Oriole Resources, the AIM-quoted exploration company focused on West Africa, announces its final results for the year ended 31 December 2019.
Copies of the Company’s Annual Report will be posted to shareholders on or before 9 April 2020. The Company’s Annual General Meeting will be held at 1.00pm on 26 May 2020 at its offices located at Wessex House, Upper Market Street, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO50 9FD.
Operational Highlights:
· Successfully re-applied for the 472.5 square kilometer (‘km2‘) Dalafin land package, under a new licence named Senala, securing up to another 10 years tenure in this highly prospective south-eastern corner of Senegal;
· Continued exploration success by IAMGOLD Corporation (‘IAMGOLD’) through an extensive drill programme, which has seen it continue to earn-in to the Senala licence. Recent confirmation of the year three programme will see an anticipated 10,000 metres (‘m’) aircore (‘AC’) drilled at the Faré target in the north of the licence;
· Extensive exploration work at the Bibemi and Wapouzé licences in Cameroon undertaken, including 12,500m of trenching at Bibemi, delivering best results of up to 9.00m at 3.14 grammes per tonne (‘g/t’) gold (‘Au’);
· Application for an extensive 3,500km2 licence package in central Cameroon.
Financial Overview:
· Operating loss of £1.41 million reported for the year to 31 December 2019; a significant reduction compared to a loss of £2.55 million in the prior year. This was driven by increased cost discipline, including a 14% reduction in administration costs;
· Loss for the year reduced to £1.66 million, a reduction of 64% when compared to the prior year;
· Investment of £0.71 million into Oriole’s exploration projects in Cameroon, as the Group seeks to maximise cash available for exploration purposes;
· UK Administration expenses reduced by 22% to £1.03 million.
Post Year End:
· Post year end the Company made the first successful step in its asset realisation programme with the sale of its holding in Tembo Gold Corp (‘Tembo’) for £0.17 million;
· Closed a placing of equity to raise £0.24 million;
· In response to the current global situation relating to COVID-19, and with Cameroon’s borders closed, limited exploration work is expected in the next three months. Consequently, the Directors and senior management have taken reduced salaries for this period, in order to preserve the Company’s cash reserves in anticipation of the proposed drilling campaign later in the year.
Tim Livesey, CEO of Oriole, commented:
“It has been a successful year for Oriole, that has continued through to 2020. We have focused on advancing our early-stage exploration projects in Cameroon and the continuation of IAMGOLD’s earn-in at Senala, in Senegal, as well as progress on our asset realisation plans.
“We released results from trenching at Bibemi during 2019 that confirmed two adjacent gold mineralised corridors. The information obtained has been used to plan follow-up exploration work and has enabled drill target definition ahead of our drill campaign, expected to commence later this year. During the period, the Cameroonian government released results from the first phase of its PRECASEM programme, funded by the World Bank, which included regional-scale geochemistry. We recognise the exploration potential for precious metals in Cameroon and, based on our confidence from the early successes at Bibemi and Wapouzé, we submitted applications for an additional eight licences, consolidating our land holding in the country.
“In Senegal, our earn-in partner, IAMGOLD, has to date allocated US$1.50 million of exploration funding at Senala, targeting the Madina Bafé and Saroudia prospects and has recently announced its Year 3 programme which will focus on the Faré prospect. At the start of this year we received the renewal of our licence at Senala (previously Dalafin) which has secured tenure for up to a further 10 years. Additionally, IAMGOLD’s Boto gold project received its mine permit. Boto is located only 10km from the Madina Bafé prospect, and the prospects at Senala have the potential to identify additional mine feed for the project.
“Over the year we have been working on delivering our strategy to execute asset realisation and we were pleased to report the sale of the Company’s shares in Tembo. As a Board, and company, we strive to bring value to shareholders, focusing on advancing our projects and, where possible, minimising dilution. We reduced administration costs by 14% compared to 2018 and late last year the Board further aligned itself with shareholders by taking options in lieu of salaries. This has also allowed the Company to continue to prioritise and advance its exploration efforts.
“Finally, I would like to thank our employees for their hard work over the year and their continued support and commitment during the current difficult global health and financial crisis.”
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