West Africa-focussed explorer Oriole Resources, which manages activities at the Faré prospect at the Senala project in a joint venture with IAMGOLD, reports that IAMGOLD has completed its Phase 1 drilling programme at the prospect.

The programme included 689.5 m of diamond drilling and 4 854 m of reverse circulation (RC) drilling.

IAMGOLD has the option to spend up to $8-million to earn a 70% interest in the project and is currently in year four of the earn-in, with a proposed exploration programme that will enable it to meet its contractual commitment of $1.67-million before February 28, 2022.

The RC drilling has been completed in 42 holes over the strongest anomalies – thus far being a grade of up to 2.58 g/t gold – identified from year three air core (AC) drilling at the Faré North and Faré Far South subprospects.

However, the drilling programme has now been paused for the rainy season and will resume in October.

Oriole CEO Tim Livesey says that, understanding the geological and resource potential at both the Faré and Madina Bafé targets, will bring significant focus and value to the Senala licence.

The initial results from the programmes are expected in the third quarter this year.

Oriole has previously defined anomalous mineralisation over a strike length in excess of 6 km and where previous drilling has delivered best intersections of gold over 20 m, grading 31.13 g/t, including 10 m grading 60.98 g/t from RC drilling, 59.6 m grading 2.2 g/t and 49.5 m grading 1.75 g/t from diamond drilling.

Thus far, all samples have been submitted for assaying, with results anticipated in the third quarter of this 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,” he says.

Livesey adds that IAMGOLD is continuing to invest in Boto through a planned additional $60-million programme of advanced site works and detailed engineering this year.

PHASE 2 
In June, Phase 2 of the year four programme started 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 Oriole’s previous drilling that returned best grades of gold of up to 9.6 m grading 16.08 g/t.

The prospect is located within 10 km of IAMGOLD’s Boto 2.5-million-ounce mine development project, where about $60-million of de-risking activities are planned for this year, pending a construction decision.