Aim-listed Oriole Resources plans to capitalise on its position as a first-mover in Cameroon to expand its footprint in the country alongside its partner Bureau d'Etudes et d'Investigations Géologico-minières, Géotechniques et Géophysiques (BEIG3).

Oriole previously entered into earn-in agreements with two BEIG3 subsidiaries that could result in it eventually owning up to a 90% interest in the Bibemi and Wapouzé gold projects.

The company on Tuesday reported encouraging results from Phase 1 trenching at the Bibemi gold project.

“We are extremely encouraged to see that the second batch of Phase 1 trenching results from Bibemi continue to support an orogenic gold model and that interrogation and interpretation of the data has identified two main mineralised vein trends to date," CEO Tim Livesey noted in a statement.

A Phase 2 infill trenching programme at Bibemi has also been completed, with the samples to be submitted for analysis later this year.

The results of a detailed infill trenching programme will be made available late in the third quarter.

Livesey added that work continued to improve the company's understanding of the geological and structural setting of the mineralisation, with studies at the regional, camp and local scale.

"We are currently undertaking a range of technical studies, including the interpretation of regional airborne geophysical data, structural and geological analysis of recently re-mapped areas and detailed petrographic studies of rock samples from the key lithologies identified during the trenching programmes.

"This will move us one step closer to designing a targeted drilling programme to test the prospective central Bakassi area – the main focus of our field work to date – during the next dry season, commencing in October. Alongside this, we will be reviewing the broader Bakassi zone, where Reservoir Minerals previously identified a circa 20 km strike of anomalous gold mineralisation," Livesey said.

Meanwhile, at the Wapouzé project, which is located about 20 km north of Bibemi, Phase 1 infill soil sampling has been completed.

“We anticipate that the results from the infill soil sampling programme will be received and released before the end of the second quarter. This data will assist us in designing the next programme of work at Wapouzé, which will include detailed geological mapping and trenching over the key anomalous zones and will, ultimately, lead us to the identification of drill targets, he added.