Senala Joint Venture Update

Oriole Resources PLC 

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

Senala Joint Venture Update

Oriole Resources PLC (AIM: ORR), the AIM-quoted exploration company focussed on West Africa, is pleased to provide an update on its Senala project ('Senala' or the 'Project') in Senegal, where joint venture partner IAMGOLD Corporation ('IAMGOLD') has the option to spend up to US$8 million to earn a 70% interest (announcement dated 1 March 2018). IAMGOLD is currently in Year 4 of that earn-in.

Further to the announcement on 12 May 2021, the Company is pleased to report that IAMGOLD has completed its Phase 1 drilling programme at the Faré prospect for 689.50 metres ('m') diamond drilling and 4,854 m reverse circulation ('RC') drilling. The Phase 2 programme has also been partially completed at the Madina Bafé prospect for a further 493 m diamond drilling and 3,111 m of a planned 5,000 m RC drilling. The programme has now been paused for the rainy season and will resume in October 2021. Initial results from the programmes are anticipated during Q3 2021.

Summary

·    IAMGOLD has completed Phase 1 of its Year 4 programme at the Faré prospect, which the Company believes has the potential to be a standalone deposit:

o  Diamond drilling completed for 689.50 m in two holes;

o  RC drilling completed for 4,854 m in 42 holes over the strongest anomalies (up to 2.58 grammes per tonne ('g/t') gold ('Au')) identified from Year 3 air core ('AC') drilling at the Faré North and Faré Far South sub-prospects;

o  All samples have been submitted for assay with results anticipated in Q3 2021.

·    Phase 2 of the Year 4 programme is underway at the Madina Bafé prospect, located within 10 kilometres ('km') of IAMGOLD's Boto 2.5 million ounce ('Moz') mine development project:

o  The programme is focussed on testing a northeast-trending mineralised shear corridor that has recently been subject to artisanal mining;

o  493 m diamond drilling completed in three holes;

o  3,111 m of the planned 5,000 m RC drilling programme completed in 48 holes;

o  Remainder of the programme to be completed in Q4 2021, after the seasonal rains.

·    Subject to completion of the Year 4 expenditure plan, IAMGOLD will have the right to acquire a 51% interest in the Project.

Oriole Resources CEO, Tim Livesey, said: "Understanding the geological and resource potential at both the Faré and Madina Bafé targets will bring significant focus and value to the Senala licence and so we are very pleased to have seen the excellent progress made by the IAMGOLD exploration team at both prospects through the first half of the year.

"Positive results at Faré would offer the potential to take us closer to delivering a maiden resource, whilst positive results at Madina Bafé may mean the prospect consolidates as a satellite target for the neighbouring Boto mine development project. IAMGOLD is continuing to invest in Boto through a planned additional US$60 million programme of advanced site works and detailed engineering in 2021.

"We look forward to updating the market as and when results are received and our geological team have had the opportunity to update our geological models."

Further Details

In March, the Company reported that, under the terms of an Option Agreement on Senala, IAMGOLD had entered Year 4 of its investment period at the Project and had proposed an exploration programme that would enable it to meet its contractual commitment of US$1.672 million before 28 February 2022 (announcement dated 23 March 2021).

The Company today reports that Phase 1 of that programme has been completed at the northernmost Faré prospect, where the Company has previously defined anomalous mineralisation over a strike length in excess of 6 km (announcements dated 4 December 2012 and 6 June 2016) and where previous drilling has delivered best intersections of 20 m grading 31.13 g/t Au including 10 m grading 60.98 g/t Au from RC drilling and 59.60 m grading 2.20 g/t Au and 49.50 m grading 1.75 g/t Au from diamond drilling (announcement dated 9 November 2020).

The programme included 689.50 m diamond drilling in two holes, planned to test the depth extension of the main mineralised zone at Faré South as defined by the historic drilling. A further 4,854 m RC drilling has also been completed in 42 holes along strike at Faré North and Faré Far South, where the Year 3 AC drilling programme delivered anomalies of up to 2.58 g/t Au (announcement dated 11 March 2021). All samples have been sent to the laboratory for analysis and results are anticipated during Q3 2021.

In June, Phase 2 of the Year 4 programme was also commenced over a northeast-trending structural corridor at the southernmost Madina Bafé prospect, where recent artisanal mining activity has been identified in the immediate vicinity of the Company's previous drilling that returned best grades of up to 9.60 m grading 16.08 g/t Au (announcement dated 16 July 2014). Importantly, the prospect is located within 10 km distance of IAMGOLD's Boto 2.5 Moz mine development project, where c.US$60 million of de-risking activities are planned for 2021, pending a construction decision. Any resource identification at this prospect could provide mine-truckable feed for Boto.

To date, 493 m diamond drilling has been completed in three holes as well as 3,111 m (in 42 holes) of a planned 5,000 m RC drilling programme. For the safety of the team, IAMGOLD has paused the programme for the remainder of the rainy season and anticipates restarting the programme in October. All samples to date have been sent for analysis and initial results are anticipated in Q3 2021.

Subject to completion of the Year 4 expenditure plan, IAMGOLD will have the right to acquire a 51% interest in the Project and will thereafter need to spend a further US$4 million over two years to earn a 70% interest.

For further information, including an updated JORC Table 1, please see the Senala page on the Company's website https://orioleresources.com/projects/senala/.

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.

** ENDS **

The information contained within this announcement is deemed 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. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

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 Cameroon 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.