Altus Strategies commences drilling at Diba Gold Project

Highlights:

• 10 000 m RC drilling programme underway at the Diba gold project in western Mali.
• Programme to test resource expansion potential as well as five further priority prospects.
• Diba hosts a shallow dipping near-surface gold deposit (the Diba Deposit) with a mineral resource estimate (MRE) comprising of:
  • 4 834 000 t at 1.39 g/t gold (Au) for 217 000 oz in the indicated category.
  • 5 479 000 t at 1.06 g/t Au for 187 000 oz in the inferred category.
• Preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for an opencast gold mine to be updated.
• Current PEA generates a US$81 million (post-tax) NPV10 at a gold price of US$1500/oz.
• Diba is strategically located in a world-famous gold belt that hosts numerous opencast mines.

Steven Poulton, Chief Executive of Altus, commented: "We are pleased to announce the commencement of a significant drilling programme at our 100% owned Diba gold project in western Mali. Approximately 10 000 m of RC drilling is planned, with the programme designed to test the potential for additional resources along strike and down dip of the current mineral resource, as well as the potential of five priority targets, each located within 3 km of the current resource. The results from this programme are expected to be available in the coming weeks and will be used to update the existing MRE and PEA studies. We look forward to updating shareholders on progress from this programme in due course."

Diba Project: drilling programme

The planned drilling programme will be undertaken by Capital Drilling Ltd and comprise 120 holes for approximately 10 000 m. A multipurpose drill rig, capable of both RC and diamond drilling (DD) methods will be employed. Approximately 3600 m will be drilled into and around the Diba Deposit, testing the resource potential down dip and along strike, as well as infilling areas to increase the resource confidence. In addition, approximately 6400 m will be drilled to test five priority prospects located within 3 km of the Diba Deposit. These targets comprise:

Target 1: Diba Southwest

The Diba Southwest prospect is located 1.2 km southwest and along strike of the Diba Deposit. The prospect is defined by a northeast striking 1.2 km long discontinuous gold in soil anomaly with a series of discretely anomalous termite mound samples above 20 ppb Au. The anomaly occurs along the flank of a ferricrete ridge, which extends for a further 1.5 km to the southwest and is coincident with a geophysical VTEM anomaly.

Target 2: Diba Northwest

The Diba Northwest prospect extends for 1.85 km northwest from the Diba Deposit. The prospect is defined by a northwest striking 2.6 km² gold in soil anomaly coincident with a VTEM low anomaly. Historic AC drilling over the prospect tested the anomaly to an average vertical depth of 12.7 m, with a number of holes terminating in gold mineralisation (>0.5 g/t Au) within the oxide zone.

Target 3: Diba East

The Diba East prospect is located immediately east of the Diba Deposit. The prospect is defined by a 2 km² area northeast striking VTEM low anomaly which is sub-parallel to the strike of the Diba Deposit and Diba Southwest prospect. Historic air core and reverse circulation drilling intersected anomalous gold in the oxide zone, including 0.5 g/t Au over 12 m from 28.5 m (down the hole).

Target 4: Diba West-Northwest

The Diba West-Northwest prospect is located 2 km northwest of the Diba Deposit. The prospect is defined by a 650 m x 440 m east-west striking zone of anomalous termite mound samples up to 37 ppb Au. The strike length of Diba West-Northwest is comparable in size to that of the Diba Deposit.

Target 5: Plateau Target

The plateau target is located 2.5 km northwest of the Diba Deposit and covers an area of 1.07 km². The target possesses linear flanks indicating the potential for a structural control and is defined by gold in soil anomalies from historic soil sampling grids that occur on the margins of the plateau, indicating the potential for mineralisation being masked by a ferricrete carapace.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/18112020/altus-strategies-commences-drilling-at-diba-gold-project/