Completion of Senala Joint Venture Agreement
Oriole Resources PLC has completed a joint venture agreement with AGEM Senegal Exploration Suarl for the Senala gold project in eastern Senegal, where AGEM will contribute US$212,000 to increase its ownership to 60%. Oriole Resources will hold an effective 34% interest through its subsidiary Stratex-EMC, which will hold a 40% stake in the new joint venture company. A US$2 million work program is slated to begin in August 2026, including 3,000 meters of diamond drilling and 10,000 meters of auger drilling, with Oriole Resources not currently planning to fund these programs and expecting its interest to be diluted, potentially converting to a 2% Net Smelter Return royalty if diluted below 10%.
Select text to share a quote on X · sign in to keep highlights & notes in your ORR notes
Oriole Resources PLC (AIM: ORR), the AIM quoted gold exploration and development company focused on Central and West Africa, is pleased to announce that is has signed a joint venture agreement (the "JV Agreement") with its project partner AGEM Senegal Exploration Suarl ("AGEM"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Managem Group ("Managem"), in relation to the Senala orogenic gold project ("Senala" or the "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 ("JVCo") to take its ownership to 60%.
- The Senala Exploration Licence will be transferred from Stratex EMC Sarl ("Stratex-EMC"), the current holding vehicle, to JVCo. Stratex-EMC is an 85% subsidiary of the Group, with the local partner, Energy and Mining Corporation SA ("EMC") 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 ("NSR") 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."
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:
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.
| AGEM | AGEM Senegal Exploration Suarl, a wholly owned subsidiary of Managem Group and Oriole Resources' joint venture partner for the Senala Project |
| Au | Gold |
| Company | Oriole Resources PLC |
| Forge | Forge International Limited |
| g/t | Grammes per tonne |
| Inferred Mineral Resource | The lowest confidence category of Mineral Resource under the JORC Code, based on limited geological evidence and sampling |
| JORC | Joint Ore Reserves Committee |
| JORC Code | 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves |
| KKI | Kédougou-Kéniéba Inlier, a Birimian-age geological belt extending through eastern Senegal and western Mali that hosts numerous significant gold deposits |
| Managem | Managem Group, a Moroccan mining company and the ultimate parent company of AGEM |
| MRE | Mineral Resource Estimate |
| Mt | Million tonnes |
| Oriole Resources | Oriole Resources PLC |
| oz | Troy ounce of gold (31.1035g) |
Background on Mbe
After highly encouraging results from infill soil sampling, rock-chip sampling, and trench sampling, a fully funded maiden drilling programme at the MB01-S target was completed in September 2025 for 6,828.40m in 24 holes. Best drilling results included 86.50m at 1.36g/t Au from 22.00m, including 39.40m at 2.00g/t Au (hole MBDD008), 21.30m at 1.61g/t Au from 2.40m (MBDD012) and 6.15m at 19.67g/t Au from 113.50m, including 1.00m at 119.10g/t Au (MBDD019). In October 2025, a maiden MRE was published for the MB01-S deposit of 870,000oz at 1.09g/t, using a US$3,200/oz gold price and a cut-off grade of 0.40g/t Au.
At the MB01-N target, 700m to the northeast of MB01-S, a 2,982.80m drilling programme in 15 holes was completed in February 2026. Best drilling results included 21.70m at 3.13g/t Au including 7.20m at 8.19g/t Au (from hole MBDD026), 56.20m at 0.99g/t Au, including 14.60m at 2.03g/t Au and 24.00m at 0.37g/t Au, including 2.00m at 2.21g/t Au (from hole MBDD039), and 16.10m at 2.49g/t Au including 1.00m at 28.60g/t Au, 2.00m at 6.57g/t Au and 14.80m at 0.73g/t Au (from hole MBDD027). The maiden MRE was published in April 2026 and stands at 360,000oz at 1.05g/t, using a US$3,200/oz gold price and a lower cut-off grade of 0.40g/t Au. This increased the total resource at Mbe which currently stands at 1.23Moz contained Au.
Mineralisation at both deposits remains open in all directions and at depth. A 10-hole step-out drilling programme has recently been completed at MB01-S and all results have been announced. An updated MRE is currently being prepared and is expected later in Q3-2026.
[1] The potential quality and grade of the Exploration Target are conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource, and there is no certainty that further exploration work will result in the determination of a Mineral Resource.
[2] The potential quality and grade of the Exploration Target are conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource, and there is no certainty that further exploration work will result in the determination of a Mineral Resource.
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.