Alto Metals encounters visible gold in sampling at Sandstone project
Alto confirmed an update to Sandstone’s open pit resource is due for completion this month.
Alto Metals (ASX: AME) has encountered visible gold from rock chip sampling at its wholly-owned Sandstone gold project in Western Australia.
The gold was identified in a new prospect area south of the Indomitable Camp which has not been adequately tested by previous exploration.
Samples were collected as part of exploration activities with local prospectors and represent the first identification of visible gold mineralisation in rock chips at this location.
The rock chips comprise regolith material likely to be associated with banded iron formation.
The company said laboratory assay results will determine the widths and grades of the visible fold.
Priority targets
Alto has also confirmed the identification of additional priority targets between Indomitable and Vanguard, where historic results returned 12 metres at 3 grams per tonne gold from 60m, ending in mineralisation, and 19m at 1.5g/t gold from 40m.
A planned reverse circulation drilling campaign is due to commence at the area shortly.
All targets are near to the surface and hosted within the 20-kilometre-long northwest-to-southeast trending gold corridor of the Alpha Domain.
They include Cessna, New Prospect, Eclipse, Duke of Windsor, Bollinger, Indomitable East Extension, Bulletin and Bull Oak.
Southern extension
Cessna is believed to be a southern extension of Indomitable Camp, where historical rotary air blast and air core drilling reported significant gold mineralisation which remains open and has not been followed up.
Historical results from Cessna include 15m at 1.3g/t gold from 5m, with mineralisation defined over 140m of strike and remaining open.
Drilling will initially test interpreted high-grade mineralised structures reported in November which included 25m at 7.5g/t gold from 41m.
The campaign will also test extensions at Indomitable East and Musketeer, with first pass drilling also at Cessna and Duke of Windsor.
Resource update
Alto is working on an update to the current open pit resource at Sandstone, which stands at 635,000 ounces grading 1.6g/t gold.
The company confirmed the update remains on track for completion this month.