Excellent Gold Grades from Drilling at Diba NW Prospect in Western Mali

2022-01-27 / @thenewswire

 

(TheNewswire)

Altus Strategies Plc

 

TheNewswire - 27 January 2022 - Altus Strategies Plc (AIM:ALS) (TSXV:ALTS) (OTCQX:ALTUF) announces the intersection of high gold grades from Reverse Circulation (“RC”) drilling at the Diba NW prospect, which forms part of the Company’s 100% owned, 105 square kilometres (“km2”) combined Diba & Lakanfla gold project (“Diba & Lakanfla” or the “Project”) in western Mali. The Project hosts numerous gold prospects including a shallow-dipping, near-surface gold deposit (the “Diba Deposit”) and the Diba NW prospect located on the Diba licence, as well as the Lakanfla Central and Lakanfla West prospects, located on the Lakanfla licence, approximately 5km east of the Diba licence.

 

Highlights:

  •  High gold (“Au”) grades from RC drilling at the Diba NW prospect in western Mali including: 

    • 8.74 grams per tonne (g/t”) Au over 7m from 119m (not true width) 

    • 4.76 g/t Au over 12m from 102m (not true width) 

    • 1.16 g/t Au over 29m from 126m (not true width) 

  •  Programme of approximately 10,000m of RC and Diamond Drilling (“DD”) in progress to: 

    • test the strike and down-dip potential of the Diba NW prospect 

    • test the extent of the high-grade zone within the Diba Deposit 

    • test the potential of the Lakanfla Central prospect 

    • expand the current Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") of the Diba Deposit 

    • potentially generate a maiden MRE at the Diba NW prospect 

    • potentially generate a maiden MRE at the Lakanfla Central prospect 

  •  Project MRE and Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) to be updated with results 

  •  Diba is strategically located in a world-famous gold belt that hosts numerous open-pit mines 

 

Steven Poulton, Chief Executive of Altus, commented:

“We are delighted to report on these high-grade results from the Diba NW prospect. Intersections of 4.76 g/t Au over 12m from 102m and 8.74 g/t Au over 7m from 119m (not true widths) are excellent. Diba NW is located 0.5km northwest of the Diba Deposit and is modelled as a coherent series of shallow-dipping, near-surface lenses of gold mineralisation along a discontinuous strike length of approximately 1.5km. These new high-grade intersections indicate the presence of potentially enriched zones, or sub vertical mineralised structures, at Diba NW which will be the subject of follow-up exploration.

 

"The current drilling programme comprises up to 10,000m of DD and RC and is designed to test the potential down-dip and along-strike extensions of the Diba Deposit and the Diba NW prospect. Drilling is also planned at the Lakanfla Central prospect at the Company’s 100% owned Lakanfla licence, located approximately 5km east of the Diba licence. Once completed, the drilling results will feed into an updated MRE for the Diba Deposit and a potential maiden MRE for the Diba NW and Lakanfla Central prospects. This work will be followed by an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Project. We look forward to updating shareholders as further results are received.”

 

Diba Licence: Drilling Programme

The drilling programme is being undertaken by Capital Drilling Limited and comprises up to 10,000m of DD and RC across the Diba Deposit, the Diba NW prospect and the Lakanfla Central prospect. To date, approximately 5,400m of RC and 1,360m of DD has been completed.

 

The DD programme is primarily testing the extent of the high-grade zone of mineralisation within the current Diba Deposit, as well as the down-dip extension of the mineralised lenses. In addition, the DD programme is producing orientated core to enable a better structural understanding of the Diba Deposit and samples for density measurements, to better understand any variations between the oxide, transitional and fresh rock domains.

 

The RC programme is primarily targeting on strike and down-dip extensions of the known lenses of mineralisation at both the Diba Deposit and Diba NW prospect. In addition, RC holes will test the potential of the Lakanfla Central prospect.

 

Diba Licence: Initial Drilling Results

Assay results for 27 drill holes have been received to date from the Diba Deposit and Diba NW prospect from the current programme (see Table 1). The holes were drilled at -60 degrees inclination and range between approximately 75m to 215m in length. The drilling was orientated perpendicular to the interpreted structural orientation of the Diba Deposit and Diba NW prospect.


Table 1: Drill intersections from current programme at Diba Licence

Hole ID

Target

End of Hole (m)

From
(m)

To
(m)

Intersection
(m)

Grade
(g/t Au)

21KSRC-133

Diba NW prospect

200.00

76.00

77.00

1.00

0.57

146.00

148.00

2.00

0.56

169.00

170.00

1.00

0.92

21KSRC-134

Diba NW prospect

160.00

5.00

6.00

1.00

0.66

38.00

39.00

1.00

0.74

43.00

47.00

4.00

0.77

89.00

94.00

5.00

0.85

99.00

100.00

1.00

0.62

119.00

126.00

7.00

0.52

128.00

129.00

1.00

0.53

150.00

151.00

1.00

0.53

21KSRC-135

Diba NW prospect

150.00

56.00

64.00

8.00

2.25

Including:

56.00

60.00

4.00

3.99

 

77.00

78.00

1.00

0.66

79.00

80.00

1.00

0.50

105.00

106.00

1.00

2.01

21KSRC-136

Diba NW prospect

175.00

21.00

22.00

1.00

1.17

94.00

95.00

1.00

1.34

108.00

111.00

3.00

0.58

148.00

152.00

4.00

0.64

158.00

159.00

1.00

0.69

21KSRC-137

Diba NW prospect

200.00

150.00

152.00

2.00

0.66

175.00

181.00

6.00

0.73

21KSRC-138

Diba NW prospect

160.00

78.00

80.00

2.00

0.68

84.00

87.00

3.00

0.95

104.00

105.00

1.00

0.67

111.00

116.00

5.00

0.80

Including:

114.00

116.00

2.00

1.17

 

121.00

122.00

1.00

0.56

127.00

129.00

2.00

0.78

21KSRC-139

Diba NW prospect

180.00

27.00

30.00

3.00

0.65

52.00

53.00

1.00

0.51

74.00

77.00

3.00

0.58

81.00

83.00

2.00

0.55

175.00

176.00

1.00

0.73

21KSRC-140

Diba NW prospect

170.00

114.00

115.00

1.00

0.52

21KSRC-141

Diba NW prospect

175.00

7.00

9.00

2.00

2.51

13.00

14.00

1.00

0.76

43.00

45.00

2.00

1.46

50.00

52.00

2.00

0.60

57.00

63.00

6.00

2.46

Including:

58.00

60.00

2.00

5.98

 

67.00

81.00

14.00

0.77

85.00

101.00

16.00

0.61

106.00

107.00

1.00

0.56

112.00

115.00

3.00

0.88

126.00

155.00

29.00

1.16

Including:

128.00

145.00

17.00

1.53

21KSRC-142

Diba NW prospect

100.00

39.00

40.00

1.00

0.68

21KSRC-143

Diba NW prospect

176.00

3.00

4.00

1.00

0.85

16.00

18.00

2.00

1.69

29.00

30.00

1.00

0.63

32.00

34.00

2.00

0.67

38.00

40.00

2.00

5.91

91.00

92.00

1.00

0.51

93.00

94.00

1.00

0.53

102.00

114.00

12.00

4.76

Including:

105.00

114.00

9.00

6.22

 

118.00

119.00

1.00

0.73

150.00

151.00

1.00

0.52

164.00

165.00

1.00

1.74

174.00

175.00

1.00

0.82

21KSRC-144

Diba NW prospect

75.00

no significant intersections

21KSRC-145

Diba NW prospect

200.00

10.00

23.00

13.00

0.80

Including:

14.00

17.00

3.00

1.06

Including:

20.00

23.00

3.00

1.55

 

83.00

84.00

1.00

0.98

118.00

119.00

1.00

0.65

127.00

128.00

1.00

0.50

138.00

139.00

1.00

0.54

144.00

148.00

4.00

0.93

157.00

164.00

7.00

0.53

176.00

181.00

5.00

0.53

21KSRC-146

Diba NW prospect

125.00

8.00

9.00

1.00

0.61

13.00

15.00

2.00

0.68

20.00

21.00

1.00

0.70

36.00

37.00

1.00

0.78

54.00

55.00

1.00

0.73

68.00

69.00

1.00

1.04

88.00

90.00

2.00

0.73

21KSRC-147

Diba NW prospect

160.00

2.00

3.00

1.00

0.68

119.00

126.00

7.00

8.74

Including:

119.00

122.00

3.00

19.77

 

130.00

131.00

1.00

0.56

21KSRC-148

Diba NW prospect

140.00

31.00

32.00

1.00

0.79

52.00

53.00

1.00

0.67

62.00

63.00

1.00

0.82

111.00

114.00

3.00

0.57

21KSRC-149

Diba NW prospect

110.00

45.00

46.00

1.00

0.67

66.00

67.00

1.00

0.71

78.00

80.00

2.00

1.19

22KSRC-150

Diba NW prospect

75.00

3.00

4.00

1.00

1.14

27.00

28.00

1.00

0.56

34.00

35.00

1.00

0.50

36.00

37.00

1.00

0.57

38.00

39.00

1.00

0.51

53.00

55.00

2.00

0.72

22KSRC-151

Diba NW prospect

75.00

8.00

9.00

1.00

0.71

62.00

63.00

1.00

0.53

22KSRC-152

Diba NW prospect

75.00

no significant intersections

22KSRC-153

Diba NW prospect

175.00

3.00

4.00

1.00

0.52

7.00

9.00

2.00

0.61

18.00

28.00

10.00

0.59

35.00

44.00

9.00

1.06

63.00

64.00

1.00

0.55

94.00

99.00

5.00

0.68

115.00

117.00

2.00

0.66

137.00

138.00

1.00

0.74

148.00

154.00

6.00

0.60

164.00

175.00

11.00

1.03

22KSRC-154

Diba NW prospect

200.00

81.00

82.00

1.00

1.31

97.00

98.00

1.00

0.93

120.00

124.00

4.00

1.38

128.00

132.00

4.00

1.36

170.00

172.00

2.00

0.84

22KSRC-155

Diba NW prospect

155.00

66.00

67.00

1.00

3.10

81.00

85.00

4.00

0.55

88.00

89.00

1.00

0.62

93.00

95.00

2.00

0.89

99.00

100.00

1.00

0.56

101.00

102.00

1.00

0.53

103.00

106.00

3.00

0.52

109.00

110.00

1.00

0.54

114.00

118.00

4.00

1.60

127.00

128.00

1.00

0.70

22KSRC-156

Diba NW prospect

85.00

17.00

19.00

2.00

0.75

31.00

85.00

54.00

Assays pending

21KSDD-003

Diba Deposit (within MRE)

171.10

73.00

74.00

1.00

0.55

97.00

99.10

2.10

11.95

104.00

106.00

2.00

0.77

110.00

111.00

1.00

0.61

118.00

119.00

1.00

1.22

125.00

126.47

1.47

3.03

21KSDD-004

Diba Deposit (within MRE)

201.60

22.30

24.80

2.50

18.07

41.20

42.20

1.00

0.52

66.30

72.60

6.30

0.69

82.66

87.90

5.24

1.33

91.00

92.00

1.00

0.67

96.00

101.00

5.00

1.23

109.00

114.00

5.00

1.22

118.00

119.00

1.00

0.84

150.00

151.00

1.00

1.34

157.00

158.00

1.00

0.65

169.00

176.00

7.00

0.84

21KSDD-005

Diba Deposit (within MRE)

213.20

25.00

26.00

1.00

0.60

45.90

47.00

1.10

0.86

52.00

53.00

1.00

0.65

57.00

60.20

3.20

0.71

83.00

84.00

1.00

0.52

106.00

107.00

1.00

0.80

115.00

116.00

1.00

8.88

123.00

125.00

2.00

7.64

129.00

130.00

1.00

1.94

146.00

151.00

5.00

0.78

151.60

213.00

61.40

Assays pending

Notes:

  1. Intersections based on 0.5 g/t Au cut off and ≤ 3m consecutive internal waste 

  2. Intersections are down-the-hole and do not represent true widths of mineralisation 

  3. Table shows uncapped grades 

  4. Estimated true widths for the holes is from 75% to 100% of the intercept width 

 

Illustrations

The following figures relate to the disclosures in this announcement and are visible in the version of this announcement on the Company's website (www.altus-strategies.com), or in PDF format by following this link:

https://altus-strategies.com/site/assets/files/5430/altus_nr_-_diba_nw_27_jan_2022.pdf

  •  Location of the Diba Lakanfla gold project in western Mali is shown in Figure 1. 

  •  Location of the key prospects at the Diba Lakanfla gold project is shown in Figure 2. 

  •  Plan of Diba Deposit and Diba NW prospect is shown in Figure 3. 

  •  Cross section of interpreted mineralised trend at Diba NW prospect is shown in Figure 4. 

  •  Cross section of higher-grade zone at Diba NW prospect is shown in Figure 5. 

  •  Selection of photos from the latest drilling programme is shown in Figure 6. 

Figure 1: Location of the Diba & Lakanfla gold project in western Mali

 


Click Image To View Full Size

 

Figure 2: Location of the key prospects at the Diba & Lakanfla gold project

 


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Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 3: Plan of Diba Deposit and Diba NW prospect

 


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Figure 4: Cross section of interpreted mineralised trend at Diba NW prospect

 


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Figure 5: Cross section of higher-grade zone at Diba NW prospect

  


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Figure 6: Selection of photos from the latest drilling programme

 


Click Image To View Full Size

 

Diba Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate

The Diba licence hosts a deposit for which an MRE of 217,000 ounces at 1.39 g/t Au (Indicated) and 187,000 ounces at 1.06 g/t Au (Inferred) in both oxide and fresh domains has been made, as set out in Table 2. The MRE was previously reported by the Company on 6 July 2020 (see Altus’ news release titled “Significant Gold Resource at Diba Project, Western Mali”). The Diba Deposit remains open down-dip.

 

Table 2: Diba Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate

Domain

Indicated

Inferred

Tonnes

(t)

Grade (g/t)

Contained gold (oz)

Tonnes

(t)

Grade

(g/t)

Contained gold (oz)

Oxide

3,900,000

1.46

183,100

939,000

1.10

33,200

Fresh

934,000

1.12

33,600

4,540,000

1.05

153,300

Total

4,834,000

1.39

217,000

5,479,000

1.06

187,000

Notes:

  • The MRE has an effective date of 6 July 2020. 

  • The Mineral Resources in the MRE are classified according to the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) "Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines", dated 29 November 2019, and CIM "Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves", dated 10 May 2014. 

  • Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell and are reported to a base-case cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t gold. 

  • The quantity and grade of Inferred Resources in the MRE are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred Resources as an Indicated or Measured Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an Indicated or Measured Resource category. 

  • Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.  

  • The MRE may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, marketing, or other relevant issues. Altus is not currently aware of any such issues. 

  • All tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes. Minor discrepancies may occur due to rounding to appropriate significant figures. 

  • Tonnages are rounded to 1,000t and gold to 1,000oz in the totals as this is an estimate 

  • Altus is the operator and 100% owner of the Diba licence 

 

Diba & Lakanfla Gold Project: Location

The 81km2 Diba gold project (Korali Sud licence) and the 24km2 Lakanfla gold project are located 5km apart in the Kayes region of western Mali, approximately 450km northwest of the capital city of Bamako. Diba & Lakanfla is located adjacent to the multi-million ounce Sadiola gold mine licence and 35km south of the multi-million ounce Yatela former gold mine, both acquired by Allied Gold Corporation from the previous operators AngloGold Ashanti (JSE: ANG, NYSE: AU and ASX: AGG) and IAMGOLD Corporation (TSX: IMG and NYSE: IAG). Mineralisation hosted on these mines is not necessarily indicative of mineralisation hosted at Lakanfla.

 

Diba Licence: Geology and Mineralisation

Mineralisation at Diba is sediment-hosted within a series of stacked quartz lenses, typically between 20m and 40m thick. The lenses are shallow-dipping at approximately 30 degrees angled to the east/east-southeast. The Diba Deposit is considered to be controlled by a number of northwest and northeast orientated structures, with gold occurring as fine-grained disseminations in localised high-grade, calcite-quartz veinlets. Alteration at Diba is typically albite-hematite+/-pyrite, although pyrite content is generally very low (<1 %). The weathering profile at the Project is estimated to be up to 70m vertical depth, resulting in extensive oxidation from surface. The oxide gold mineralisation at the Diba Deposit is predominantly found in saprolite within 50m of surface and across a compact 700m x 700m area.

 

Lakanfla Licence: Geology & Mineralisation

The Lakanfla project hosts a significant number of active and historic artisanal gold workings coincident with major geochemical and gravity anomalies. These workings surround the Kantela granodiorite intrusion and cover an area of approximately 900m x 500m. Significantly, there is evidence of ground collapse at surface, indicative of karst style voids at depth within carbonate rock units. The gold mineralisation at Lakanfla is hosted within breccia zones which cut the granodiorite and surrounding carbonate metasediments. Historic drilling has returned encouraging intersections including 9.78 g/t Au over 12m and 5.20 g/t Au over 16m (not true widths) as well as having intersected voids and unconsolidated sand from 165-171m depth. The Company has not verified the historic drilling data at the Lakanfla project.

 

QAQC

All drilling samples are collected by the Company following industry best practices with an appropriate number and type of certified reference materials (standards), blanks and duplicates inserted to ensure an effective Quality Assurance Quality Control “QAQC” regime. RC samples are collected at 1m intervals with representative samples split at the site. Half core DD samples are collected at between 0.5m and 1.5m intervals based on lithological and mineralisation boundaries. Samples from the Project are sent for analysis at SGS SARL (Bamako, Mali) by fire assay technique FAE505. All standard, blanks and duplicates from results discussed in this release have been reviewed and no significant issues with the data have been identified.

 

Qualified Person

The technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement has been approved by Steven Poulton, Chief Executive of Altus. A graduate of the University of Southampton in Geology (Hons), he also holds a Master's degree from the Camborne School of Mines (Exeter University) in Mining Geology. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and has over 20 years of experience in mineral exploration and is a Qualified Person under the AIM rules and NI 43-101.

 

For further information you are invited to visit the Company’s website www.altus-strategies.com or contact:

 

Altus Strategies Plc

Steven Poulton, Chief Executive

Tel: +44 (0) 1235 511 767

E-mail: info@altus-strategies.com

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser)

Richard Morrison / Adam Cowl

 

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Broker)

Grant Barker

Rob Rees

 

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0471

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0535

Shard Capital Partners LLP (Broker)

Isabella Pierre / Damon Heath

 

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9927

Yellow Jersey PR (Financial PR & IR)

Charles Goodwin / Henry Wilkinson

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3004 9512

E-mail: altus@yellowjerseypr.com

 

About Altus Strategies Plc

Altus Strategies (AIM: ALS, TSX-V: ALTS & OTCQX: ALTUF) is a mining royalty company generating a diversified and precious metal focused portfolio of assets. The Company’s differentiated approach of generating royalties on its own discoveries in Africa and acquiring royalties globally through financings and acquisitions with third parties, has attracted key institutional investor backing. The Company engages constructively with all stakeholders, working diligently to minimise its environmental impact and to promote positive economic and social outcomes in the communities where it operates. For further information, please visit www.altus-strategies.com.

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information included in this announcement, including information relating to future financial or operating performance and other statements that express the expectations of the Directors or estimates of future performance constitute "forward-looking statements". These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, without limitation, the completion of planned expenditures, the ability to complete exploration programmes on schedule and the success of exploration programmes. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking information, which speak only as of the date of this announcement and the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

 

Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is based on assumptions made in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as at the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information or any forward-looking statements contained in any other announcements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law or regulations.

 

TSX Venture Exchange Disclaimer

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organisation of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Market Abuse Regulation Disclosure

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

 

Glossary of Terms

“Au” means gold

“DD” means diamond drilling

“g” means grams

“g/t” means grams per tonne

“grade(s)” means the quantity of ore or metal in a specified quantity of rock

“km” means kilometres

“m” means metres

“MRE” means Mineral Resource Estimate

“NI 43-101” means National Instrument 43-101 “Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects” of the Canadian Securities Administrators

“oz” means ounces

“PEA” means Preliminary Economic Assessment

“QAQC” means Quality Assurance Quality Control

“Qualified Person” means a person that has the education, skills and professional credentials to qualify as a qualified person under NI 43-101

“RC” means reverse circulation drilling

“t” means a metric tonne

 

**END**

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