Alto Metals hits shallow oxide gold mineralisation at Indomitable Camp
A highlight intercept from latest drill results was 15m at 2.2g/t gold from 126m, including 3m at 6g/t gold from 135m.
Reverse circulation drilling at the Indomitable Camp target, within the Sandstone gold project in Western Australia, has intersected shallow oxide gold mineralisation for owner Alto Metals (ASX: AME).
New results from 1-metre photon assays relate to 35 holes drilled at Indomitable East for a total 4,800m at an average depth of 137m.
Drilling was designed to follow up the recent wide-spaced step-out holes which targeted extensions of the mineralised banded iron formation (BIF) to the northwest and southeast.
The program intersected shallow gold in multiple holes, confirming continuity of mineralisation defined over a total strike of over 800m which remains open along strike to the north-west and south-east and at depth.
Near-surface results
Best near surface results were: 15m at 2.2 grams per tonne gold from 126m, including 3m at 6g/t gold from 135m; 13m at 2g/t gold from 38m, including 3m at 5.3g/t from 39m; and 15m at 1.5g/t gold from 54m, including 5m at 3g/t gold from 60m.
Other results comprised 22m at 1g/t gold from 19m, including 2m at 2.5g/t gold from 36m; 8m at 2g/t gold from 162m, including 1m at 7.7g/t from 166m; 13m at 1g/t gold from 38m, including 2m at 2.7g/t gold from 39m; and 11m at 1g/t gold from 18m, including 3m at 2.3g/t gold from 24m.
The most southerly hole returned 11m at 1.2g/t gold in oxide, demonstrating the mineralisation remains open to the southeast.
Previous extensional drilling west of Indomitable East intersected shallow gold including 14m at 1.2g/t from 9m and 11m at 1.7g/t from 11m, which highlights shallow mineralisation that also remains open to the west.
Updated resource estimate
Alto managing director Matthew Bowles said the company is now in a strong position to deliver an updated resource estimate for Sandstone in the new year.
“These excellent results continue to highlight the potential for a much larger system ,” he said.
“We are looking forward to starting our next drill program in the new year to follow up on these results and continue growing the shallow gold resources.”
Indomitable Camp is currently defined over a strike length of more than 2km and sits within a 20km northwest-southeast trending gold corridor, which also hosts the Vanguard and Havilah deposits within the Alpha Domain priority target area.
Oroya drilling
Alto has completed a first pass 2,000m drilling program at the historic high-grade Oroya gold mine which produced 220,000 ounces at 16.5g/t from underground between 1904 and 1920 and a further 25,000oz at 2.3g/t from an open pit in 1994.
The program represented the first exploration at Oroya in over 15 years.
It was planned to test potential high-grade extensions of the Sandstone Reef, below the shallow-mined Oroya pit and along strike and down dip of the underground workings of the main reef.
Assays are pending and further drilling at Oroya has been planned for early in the new year.