TIDMALS
RNS Number : 9083O
Altus Strategies PLC
04 February 2019
Altus Strategies Plc / Index: AIM / EPIC: ALS / Sector:
Mining
4 February 2019
Altus Strategies Plc
("Altus" or the "Company")
Drill Targets Defined at Diba Gold Project, Western Mali
Altus Strategies Plc (AIM: ALS & TSX-V: ALTS), the Africa
focused exploration project generator, announces that it has
defined a series of drill targets to test the potential of
expanding the Diba gold project ("Diba" or the "Project"). Diba is
strategically located 13km south of the multi-million ounce Sadiola
gold mine in the world renowned 'Kenieba Window' gold belt in the
west of the Republic of Mali ("Mali").
Highlights:
-- Excellent historic drill intersections of 5.02g/t Au over 20.0m and 1.85g/t Au over 51.8m
-- Further drill targets defined along strike, down dip and in new zones
-- Diba has the potential to provide oxide feed to the adjacent Sadiola gold mine
-- Diba hosts a historic near surface gold resource (see "Diba
Project: Historic resource" and "Cautionary note regarding historic
data"):
o 6,348,000 tonnes at 1.35 g/t for 275,200 ounces in the
Indicated category
o 720,000 tonnes at 1.40 g/t for 32,500 ounces in the Inferred
category
o Based on a 0.5 g/t cut off and gold price of US$1,200/oz
-- Discussions are underway with a number of potential counterparties in respect of Diba
Steven Poulton, Chief Executive of Altus, commented:
"The Diba gold project is a highly strategic asset, located just
13km from the multi-million ounce Sadiola gold mine in western
Mali. Our project hosts a near surface, shallow dipping, historic
oxide resource with a number of exceptional drill intersects,
including 5.02 g/t Au over 20.0m and 1.85 g/t Au over 51.8m. The
adjacent Sadiola mine is reportedly for sale and is expected to
have exhausted its oxide feed in the coming months. However, while
we recognise that Diba may be a potential source of future oxide
feed for Sadiola, we also consider it has significant standalone
oxide potential."
"Our detailed review of the historic data from Diba has defined
a number of priority drill targets, which when tested have the
potential to increase the existing historic resource. One of the
targets, at Diba Northwest, is located within a 2.6km(2) soil
anomaly immediately along strike and northwest of the current
historic resource. Systematic air core drilling of this area only
tested to an average depth of 14.7m. However, a number of the holes
terminated in gold mineralisation. A second, 2km(2) target at Diba
East is located immediately to the east of the historic resource
and is defined by the results from geophysics, air core and reverse
circulation drilling."
"Altus is currently in discussion with a number of potential
joint venture partners and other groups to advance the Diba
project, as well as our other projects in western and southern
Mali. We look forward to updating shareholders on these discussions
in due course."
An updated technical presentation on the Diba project has been
prepared and can be downloaded from the following link:
http://altus-strategies.com/site/assets/files/4250/altus_diba_project_review_-_q1_2019.pdf
The following figures have been prepared and 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:
http://altus-strategies.com/site/assets/files/4514/altus_nr_-_diba_31_jan_2019.pdf
-- Location of the Diba project in western Mali is shown in Figure 1.
-- Satellite view illustrating Diba's proximity to Sadiola is shown in Figure 2.
-- A schematic cross section through the Diba project is shown in Figure 3.
-- A map highlighting drill results which post-date the 2013
historic resource is shown in Figure 4.
-- A map of the soil auger anomaly in the target area is shown in Figure 5.
-- A map of the Diba Northwest and Diba East Prospects is shown in Figure 6.
-- A selection of Diba photos is shown in Figure 7.
Diba Project: Location
The 81km(2) Diba ('Korali Sud') project is located in the Kayes
region of western Mali, approximately 450km northwest of the
capital city of Bamako. The project sits 5km west of the Company's
Lakanfla gold project, approximately 13km south of the
multi-million ounce Sadiola gold mine and 35km southeast of the
multi-million ounce Yatela former gold mine. Diba is bounded by the
Sadiola permit on its northern and eastern boundaries. Sadiola is
owned by Anglogold Ashanti (JSE: ANG, NYSE: AU and ASX: AGG),
IAMGOLD Corporation (TSX: IMG & NYSE: IAG) and the government
of Mali.
In November 2018 Anglogold and IAMGOLD disclosed that a process
to identify a third party to buy the Sadiola mine had been
initiated and that the oxide ore stockpiles at Sadiola were
expected to be depleted in the first half of 2019.
Diba Project: Drill targets defined
Following the analysis of the historic data from Diba, the
Company has prepared a phase one exploration programme which
incorporates an initial 5,000m of drilling. Both diamond and
reverse circulation methods are envisaged. The programme is
designed to infill targets on the northern and eastern margins of
the historic resource area, as well as test the Diba Northwest and
Diba East prospects. The Diba Northwest prospect is approximately
1.85km long and 400m wide and is defined by a soil geochemical
anomaly and shallow air core drill results. In total, 300 shallow
air core holes were drilled by previous operators at Diba to an
average depth of 14.7m. The majority of these holes were located in
the Diba Northwest prospect, 14 of which terminated in
mineralisation greater than 0.5g/t Au. The Diba East prospect is
located approximately 400m east of the historic Diba resource and
is approximately 500m long and 500m wide, as defined by geophysical
and soil anomalies as well shallow air core drill results.
Diba Project: Historic resource
The Diba project hosts a historic gold resource (based on a 0.5
g/t cut off and a gold price of US$1,200/oz) comprised of 275,000
oz (6.34 million tonnes at 1.35 g/t) in the Indicated category and
32,500 oz (0.72 million tonnes at 1.40 g/t) in the Inferred
category.
An additional 97 AC and RC drill holes were completed at Diba by
a previous operator in 2014 and these postdate the 2013 mineral
resource estimate. Results from the 2014 drill programme include
5.36 g/t over 13m, 9.60g/t over 8m and 2.00 g/t over 21m.
The historic resource was prepared by AMEC Americas Limited in a
report entitled "Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate
Diba Badiazila Gold Property Mali, West Africa", dated June 30,
2013 and filed on SEDAR on 20 September 2013 by Legend Gold Corp.
The Company believes the estimate remains relevant and reliable but
notes that the following work needs to be done to upgrade or verify
the historical estimate as current mineral resources: Commission an
independent Qualified Person to produce an updated mineral resource
estimate for the Company, incorporating the exploration results
received after 30 June 2013. A Qualified Person has not undertaken
sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current
mineral resource and the Company is not treating the historical
estimate as current mineral resources. Reference is made to the
report for key assumptions, parameters, and methods used to prepare
the historical estimate.
The historic gold resource occurs in an area of elevated
topography and comprises a series of stacked lenses that dip
approximately 35-40 degrees to the south east. The Company
considers that the morphology of Diba is favourable, with the
potential for a low mining strip ratio, relatively limited
overburden and a high proportion of the orebody being in the oxide
zone. Deeper drilling at Diba targeting the sulphide zone
intersected 1.32 g/t over 45m (from 93m), as such the historic
resource remains open at depth.
Diba Project: Exploration history
Diba was originally discovered as part of a regional geochemical
sampling programme conducted between 1987 and 1989. This programme
reportedly also discovered the Sadiola gold mine and the former
Yatela gold mine. A subsequent regional soil sampling programme at
Diba completed by previous owners on a 500m x 250m (and in places
250m x 100m) grid identified a number of targets. This programme
was completed between 2005 and 2007 and along with subsequent auger
programmes, defined a 2.5km x 0.5km anomaly at Diba. A number of
geophysical programmes have also been completed at Diba, including
ground based induced polarisation, high resolution resistivity and
magnetic surveys, as well as airborne VTEM.
Historic drill results from Diba are presented in Table 1. The
oxide gold mineralisation at Diba is predominantly found in
saprolite within 50m of surface and across a compact 800m x 600m
area which has been drilled to date. The 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%).
Table 1: Selected Diba drilling intercepts from historic
drilling (2006 - 2014)
Intersections are calculated based on a greater than 0.5g/t Au
cut-off grade, a 40g/t top-cap of grades above that grade and where
there is <= 3m of consecutive internal waste.
Hole ID From (m) To (m) Intersection Grade (g/t
(m) Au)
MIDH06-001 19.2 71.0 51.8 1.85
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Including 34.0 38.0 4.0 12.65
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Including (uncapped) 35.0 36.0 1.0 900.48
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
MIDH06-002 24.0 44.0 20.0 5.02
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Including 26.0 31.0 5.0 7.35
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Including 39.0 44.0 5.0 10.92
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Including (uncapped) 42.0 43.0 1.0 49.48
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
MIDH06-004 36.0 74.0 38.0 2.08
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Including 44.0 55.0 11.0 5.28
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
MIDH07-035 16.0 48.0 32.0 2.06
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Including 20.0 24.0 4.0 7.70
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
MIDH07-057 32.0 62.0 30.0 2.15
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Including 45.0 62.0 17.0 3.08
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
MIDH07-064 62.0 87.0 25.0 2.43
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Including 78.0 79.0 1.0 36.70
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
DBRC-009 93.0 138.0 45.0 1.32
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
DBRC-023 47.0 55.0 8.0 9.60
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Including 47.0 51.0 4.0 18.68
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
DBRC-055 11.0 32.0 21.0 2.00
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Including 27.0 31.0 4.0 4.91
--------- ------- ------------- -----------
Cautionary note regarding historic data
Readers are cautioned that the data on Diba as referred to in
this written disclosure is historic exploration data that has not
been verified by a Qualified Person. Not all historic samples are
available and Altus does not have complete information on the
quality assurance or quality control measures taken in connection
with the historical exploration results, or other exploration or
testing details regarding these results. The potential tonnages and
grades described in this release are conceptual in nature and are
based on previous drill results that defined the approximate
length, thickness, depth and grade of the portion of the historic
resource estimate. There has been insufficient exploration to
define a current resource and the Company cautions that there is a
risk further exploration will not result in the delineation of a
current mineral resource. The historic data should therefore not be
relied upon until the Company can confirm it.
Qualified Person
The technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement has
been read and approved by Steven Poulton, Chief Executive of Altus.
He has not verified the historical data disclosed in this
regulatory announcement but has no reason to question its accuracy.
A graduate of the University of Southampton in Geology (Hons),
Steven Poulton 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 National Instrument 43-101
Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects of the Canadian
Securities Administrators.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this
announcement.
For further information you are invited to visit the Company's
website www.altus-strategies.com or contact:
Glossary of Terms
The following is a glossary of technical terms:
"AC" means the Air Core drilling technique
"Artisanal" means local people conducting mining, often with
rudimentary equipment
"Au" means gold
"g/t" means grams per tonne
"Grade(s)" means the quantity of ore or metal in a specified
quantity of rock
"m" means metres
"RC" means the Reverse Circulation drilling technique
"VTEM" means Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic geophysical
survey
Altus Strategies Plc Tel: +44 (0) 1235 511 767
Steven Poulton, Chief Executive E: info@altus-strategies.com
SP Angel (Nominated Adviser) Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
Richard Morrison / Soltan Tagiev
SP Angel (Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0471
Richard Parlons / Jonathan Williams
Blytheweigh (Financial PR) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
Tim Blythe / Camilla Horsfall / James
Husband
About Altus Strategies Plc
Altus is a London (AIM: ALS) and Toronto (TSX-V: ALTS) listed,
diversified and Africa focused mineral exploration project
generator. Through our subsidiaries we discover new projects and
attract third party capital to fund their growth, development and
ultimately exit optionality. This strategy enables Altus to remain
focused on the acquisition of new opportunities to be fed into the
project generation cycle and aims to minimise shareholder dilution.
Our business model is designed to create a growing portfolio of
well managed and high growth potential projects and royalties,
diversified by commodity and by country. Altus currently has
eighteen projects in six commodities across six countries. We aim
to position our shareholders at the vanguard of value creation, but
with significantly reduced risks traditionally associated with
investments in the mineral exploration sector.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release contain forward-looking
information. 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 news
release.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
**END**
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END
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