Alto Metals makes ‘exceptional’ gold hit of 7.5g/t at Indomitable Camp

Alto Metals (ASX: AME) has revealed an “exceptional” gold intercept from drilling at the Indomitable Camp within its wholly-owned Sandstone gold project in Western Australia.

The “exceptional” intersection was 25 metres at 7.5 grams per tonne gold, which Alto says demonstrates the potential for material resource growth at the prospect.

The company said the new intersection is located 80m outside of the current Sandstone resource, 20m south of a previous hole which returned 10m at 3.2g/t gold from 69m, and 20m north of a hole which returned 15m at 3.8g/t gold from 44m.

Best results from 40m and 80m-spaced extensional drilling at Indomitable were 15m at 2.1g/t gold from 62m, including 10m at 3g/t from 67m; 8m at 2.4g/t gold from 10m; 9m at 1.3g/t gold from 54m, including 5m at 2.1g/t gold from 54m; and 7m at 1.6g/t gold from 120m, including 1m at 5.9g/t gold from 122m.

Also reported was 31m at 0.6g/t gold from 61m, including 5m at 1.1g/t gold from 64m; 10m at 1.0g/t gold from 60m, including 1m at 3.6g/t gold from 60m; 29m at 1g/t gold from 69m, including 7m at 2.2g/t gold from 69m and 10m at 1.4g/t gold from 119m including 6m at 2.1g/t gold from 119m.

Increasing the resource

Drilling at Indomitable has been focused on increasing the current open-pitable resource at Sandstone which sits at 635,000 ounces grading 1.6g/t gold.

Alto said the mineralisation is shallow and currently defined over a strike of over more than 2.5km.

It remains open and is hosted within a 20km-long gold corridor which also hosts the Vanguard and Havilah deposits, within the Alpha Domain priority area.

Strong year of drilling

Managing director Matthew Bowles said the latest results have rounded out a strong year of drilling at Sandstone.

“We are very pleased with the results from this year’s drilling which continue to demonstrate the potential for Indomitable to be a much larger system and places us in a great position to deliver an updated resource estimate next year,” he said.

He said the new resource would incorporate follow-up drill results from drilling at the Lord Nelson and Juno targets as well as assays from the ongoing infill and extensional work at Indomitable.

It will include a maiden resource for the Indomitable East and Musketeer prospects.

Oroya exploration

Alto recently commenced a 2,000m maiden exploration program at the historic high-grade Oroya operation which lies within the Sandstone project.

The mine produced 220,000oz at 16.5g/t gold (from underground) between 1904 and 1920 and a further 25,000oz at 2.3g/t gold (from a shallow open pit) in 1994.

It has not been subject to modern drilling in over 15 years.

Alto’s maiden program aims to test potential high-grade extensions of the Sandstone Reef, below the open pit, along strike and down dip of underground workings at Main Reef.

Best historic unmined intercepts from this area were 23m at 6.2g/t gold, including 2m at 55.9g/t gold; 8m at 17.9g/t gold from 69m, including 1m at 137g/t gold from 73m; 9m at 14.6 g/t gold from 42m, including 1m at 120g/t gold from 42m; and 6m at 8.3g/t gold from 49m, including 2m at 23.2g/t gold from 51m.

Mr Bowles said Oroya could hold significant amounts of remnant material due to historical activities focusing only on bonanza-style mineralisation within the reefs, leaving the rest of the area unmined.