Altair Minerals Expands Gold Exploration Program at Guyanese South Oko Prospect
Altair Minerals (ASX: ALR) has announced plans to double the size of its current field exploration program at the South Oko prospect in Guyana, which it finalised the acquisition of earlier this month.
The expanded scope of works at South Oko will include approximately 1,200 additional soil samples, 500 auger holes, and more than seven kilometres of trenching.
The company has also elected to triple the scope of its initial structural geophysical works and survey to cover 300 sq km of the Greater Oko project, which will include coverage over both the South Oko and North Peters targets.
Regional Expert Advice
Altair used input from Pascal Van Osta – who previously led exploration at the 10-million-ounce Toroparu gold discovery, also in Guyana – to formulate its plans for the expanded programs.
The company has already purchased two all-terrain vehicles, an excavator, and auger equipment, tripled its field exploration team, and commenced construction of a permanent camp at South Oko to support its exploration plans.
While the expanded exploration campaign is the most thorough and detailed set of pre-drilling field works in the Oko shear’s history, Altair remains of the belief that the increased scope will not impact the program’s timeline.
The auger equipment is already on site, and the company plans to commence sampling immediately.
Multiple Deposits to Find
Chief executive officer Faheem Ahmed said that Altair’s team was confident that the program of works would set the foundation of data required for a major discovery.
“We believe that, just like most major West African shear zones, there is not just one deposit to find on the Oko Shear, but multiple,” Mr Ahmed said.
He noted that the company’s program would cover approximately 15km of the Oko shear, with the 5 km two companies have drilled so far already uncovering 9Moz, and resulting in the formation of two assets worth over a billion dollars each.
Altair can potentially access a further 3,000 sq km of permits in the region through a strategic partnership with the vendors.
“The scope of works we are now going to execute at South Oko is exceptionally detailed and matches the scale of the target and scale of the project we are dealing with,” Mr Ahmed added.