Alto Metals Limited (ASX: AME) has confirmed the continuity of wide zones of high-grade gold mineralisation at depth below the open pit at the Lord Nelson deposit within the company’s 800 sq. km Sandstone Gold Project in Western Australia.
The company said results final one metre re-split assay results from a February-March RC drilling programme (19 holes for 3,718m), targeting southern extensions of the Lord Nelson deposit and untested areas beneath the open pit are in line with previously released four metre composite results.
The Lord Nelson deposit was previously mined by Troy Resources NL down to 90m depth and produced 207koz at 4.6 g/t gold. The results of the recent drilling programme support the company’s view that the mineralisation style and geological setting of the Lord Nelson deposit and the newly discovered mineralisation below the open pit are analogous to many other Yilgarn orogenic gold deposits that extend to great depth.
Non-Executive Director, Matthew Bowles, said Alto now believes that the significant potential of this area has not yet been realised and the prospect will remain a priority area and focus of the company’s future drilling programmes.
Significant 1m assay results for the deeper RC drill holes beneath the Lord Nelson open pit include
- 17m @ 3.5 g/t gold from 200m including: 4m @ 11.6 g/t gold from 211m and 1m @ 25.5 g/t gold from 214m
- 16m @ 5.2 g/t gold from 240m including: 3m @ 13.5 g/t gold from 240m; and
- 5m @ 3.1 g/t gold from 232m
We are impressed with the width and grade of these latest assay results from Lord Nelson, particularly as they are from a previously untested primary zone beneath the historical pit,” Mr Bowles said.
“These results confirm the continuity of high-grade mineralisation down plunge from the current defined resource, and have very high-grade in the deepest hole Alto has yet drilled at Lord Nelson, in hole SRC176.”
Mr Bowles said the results from the recent drill programme support the company’s exploration strategy and provide justification for its priority focus at the Lords Prospects. The planning of further RC drill programmes is currently underway and may include:
- infill and extension drilling both along strike and at depth at Lord Nelson;
- commence testing of additional near-term targets in the Lords’ Camp area; and
- follow up drilling at other prospects including Vanguard and Indomitable Camps.
The company is also currently planning to drill test the Chance Prospect (a ~2km long x 500m wide undrilled soil anomaly on the Edale Shear) where it has been awarded up to $150,000 as part of the WA Government Exploration-Incentive-Scheme Co-funded Exploration Drilling Programme.
