(Sharecast News) - Oriole Resources updated the market on exploration at its Mbe gold project in Cameroon on Tuesday, announcing promising results from phase two infill trenching and the planned start of a maiden drilling programme in the fourth quarter.

The AIM-traded firm said Mbe, Located in the Adamawa region, is 80%-owned by Oriole Resources, with BCM International holding a 10% stake and committing up to $4m in exploration funding to potentially acquire a further 40% interest.

It said the latest phase two trenching results at the MB01 prospect identified broad zones of gold mineralisation.

Highlights included 79 metres grading at 0.43 grams of gold per tonne, with higher-grade intervals such as two metres at 1.6 grams per tonne, and a separate 122 metres at 0.34 grams per tonne, including six metres at 1.03 grams of gold per tonne.

The trenching data revealed two distinct mineralised corridors - a 500-metre-long corridor at MB01-S trending north-south to north-north-east-south-south-west, and a 450-metre -long corridor at MB01-N trending north-north-west-south-south-east.

It said the phase one and two results aligned well, confirming a significant mineralised structure within the zones.

An independent structural review by SEMS Exploration indicated two extensional fault and fracture sets that appeared to control gold distribution within the MB01 system.

Oriole said it was preparing to start a fully-funded maiden drilling programme late in the fourth quarter, with equipment mobilised to the site.

Further details on the drilling would be provided in due course, as the company advanced its exploration efforts within this prospective 2,266 square kilometre licence area.

"We are pleased to have now reported the final highly encouraging trenching results from Mbe," said chief executive officer Martin Rosser.

"They are consistent and correlate well with those from Phase 1 and are over significant gold mineralised widths.

"Excitingly, we are now making all necessary arrangements for the eagerly awaited start, in this current quarter, of the maiden drilling programme."

At 1605 GMT, shares in Oriole Resources were down 6.25% at 0.3p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.