19 samples from Red Horns delivering 10 samples above 0.5 g/t Au and a best result of 3.82 g/t Au. A total of 2,159 rock (related to channel sampling across the Red Horn prospect; diamond core and RC samples (inclusive of QAQC) are also still pending ministerial clearance for export to ALS Laboratories for gold assay, with results expected in H2.

Further work at the projects is pending receipt and assessment of all outstanding results.

For further information on TSD's projects in Djibouti, please see the following page of the Company's website https://orioleresources.com/investments/pandora-assaleyta-hesdaba/ 

Competent Persons Statement 

The information in this release that relates to Exploration Results has been compiled by Claire Bay (VP 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.

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. Following the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

** ENDS **

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

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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 Licences 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 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.