Aim-listed Oriole Resources says lithium pegmatites have been confirmed at its 90%-owned Central Licence Package (CLP) project, in Cameroon.

The district-scale CLP project comprises nine contiguous licences covering 4 091 km² of previously unexplored Paleo-Proterozoic to pan-African age rocks that are highly prospective for a range of commodities, including orogenic-style gold mineralisation and lithium.

Since the fourth quarter of 2022, the team has been undertaking early-stage exploration at two of these licences, Ndom and Gamboukou, to assess its potential to host lithium-bearing pegmatites.

A number of pegmatite units have now been identified that help underpin the source of the about 9 km lithium-in-soil anomalies reported in the fourth quarter.

Mapping and sampling programmes are continuing at Gamboukou.

In November 2022, the company reported that anomalous geochemical data from its soil sampling programmes had identified lithium-in-soil anomalism at the Ndom licence, each extending over an about 9 km strike length, associated with units mapped regionally as porphyritic granitoid.

In the same month, Oriole secured the Gamboukou licence, immediately to the south of Ndom, on the basis of it having similar lithium-prospective geology.

Since the fourth quarter, the team has been completing reconnaissance exploration at the Ndom and Gamboukou licences to assess its potential to host lithium-bearing pegmatites and has now confirmed multiple pegmatite veins within the granitoids and the older basement rocks.

A total of 64 rock-chip samples have been taken at Ndom, 55 of which are targeting pegmatite veins that are up to 1.5 m wide. Samples have also been taken to enable assessment of the mineralogy of the pegmatites to help understand which minerals are lithium-bearing.

“With the multi-element work flagging potential lithium anomalies during 2022, we are pleased to be progressing reconnaissance work on our licences as part of our CLP programme in 2023.

“While lithium was not an original target for Oriole, the anomalies highlighted by the earlier programmes seem to be associated with the correct granitic host units and this has created a great opportunity for additional value add in this extensive package of ground,” comments CEO Tim Livesey.

“The addition of the Gamboukou licence in late 2022 further expanded our target area and is testimony to our teams continued focus on delivery of value in Cameroon through good, consistent boots-on-the-ground exploration,” he adds.