Investment Update on Thani Stratex Resources

RNS Number : 3234S

Oriole Resources PLC

16 March 2021

 

Oriole Resources PLC 

('Oriole Resources' or 'the Company' or 'the Group')

Investment Update on Thani Stratex Resources

Oriole Resources PLC (AIM: ORR), the AIM-quoted exploration company focussed on West Africa, provides an update on its 24.92 per cent ('%') interest in Thani Stratex Resources Limited ('TSR') which, through its local subsidiary Thani Dubai Mining ('TDM'), held a 100% interest in the Hodine exploration licence in Egypt ('Hodine' or the 'Licence').

The Company is pleased to report that TSR has signed a binding Heads of Terms ('HoT') agreement with private investment company Red Sea Resources Ltd ('RSR') with respect to earning up to an 85% interest in Hodine in return for paying all outstanding fees and charges and making staged expenditure commitments totalling US$2.2 million.

  Highlights

· RSR has paid all outstanding fees and charges in connection with the renewal of the Hodine licence in return for an initial 7% interest, with TSR retaining a 93% interest;

· RSR to fund exploration activities at Hodine as per the following schedule:

o  US$1.2 million within 12 months of the Hodine licence renewal in return for a 51% interest ('First Option');

o  US$1.0 million over a further 12 months for an additional 34% shareholding, to acquire 85% ('Second Option').

· Both parties to contribute or dilute thereafter. If, at any time, TSR's shareholding falls below 10%, its interest shall be converted to a 1.5% net smelter return ('NSR') royalty on future gold production from Hodine, payable quarterly. This equates to a 0.37% NSR royalty for Oriole;

· TDM may, at any time after conversion to an NSR royalty, purchase 1.0% of the NSR royalty for US$10 million from TSR;

· Tim Livesey has been appointed to the board of the holding company as TSR's board representative for a period of at least 24 months;

· Oriole's shareholding in TSR has been diluted down to 24.92% from 26.10% following the satisfaction of creditors with an issue of ordinary share capital.

Oriole Resources CEO, Tim Livesey, said :  "We are very pleased to support this agreement, it will bring immediate funding, a new team and exploration programme to the licence, which I will be reviewing and supporting through my role as the TSR Board representative. 

"Having an existing JORC Inferred Resource of 209,000 ounces of gold at Anbat and a non-JORC Inferred Resource of 520,000 ounces of gold at Hutite, there is ample evidence of the prospectivity within the area.

"We have long valued the asset and feel that RSR has the capacity to add value for the benefit of all shareholders ."

Further Details

Thani Stratex Resources, through its local subsidiary TDM, held a 100% interest in the Hodine exploration licence in south-eastern Egypt that hosts the Anbat and Hutite projects, both of which host substantial resources.

At Hutite, the mineralised system is hosted by a melange of ultramafic/mafic rocks, representing one of the many suture zones between tectonic terranes in the eastern desert of Egypt and as seen all over the Arabian Nubian Shield. Although TSR has not completed any work at this project since acquiring it in 2014, former operator Thani Ashanti (a former alliance between Thani Emirates Resources Holdings and Anglogold Ashanti Limited) drilled over 30,000 metres ('m') of reverse circulation and diamond drilling between December 2010 and March 2013. On the basis of that work, South Africa based Quantitative Group estimated an Inferred Resource (non-JORC) of 11,410,000 tonnes grading 1.41 grammes per tonne ('g/t') gold ('Au') for 520,000 in-situ ounces using 0.4 g/t Au cut-off.

At Anbat, approximately 50km to the south east, TSR completed a total 18 holes diamond drilling for 3,976.80m between October 2016 and July 2017, which led to a revised geological model for a near-surface, flat-lying zone of gold-mineralisation on the eastern side of an identified mineralised intrusion. Reported intersections confirmed the continuity of broad zones of mineralisation defined by historic drilling, as well as narrower high-grade intervals of up to 227 g/t Au over 1.25m. In December 2017, TSR announced a maiden JORC 2012-compliant Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 209,000 oz at 1.11 g/t Au¹ within porphyry sills (Announcements dated 6 and 13 December 2017), although the geometry of these sills is yet to be fully resolved. Potential upside has also been highlighted within the granodiorite, where an Exploration Target has been disclosed. More drilling is required to ascertain whether there is any potential for a larger open-pit resource.

The Company today reports that TSR has signed a binding HoT agreement with private investment company RSR with respect to earning up to an 85% interest in Hodine. Under the terms of the agreement, RSR has paid all outstanding fees and charges in connection with the renewal of the Licence in return for an initial 7% interest, with TSR retaining a 93% interest. RSR has the option to pay US$1.2 million in exploration expenditure (or cash) during the subsequent 12-months to acquire an additional 44% interest, for a total 51% in the holding company, with TSR holding the remaining 49% interest.

RSR will have a Second Option to spend a further US$1 million on exploration to earn a further 34% interest, for a total 85% interest in the holding company. Subject to successful completion of the Second Option, TSR and RSR will have the option to contribute to further exploration at Hodine or else dilute its position. Should either party's interest be diluted below 10%, its holding shall be converted to a 1.5% NSR royalty on future gold production from the Licence. In the event that TSR's position is converted to a 1.5% NSR Royalty, Oriole shall be entitled to 0.37% of this.

Prior to signing the agreement, Oriole's shareholding in TSR was diluted down to 24.92% from 26.10% following the satisfaction of creditors with an issue of ordinary share capital.

For further information on the Company's investment in TSR, please see  the following page of the Company's website   https://orioleresources.com/investments/hutite-and-anbat/  

Competent Persons Statement  

The information in this release that relates to Exploration Results has been compiled by Claire Bay (VP Exploration and Business Development). Claire Bay (MGeol, CGeol) is a Competent Person as defined in the JORC code and takes responsibility for the release of this information. Claire has reviewed the information in this announcement and confirms that she is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information reproduced here.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014, which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (withdrawal) Act 2018 . Following the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

** ENDS **

For further information please visit   www.orioleresources.com ,   @OrioleResources  on Twitter, or contact:

Oriole Resources PLC Bob Smeeton / Tim Livesey / Claire Bay	Tel: [phone]
Blytheweigh (IR/PR contact) Tim Blythe / Megan Ray / Rachael Brooks	Tel: [phone]
Grant Thornton UK LLP Samantha Harrison / Seamus Fricker / George Grainger	Tel: [phone]
Shard Capital Partners LLP Damon Heath / Erik Woolgar / Isabella Pierre	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors:

Oriole Resources PLC is an AIM-listed exploration company, operating West Africa. It is focused on early-stage exploration in Cameroon (Bibemi, Wapouzé and Central Cameroon projects) and the more advanced Senala gold project in Senegal, where IAMGOLD has the option to spend US$8 million to earn a 70% interest. Year two commitments have been met at Bibemi, Wapouzé and Senala. The Company has several interests and royalties in companies operating throughout Africa and Turkey that could deliver future cash flow, and it continues to assess new opportunities in both regions.

 

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