West Africa-focused metals exploration company Oriole Resources last month announced that mineral drilling solutions provider Capital Limited had started mobilising equipment for a 3 000 m diamond drilling contract for the Bibemi exploration licence in Cameroon.

The press release notes that Oriole anticipates that mobilisation of equipment will take about six to eight weeks, which will enable Oriole to start its planned maiden drilling programme during the fourth quarter. Seventeen drill holes have already been identified and pegged within the high-grade Bakassi area for a planned programme of 1 940 m.

The programme will focus on testing the depth-extension of mineralisation identified to date and further targeting is planned at the northern end of Bakassi, which remains open along strike.

“We are very pleased that the mobilisation of the equipment for the drill programme at Bibemi – which was delayed [as a result of] the Covid-19 pandemic – has begun,” says Oriole Resources CEO Tim Livesay.

He states that the company is confident that Bibemi will continue to build on the good results it has already yielded from the rock chip sampling and trenching programmes, adding that “it will be great to get some vertical extension to the significant trends the team have already identified on surface”.

Moreover, the company will, upon completion of the drill programme, have satisfied the earn-in conditions to vest at 90% of the project.

Oriole noted that, under the terms of its option agreement with Bureau d’Etudes et d’Investigations Géologico-minières, Géotechniques et Géophysiques SARL, the company is earning up to a 90% interest in the Bibemi and Wapouzé projects in northern Cameroon, by spending $3.12-million over four years. The company is currently in Year 3 of that investment period.

“We look forward to sharing the results of our drill programme with our shareholders in due course.”