Oriole Resources plc (LON:ORR), the AIM quoted gold exploration and development company focused on Central and West Africa, has signed a joint venture agreement with its project partner AGEM Senegal Exploration Suarl, a wholly owned subsidiary of Managem Group, in relation to the Senala orogenic gold project in eastern Senegal.
Highlights
· Completion of the JV Agreement replaces the former Option Agreement under which AGEM earned an approximate 59% beneficial interest in the Project by spending US$5.8 million on exploration (see announcement dated 19 February 2024). AGEM is to introduce US$212k of working capital into a new joint venture company to take its ownership to 60%.
· The Senala Exploration Licence will be transferred from Stratex EMC Sarl, the current holding vehicle, to JVCo. Stratex-EMC is an 85% subsidiary of the Group, with the local partner, Energy and Mining Corporation SA holding the remaining 15%. Stratex-EMC will subsequently hold a 40% interest in JVCo, and thus Oriole will hold an effective 34% interest in Senala.
· A standard contribute or dilute mechanism is in place for non-participation in the funding of any programmes. Should Stratex-EMC’s equity interest in Senala be diluted below 10%, it will automatically convert to a 2% Net Smelter Return Royalty. AGEM is entitled to the same terms should it be the diluting party.
· An estimated US$2 million work programme is expected to commence in August 2026, which will include a planned 3,000m diamond drilling programme at the main Faré prospect and 10,000m of auger drilling at the Baytilaye and Konkonou targets, located to the south/south-east. The Company is not currently planning to participate in the funding of these programmes and therefore its interest is expected to be diluted in accordance with the actual committed expenditure.
Background
· In March 2018, the Company’s 85%-owned subsidiary, Stratex-EMC, signed an Option Agreement with AGEM, formerly owned by IAMGOLD Corp, whereby AGEM could earn up to a 70% interest in the Project by spending up to US$8 million on exploration over six years.
· In 2021, the Company published a maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Faré South prospect of 155,000oz contained Au grading 1.26g/t Au in the Inferred category, based on a 0.30g/t Au lower cut off and within a US$1,800/oz pit shell. The MRE was prepared using drilling data collected by the Company prior to the Option Agreement being signed and remains current at that gold price.
· In 2025, the Company published an Exploration Target[1] range of 17 to 24Mt at a grade of 0.69 to 0.84g/t Au for 380,000oz to 650,000oz contained Au for all targets within the Faré prospect, incorporating all drilling completed by AGEM during its earn-in (see announcement dated 19 June 2025). The Exploration Target lies outside of, and is complementary to, the 2021 MRE envelope for Faré South.
Chief Executive Officer of Oriole Resources, Martin Rosser, said: “The completion of the joint venture agreement with our partner Managem is a major milestone for the Senala project as it paves the way for a detailed, soon to be commenced, next phase exploration programme, budgeted at US$2 million. The programme includes extensive drilling of the Project’s key targets.
“The Senala licence is situated within a notable gold district, straddling part of eastern Senegal and western Mali, which already hosts several multi-million-ounce discoveries and operating mines. This includes Managem’s operating Boto gold mine, located 15km away, with its 1.8Moz reserve and targeting 160koz annual gold production. We are greatly looking forward to building on the highly encouraging historical exploration work at Senala and reporting upon the results of the next phase of exploration.”
Further Details
Senala, with a licence area of 354.50km2, is an orogenic gold project located in south-eastern Senegal, in the centre of the Birimian-age Kédougou-Kéniéba Inlier (“KKI”) that extends from eastern Senegal into western Mali. The KKI has a significant gold endowment and has already seen multiple major gold discoveries, including Endeavour Mining’s Sabodala-Massawa project (5.2Moz Au resource) and Managem’s Boto mine (1.8Moz estimated reserve), both in Senegal, and Barrick Mining’s Loulo-Gounkoto project (11Moz Au attributable resource) across the border in Mali. To date, four main geochemical targets, Faré, Baytilaye, Konkonou, and Madina Bafé, have been confirmed by drilling on the Senala licence (see Figure 1).
In March 2018, Stratex-EMC, signed an Option Agreement with AGEM, whereby AGEM could earn up to a 70% interest in the Project by spending up to US$8 million on exploration over six years. AGEM’s expenditure during the earn-in was focused on the Faré prospect (comprising the Faré North, Faré South and Faré Far South targets) and the Madina Bafé prospect, and included 4,854m of reverse circulation and 2,148m of diamond drilling. This drilling delivered multiple new intersections, including 11.00m grading 1.22g/t Au at the Faré North target and 35.00m grading 3.61g/t Au, including 18.00m grading 6.46g/t Au, and 5.00m grading 12.45g/t Au, including 2.00m grading 26.61g/t Au, from Faré Far South target. AGEM also completed 10,695m of auger drilling at Faré. All significant intersections (using a 0.30g/t Au lower cut-off) for the Project can be found in the Senala JORC Table 1 disclosure on the following page of the Company’s website: https://orioleresources.com/projects/senala/.
In 2021, the Company reported a maiden JORC-compliant MRE for Faré South of 155,000oz contained gold grading 1.26g/t Au in the Inferred category, based on a 0.30g/t lower Au cut off and within a US$1,800/oz pit shell. The MRE was compiled for Oriole by independent consultant, Forge International Limited (“Forge”), and was prepared using drilling data collected by the Company prior to the Option Agreement being signed. More than two thirds of the MRE has been defined within oxide material, which supports the case for potential low-cost extraction should the Resource undergo future development.
Figure 1. Map showing Senala licence blocks, in the context of the geochemical anomalies defined to date. The main exploration prospects are shown in red outline.
AGEM completed its earn-in in February 2024, with expenditures of US$5.8 million equating to an approximate 59% beneficial interest in Senala. In June 2025, the Company engaged Forge to integrate the exploration results acquired under the Option Agreement to deliver an updated JORC Exploration Target[2] range of 17 to 24Mt at 0.69 to 0.84g/t Au for 380,000oz to 650,000oz contained Au covering all target areas at Faré. The Exploration Target provides further support for the existence of additional Resource potential outside of the existing open pit-constrained MRE. Both the Exploration Target and MRE remain open at depth and along strike.
The Company today reports that it has signed the JV Agreement with AGEM that replaces the Option Agreement. Under the terms of the JV Agreement, AGEM will allocate US$212k to JVCo, increasing its interest in Senala to 60%. The Senala Exploration Licence will be transferred from Stratex-EMC to JVCo, in which Oriole will hold an effective 34% interest, via its shareholding in Stratex-EMC.
An estimated US$2 million work programme is expected to commence in August 2026, which will include a planned 3,000m diamond drilling programme in 12 holes at the main Faré prospect, planned to follow up the best results of the 2021 reverse circulation drilling programme by testing both lateral and depth extensions of Faré gold-bearing structure. A 10,000m auger drilling programme has also been planned at the Baytilaye and Konkonou targets, located to the south/south-east, to test soil anomalies identified prior to the Option Agreement.
The JV Agreement contains a standard contribute or dilute mechanism for non-participation in the funding of any programmes. The Company is not current planning to participate in the funding of these programmes and therefore its interest is expected to be diluted in accordance with the actual committed expenditure. Should Oriole’s equity interest at Senala be diluted below 10%, it will automatically convert to a 2% Net Smelter Return (“NSR”) Royalty. AGEM is entitled to the same terms should it be the diluting party.
