(Sharecast News) - West Africa-focussed exploration company Oriole Resources updated the market on its 90%-owned Central Licence Package (CLP) in Cameroon on Monday, reporting initial results from its soil sampling programme.
The AIM-traded firm said the district-scale CLP consists of eight contiguous licences covering 3,592 square kilometres of previously-unexplored Paleo-Proterozoic to Pan-African age rocks, that were "highly prospective" for orogenic-style gold mineralisation.
It said grades of up to 838 parts of gold per billion had outlined multiple gold-in-soil anomalies, including an 11.5 kilometre-long anomalous zone at the Mbe licence.
Oriole said gold assay results had been received for 4,785 soil sediment samples related to a pilot area grid completed over the Mbe and Ndom licences.
Multiple gold-in soil anomalies were identified at both licences, related to the northeast-trending Tcholliré Banyo Shear Zone (TBSZ) corridor.
The firm said the highest reported result of 838 parts of gold per billion was returned from the Mbe licence, within an 11.5 kilometre in-situ anomalous gold-in-soil zone.
It said that anomaly appeared to be related to the same northeast-trending structure as a currently-untested topographic high, immediately to the southwest, so the sampling programme would be expanded to cover that potential extension.
Sampling of the remaining four 'priority one' grids was ongoing.
"Our initial stream sediment sampling programme confirmed gold in a number of drainage basins covering more than 50 kilometre strike length of the Tcholliré-Banyo Shear Zone corridor," said chief executive officer Tim Livesey.
"The soil sampling results are providing further definition to those anomalies, enabling the team to focus-in on the most prospective areas that will lead naturally towards trenching and drill targeting."
Livesey said the results were "hugely significant", as they confirmed the proof-of-concept for the Central Licence Package.
"We are seeing multiple areas of gold mineralisation in a brand-new gold district where there has been no historical exploration."
At 1318 GMT, shares in Oriole Resources were up 1.8% at 0.31p.
Oriole (ORR)