Oriole Resources plc (LON:ORR), the AIM quoted exploration and development company focused on Central and West Africa, has provided an update on its 85%-owned Wapouzé project in north-eastern Cameroon, where a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 32.2 million tonnes metamorphosed limestone, 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 for Wapouzé has now been submitted to Cameroon’s Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development.
· 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 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 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 for the Project to the Cameroon Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development.
· 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.
