AN OVERVIEW OF OROGENIC

GOLD SYSTEMS

By Jaidzeka Boris F
 OUTLINE
• Introduction
• Review of setting and Style of mineralization of orogenic
gold systems
• Worldwide distribution
• Characteristic of orogenic gold systems
• Genetic model
• Geological and structural control
• Exploration techniques
• Case study; Oriole Resources North Cameroon
• Geologic setting and Exploration techniques
• Recent advances to understand the style of
mineralization.
• Conclusion
 Introduction
 Orogenic or mesothermal gold systems have formed over
more than 3 billion years of Earth’s history, episodically
during the Middle Archean to younger Precambrian, and
continuously throughout the Phanerozoic.
 More than 75% of the of the gold recovered through history
belongs to the class of orogenic gold deposits.
 Prior to the last 25 years, ores were defined by grades of 5 to
10 g/t Au in underground mines; present-day economics,
open-pit mining, and improved mineral processing
procedures allow recovery of ores of ≤1 g/t Au, which has
commonly led to the recent reworking of lower grade zones
in many historic orebodies. (Goldfarb et al. 2005)
 The orogenic deposits are best subdivided into epizonal (<6
km), mesozonal (6–12 km) and hypozonal (>12 km) classes
 Review of the setting in
orogenic gold systems
 Orogenic gold systems are hosted by shear zones in
orogenic belts and primarily controlled by structural
evolution and structural geometry of the lithospheric
crust.
 This class of gold deposit is characteristically
associated with deformed and metamorphosed mid-
crustal blocks, particularly in spatial association with
major crustal structures.
 A consistent spatial and temporal association with
granitoids of a variety of compositions indicates that
melts and fluids were both inherent products of
thermal events during orogenesis
• Most ores are post-
orogenic with respect to
tectonism of their
immediate host rocks, but
are simultaneously syn-
orogenic with respect to
ongoing deep-crustal,
subduction-related
thermal processes.
 World Map Showing the Distribution of
Orogenic Gold deposits

(Geological Survey of Canada world gold database. (Chorlton, L.B., comp., 2004,)
 Characteristics of Orogenic gold systems
• Along major crustal-scale
compressional to
transtensional faults near
convergent boundaries
• Syn-tectonic
mineralization
• In deformed greenstone
belts of all ages.
• Depth at 5-10km(brittle-
ductile zone)
• Greenschist to
amphibolite-grade host
rock
 Characteristics of orogenic gold systems cont’d

 Gold laminated quartz-

carbonate veins filling
second and third order
structures
Moderate-steep dipping
Shallow dipping
 Alteration
Fe Carbonate
Sulfides
alkali metasomatism

(Gloves et al.,1998)
 Genetic Model
 Subduction beneath growing
fore-arc .
 Accretion of crustal material
 Increased thermal gradient
along convergent continental
margins
 Voluminous hydrothermal fluid
with favorable chemistry for Au
transport
 Delamination of lowercrust
 Slab break off
 Slab roll-back
 Mobilizes hydrothermal fluids-
channeled through reactivated
thrusts
(Goldfarb et al.,2001)
 Exploration techniques

 Photogeology (Remote sensing)

 Seismic method
 Sample extraction
• Stream sediment sampling
• Geological mapping
• Drilling
• Sampling
Geochemistry
 Assay
 ICP-MS methods
 Atomic absorption spectrometry

 Mineralogical studies
 LOCATION
CASE STUDY
• Bibemi is an early-stage
BIBEMI ORIOLE gold exploration project,
RESOURCES PLC covering highly prospective
GOLD PROJECT Neoproterozoic Pan-African
greenstone belts in the
Benoue division, north-
eastern Cameroon.
 GEOLOGICAL SETTING
• Bibemi (177 km2) is the
Company’s most advanced
project in Cameroon, where an
orogenic gold system has been
identified over a strike length
of almost 12 km.
• Associated with northeast-
trending shear zones,
mineralisation is
predominantly hosted by
quartz and quartz-tourmaline
veins that have formed in the
contact zone between tonalite
(to the west) and meta-
volcanic schist (to the east).
 Exploration techniques

• Prior to drilling at the project, Oriole had

completed a number of surface exploration
campaigns that had confirmed Bibemi as
being highlighly prospective for gold
mineralisation;
• Rock chip sampling
• A 100m x 100m infill soil sampling program
• Trenching.
• A geomagnetic survey has also recently been
completed at Bibemi.
 Exploration Techniques

• To date the Company has

completed four phases of
diamond drilling for
6,685.40m in 54 holes.
Holes were planned to
target the depth extension
of surface mineralisation
and zones of stacked
quartz veins at four key
prospects, namely Bakassi
Zone 1, Bakassi Zone 2,
Lawa East, and Lawa West.

Bibemi drill plan showing key prospects and drill collars

 Exploration Results Cont’d
• Initial rock-chip sampling returned values of up to 135.4 g/t Au
from the Bakassi Zone 1 prospect, 35.9 g/t Au from Bakassi Zone
2 and 22.38 g/t Au from Lawa East. During 2019, the Company
also completed over 12,500m trenching with best results of up
to 9m @ 3.14 g/t Au returned from Bakassi Zone 1.
• Between Q1-2021 and Q1-2022, the Company completed three
phases of diamond drilling for a total of 6,154.10 m in 49 holes,
which confirmed shear-hosted gold mineralisation at all four
prospects.
• The majority of the drilling has been focussed on a circa 1 km
long section at the southern end of the Bakassi Zone 1 and has
delivered best results to date of 6.50m grading 3.92 g/t
Au, including 1.00m grading 16.79 g/t Au, 5.20m grading 1.97
g/t Au, 9.20m grading 1.31 g/t Au and 2.10m grading 19.04 g/t
Au including 1.10m grading 36.06 g/t Au.
• The mineralised shear corridor at Bakassi Zone 1 has been
confirmed up to 150m wide and extends to a depth of at least
100m below surface.
Results from diamond drilling Bakassi zone 1
• The reported intersections are predominantly associated with
northeast-trending, laminated (shear-parallel) quartz-tourmaline
veins that dip steeply to the southeast and their interaction with
flatter-lying extensional quartz veins that are sub-horizontal to
shallowly east-dipping. The shear veins can range from a few
centimetres to over a metre in width, with the high-grade ore
shoots likely to plunge in a north-easterly direction, being parallel
to the intersection of the vein sets.
• At Lawa West, closely-spaced quartz veins up to 1.30m wide have
developed, and these are commonly sheared and/or brecciated
with fractures filled with sulphides, signifying multiple phases of
deformation and fluid flow. Importantly, at Lawa East,
mineralisation is also observed within the host rock (mafic schist)
rather than discrete quartz veins as found elsewhere within the
licence, supporting an interpretation of more pervasive fluid flow
and gold deposition
 Exploration Results cont’d

• A 100m x 100m infill soil

sampling programme was
completed during the Q4-
2021 the various prospect.
Results delivered grades of up
to 271 ppb Au and outlined a
well-constrained linear gold-
in-soil anomaly (>10 ppb Au) .
• This is encouraging in areas
with limited outcroping
quartz veins.
• During Phase 3 drilling at
Bakassi Zone 1, a northwest-
trending fault has been
intersected that appears to
have shifted the mineralised
structure c.200m to the west.
Soil sampling results to date at Bibemi, highlighting 2021
infill grid
 Recent Advances to Understand the Style of
Mineralization
• Phase 4 diamond drilling was completed in July 2022 to test the
theory of mineralised horizontal (extensional) veining at Bakassi
Zone 1, Lawa West and Lawa East – in addition to the already
confirmed sub-vertical veining – which could enhance the
mineralised volume within the hydrothermal system.
• Some core samples from this drilling phase
have been dispatched for analysis and results
are anticipated in Q3-2022. The results will
primarily be used to interpret the three-
dimensional geological and mineralisation
model for Bakassi Zone 1,