Sandstone Gold Project – ASX Announcement – 31 May 2023
Alto Metals Limited (ASX: AME) (Alto or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on gold exploration activity as it prepares for deeper RC drilling at Indomitable Camp and regional exploration has identified several new lithium targets, within the Company’s 100% owned, Sandstone Gold Project, (Sandstone Gold Project or Sandstone) in Western Australia.
Drilling plans targeting high-grade gold at depth at Indomitable being finalised. Regional review outlines several lithium targets coincident with mapped pegmatites.
- Planning of deeper RC drilling to test high-grade targets at depth at Indomitable, which has had limited drilling below 200m depth, is almost finalised. This drilling intends to follow up on recently announced shallow results including:
o 16m @ 13.1 g/t gold from 19m, incl. 3m @ 62.2 g/t gold from 29m
o 16m @ 7.2 g/t gold from 65m, incl. 4m @ 24.2 g/t gold from 74m;
o 25m @ 7.5 g/t gold from 41m, incl. 6m @ 22.3 g/t gold from 56m
- The recently updated Independent Mineral Resource Estimate for the Sandstone Gold Project, outlines an optimised and pit-constrained 17.6Mt @ 1.5 g/t gold for 832,000oz within A$2,500/oz pit-shells. Importantly the mineral resources are shallow with over 90% within 150m from surface. The optimised and pit-constrained MRE captures over 80% of the total unconstrained MRE of 23.5Mt at 1.4 g/t gold for 1.05Moz.
Lithium Targeting - High-resolution satellite imagery and multi spectral analysis has identified several lithium pegmatite targets at the Sandstone Project (see Figure 2)
- Field work has commenced, identifying outcropping pegmatites spatially coincident to several of the targets located on the eastern flank of the project area where Rio Tinto have recently secured contiguous tenure, focused on lithium exploration (see Figure 1).
- Further field mapping and sampling is ongoing. Planning is underway for an infill soil geochemistry program and assays are currently pending for selected rock chip samples.
- No previous lithium exploration work ever been undertaken at the Sandstone Project and, whilst early stage, the Company considers the results of this initial reconnaissance and targeting work encouraging. Alto has engaged CSA Global and Terra Resources to support its ongoing lithium targeting work.
- Given the scale of the project and in response to third party interest in the lithium potential at Sandstone, Alto is considering various options to maximise shareholder value, so that it can remain focused on gold exploration.
Alto’s Managing Director, Matthew Bowles said:
Planning for the next phase of drilling at Indomitable is well underway and intends to follow up on some of the exceptional results recently announced, including 16m @ 13.1 g/t gold from 19m intersected in SRC918. Drilling is targeting the orientation of these interpreted high-grade structures within the fresh rock at depth, which has had relatively no drilling below 200 metres depth.
While our focus remains firmly on gold exploration at the Sandstone Project, our campaign-based exploration programs has allowed us to undertake low cost regional exploration in parallel, targeting lithium.
Sandstone has never had any previous exploration focused on lithium and, whilst at an early stage, several targets have been identified, which is encouraging. We are now moving to implement follow-up field verification and mapping programs to further define these targets.
SOURCE: ALTO Metals
DATE: 31 May 2023