Wapouzé Exploitation Licence Application Submitted
Summary by AI BETAClose X
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the retained EU law version of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 (the "UK MAR") which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The information is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of the UK MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
Oriole Resources PLC
(“Oriole Resources” or the “Company”)
Wapouzé Limestone Project: Exploitation Licence Application Submitted
Oriole Resources (AIM: ORR), the AIM quoted exploration and development company focused on Central and West Africa, is pleased to provide an update on its 85%-owned Wapouzé project (“Wapouzé” or the “Project”) in north-eastern Cameroon, where a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) of 32.2 million tonnes (“Mt”) metamorphosed limestone (“marble”), with weighted average grades of 50.33wt% CaO, 1.13wt% MgO and 6.06wt% SiO₂, was announced on 7 October2026.
Highlights
· An Exploitation Licence Application (“ELA”) for Wapouzé has now been submitted to Cameroon’s Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (“MINMIDT”).
· It is envisaged the Project will comprise a multi-pit quarrying operation and a processing facility which together will produce a homogeneous crushed marble product (the “Product”) suitable for use in a range of industrial processes, most notably in the cement industry for clinker production.
· As part of the ELA, the Company has prepared an internal preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) based on quarrying an initial 38% of the existing MRE (12.3Mt marble) over a period of 24 years at a rate of 500ktpa of limestone Product, with the intention that this would be supplied exclusively to a cement manufacturer.
· Discussions are ongoing and planned with a number of potential industry parties looking to enter or expand their capacity in the Cameroon cement market.
· The Company has also submitted a local level Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (“ESIA”) for the Project to the Cameroon Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development (“MINEPDED”).
· Ultimately, the Company is looking to achieve a commercial arrangement providing a valuable income stream that could be used to support its gold-focused exploration work in Cameroon.
Chief Executive Officer of Oriole Resources, Martin Rosser, commented: “The submission of an exploitation licence application for Wapouzé is a major milestone. In a short period of only a few months, we have progressed from the maiden drilling programme, to the determination of the substantial maiden MRE, with multi-decade production potential, to the ELA. Meanwhile, the ELA will significantly bolster our current efforts to attract a major industry specialist partner to support our ongoing feasibility studies and ambitious development plans once the ELA is approved.”
Further Details
The Wapouzé Project is in north-eastern Cameroon, approximately 100km NE of the large city of Garoua and 20km north of the Company's Bibemi gold project.
On 24 September 2026, the Company published results from its 1,053.80m (21 holes) maiden diamond drilling programme, which confirmed substantial widths of high-quality marble. Based on results from that programme, the Company’s consultant Forge International Limited, defined a maiden JORC Inferred MRE, as announced on 7 October 2026, contained within four pit shells (Pit 1 to Pit 4), of 32.2Mt with weighted average grades of 50.33wt% CaO, 1.13wt% MgO and 6.06wt% SiO₂. An additional Exploration Target of between 5.5 and 14.0Mt at average grades of 48-53wt% CaO and 0.8-1.4wt% MgO was also defined within the licence area, but outside of the MRE.
The Company today reports that it has submitted an ELA for Wapouzé. It is envisaged that the Project will comprise a multi-pit quarry operation and processing plant which together will produce a chemically and physically consistent crushed marble Product, suitable for use in a range of industrial processes.
As part of the overall ELA, the Company engaged Jurilex International, a Cameroonian consultancy certified by MINEPDED, to undertake a local-level Detailed ESIA for the Project. Jurilex completed the work recently, and the ESIA was submitted to MINEPDED on 22 October 2026.
The Company has also completed an internal PEA for the Project, focused on exploiting an initial 38% (or 12.3Mt) of the existing MRE and assumes a 500ktpa production rate, for a 24-year life of mine, which is based on conceptual phasing of Pits 1 and 2. Further work is required in terms of quarry design and more detailed economic studies to upgrade the PEA to scoping study level status.
Commercially, a significant limestone deposit at Wapouzé could be highly suitable to support Cameroon's cement industry, which is believed to be worth several hundred million pounds per year, and is largely dependent on expensive importation of essential clinker material. The Company believes that there is a significant demand for cement (for concrete) within Cameroon and neighbouring Chad (with its capital, N'Djamena, approximately 250km NNE of Wapouzé). Furthermore, Cameroon has seen substantial foreign investment made into expanding its cement manufacturing capacity, with neighbouring plants to Wapouzé producing cement from similar material, and the government is keen to see its reliance on imported clinker reduce significantly.
The Company also recognises that crushed marble/limestone products of specific characteristics can be used in other industrial processes outside of clinker/cement production. For example, material with a high CaO (>54wt%) should qualify as chemical lime, which is a relatively valuable commodity used in gold ore processing and many other chemical industry processes.
Oriole Resources is continuing its discussions with potential industry partners that could advance Wapouzé towards development and exploitation on an expedited basis. The Company is ultimately looking to achieve income from a commercial quarrying operation that could be redeployed into its gold focused exploration work in Cameroon.
For further information on Wapouzé, including maps and a JORC Table 1, please see the following page of the Company's website https://orioleresources.com/projects/wapouze/.
Enquiries:
|
Oriole Resources Plc |
Tel: +44 (0)23 8065 1649 |
|
Martin Rosser / Bob Smeeton / Claire Bay |
|
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Strand Hanson Limited (Nomad) |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7409 3494 |
|
Christopher Raggett / James Spinney / Edward Foulkes |
|
|
Zeus Capital Limited (Broker) |
Tel: +44 (0)20 3829 5000 |
|
Simon Johnson / James Bavister |
|
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IFC Advisory Ltd (Financial IR & PR) |
Tel: +44 (0)20 3934 6632 |
|
Tim Metcalfe / Graham Herring / Florence Staton |
Glossary and Abbreviations
|
CaO |
Calcium oxide (commonly called lime) |
|
Clinker |
A solid lumpy material output from a cement kiln produced by firing a raw mix at 1,450°C composed principally of limestone or marble with silico-alumina and iron material (clays, sand, schists etc.). Clinker is inert for transport or storage but once ground to a fine powder with a small proportion of gypsum becomes Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) |
|
Company |
Oriole Resources PLC |
|
ELA |
Exploitation Licence Application |
|
ESIA |
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment |
|
Exploration Target |
An estimate of the exploration potential of a mineral deposit, expressed as a range of tonnes and grades, where there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource |
|
Forge |
Forge International Limited |
|
JORC |
Joint Ore Reserves Committee |
|
JORC Code |
2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves |
|
km |
Kilometre |
|
ktpa |
Thousand tonnes per annum |
|
m |
Metre |
|
MgO |
Magnesium oxide |
|
MRE |
Mineral Resource Estimate |
|
Mt |
Million tonnes |
|
Oriole Resources |
Oriole Resources PLC |
|
SiO2 |
Silicon dioxide, or ‘silica’ |
|
Wapouzé |
Wapouzé limestone project in northern Cameroon |
|
wt% |
Weight percent is a way to measure the concentration of a mixture or solution by comparing the mass of one component to the total mass of the entire mixture |
Notes to Editors
Oriole Resources PLC is an AIM-quoted gold exploration and development company, with projects in Central and West Africa. It is currently focused on projects in Cameroon.
At its district scale Central Licence Package (CLP) in Cameroon, the Company has identified multi-kilometre long gold anomalies, including at its flagship Mbe project. At Mbe, the Company has published a global JORC Inferred MRE of 1.66Moz contained gold at MB01, consisting of 1.30Moz at 1.01g/t Au for the MB01-S deposit, and 360koz at 1.05g/t Au for the MB01-N deposit. Following the completion of the MB01-N drilling programme, and by meeting various financial commitments, BCM International (“BCM”) has earned a 50% interest in the Mbe project, and Oriole has recently completed a corporate restructuring to confirm the Company's and BCM's respective 50% interest in Mbe. Drafting of a JV partnership agreement is nearing completion.
The Company has also reported a Resource of 460,000oz contained gold at 2.06g/t Au in the JORC Indicated and Inferred categories at its 50% owned Bibemi project in Cameroon, where it has applied for an Exploitation Licence. In November 2025, BCM completed its earn-in to give it a 50% interest in Bibemi by meeting certain payment conditions, including spending US$4 million on exploration.
At its 85%-owned Wapouzé limestone project in north-eastern Cameroon, the Company has recently published a maiden JORC Inferred Resource of 32.2Mt with weighted average grades of 50.33wt% CaO, 1.13wt% MgO and 6.06wt% SiO₂. Outside of the MRE, an Exploration Target of between 5.5 and 14.0Mt of marble with weighted average grades of between 48 and 53wt% CaO and 0.8 and 1.4wt% MgO. The Company has also announced the submission of an ELA and ESIA for the project as of October 2026, and is ultimately looking to achieve an income that could be used as additional funding for Oriole's gold-focused exploration work in Cameroon.
At the Senala gold project in Senegal, AGEM Senegal Exploration Suarl (“AGEM”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Managem Group, has completed a six-year earn-in to acquire an approximate 59% beneficial interest in the Senala Exploration Licence by spending US$5.8 million. The Company has reported a Resource of 155,000oz contained gold at 1.26g/t Au (using a gold price of US$1,800/oz) in the JORC Inferred category for the Faré South prospect, and an additional, complementary Exploration Target range of 17Mt to 24Mt at a grade of 0.69g/t to 0.84g/t Au for 380,000oz to 650,000oz contained gold for all prospects at Senala. Best results to date include 20.00m grading 31.13 g/t Au including 10.00m grading 60.98 g/t Au from RC drilling and 59.60m grading 2.20 g/t Au from diamond drilling. A JV agreement was signed in July 2026 with a US$2 million work programme planned for the current field season.
The Company also has several interests in companies operating in East Africa and Turkey that could give future cash payments.
For further information please visit www.orioleresources.com, @OrioleResources on X
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