17 March 2022 – TheNewswire - Altus Strategies Plc (AIM:ALS), (TSXV:ALTS), (OTC:ALTUF) announces further significant gold intersections from reverse circulation (“RC”) drilling at the Company’s 100% owned, 105 square kilometre (“km2”) Diba & Lakanfla gold project (“Diba & Lakanfla” or the “Project”) in western Mali. The Lakanfla licence is located approximately 5 kilometres (“km”) east of the Company’s Diba licence. Both licences host numerous gold prospects, including a shallow-dipping, near-surface gold deposit (the “Diba Deposit”).

 

Highlights:

• RC drilling completed at 100% owned Diba Lakanfla in western Mali 

• Latest intersections from the Lakanfla Central prospect include (not true widths): 

  • 0.90 grams per tonne (g/t”) Au over 66 metres (“”) from 41m 

  • 1.32 g/t Au over 26m from 85m 

  • 2.21 g/t Au over 12m from 137m 

  • 4.37 g/t Au over 6m from 32m 

• Latest intersections from the Diba NW prospect include (not true widths): 

  • 1.81 g/t Au over 10m from 256m 

  • 0.60 g/t Au over 23m from 154m 

• Programme designed to generate an updated Project Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE”) 

• MRE to be integrated into an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA”) 

• trategically located in a world-famous gold belt that hosts numerous open-pit mines 

 

Steven Poulton, Chief Executive of Altus, commented:

“We are pleased to report on the further encouraging drilling intersections from the Diba & Lakanfla gold project in western Mali. RC results include 1.32 g/t Au over 26m from 85m and 0.90 g/t Au over 66m from 41m (not true widths) from the Lakanfla Central prospect. These results extend the mineralised strike of Lakanfla Central by approximately 200m to approximately 750m, with mineralisation remaining open to the northeast and at depth. The latest results confirm the presence of a broad gold mineralised package at Lakanfla Central, from which we recently reported an intersection of 1.23 g/t Au over 127m from 21m (not true width).

 

“Lakanfla Central is hosted within a large porphyritic granite and is one of at least four priority prospects at Lakanfla, where gold mineralisation is often associated with sub-vertical and brecciated structures. Lakanfla hosts a number of zones of intense hard rock artisanal gold workings. Historical results from drilling at the Lakanfla licence include 5.10 g/t Au over 26m, 4.31 g/t over 18m and 1.02 g/t Au over 60m (not true widths).

 

"Lakanfla is located approximately 5km east of the Diba licence, which hosts the Diba Deposit and the Diba NW prospects. The results from the now completed drilling programme at Diba & Lakanfla will feed into an updated independent MRE and PEA for the Project. We look forward to updating shareholders on the results of these studies in due course.”

 

Diba & Lakanfla Project: Drilling Programme

The 11,832m drilling programme at the Project has been completed by Capital Drilling Limited and comprised 1,359m of diamond drilling (“DD”), 1,433m of air core (“AC”) and 9,040m of RC drilling.

 

The most recent and final phase of drilling at Lakanfla comprised 3,848m of RC, testing a number of targets which could potentially contribute to a maiden MRE including:

 

Lakanfla Central Prospect

• Twenty holes for a total of 3,283m were drilled 

• The prospect comprises a series of mineralised breccias within an altered granodiorite host with surrounding carbonate metasediments 

• Drilling targeted the prospect at depth and tested potential on strike extensions 

 

Zone 3 Prospect

• Three holes for a total of 390m were drilled 

• The prospect hosts mineralised breccia at surface and artisanal workings 

• Drilling tested the strike potential of the prospect 

 

Zone 4 Prospect

• Two holes for a total of 175m were drilled in addition to a programme of trenching  

• The prospect hosts a number of high-grade gold in soil anomalies 

• Drilling was undertaken to test strike potential 

 

Diba & Lakanfla Project: Drilling Results

All assay results have now been received from the current programme at Diba & Lakanfla (see Table 1). The holes were drilled at between -50 to -70 degrees inclination and range between approximately 75m to 315m in length. The drilling was orientated perpendicular to the interpreted structural orientation at Diba & Lakanfla.

 

Table 1: Drill intersections from recent programme at Diba & Lakanfla

 

Hole ID	Target	End of Hole (m)	From (m)	To (m)	Intersection (m)	Grade (g/t Au)
22KSRC-157	Diba North-West	108.00	10.00	11.00	1.00	1.44
22KSRC-157			73.00	74.00	1.00	0.64
22KSRC-158	Diba North-West	215.00	40.00	44.00	4.00	0.54
22KSRC-158			59.00	61.00	2.00	1.52
22KSRC-158			69.00	70.00	1.00	0.78
22KSRC-158			74.00	77.00	3.00	0.50
22KSRC-158			97.00	98.00	1.00	0.73
22KSRC-158			118.00	119.00	1.00	0.60
22KSRC-158			138.00	140.00	2.00	1.23
22KSRC-158			144.00	145.00	1.00	0.59
22KSRC-158			149.00	150.00	1.00	0.53
22KSRC-159	Diba North-West	250.00	30.00	31.00	1.00	0.54
22KSRC-159			48.00	49.00	1.00	0.59
22KSRC-159			82.00	83.00	1.00	0.65
22KSRC-159			154.00	177.00	23.00	0.60
22KSRC-159			194.00	195.00	1.00	0.53
22KSRC-159			214.00	215.00	1.00	0.54
22KSRC-159			227.00	228.00	1.00	0.62
22KSRC-160	Diba Deposit (outside of MRE)	315.00	84.00	85.00	1.00	1.13
22KSRC-160			102.00	103.00	1.00	0.97
22KSRC-160			151.00	153.00	2.00	2.72
22KSRC-160			170.00	172.00	2.00	0.59
22KSRC-160			194.00	195.00	1.00	0.88
22KSRC-160			216.00	217.00	1.00	0.87
22KSRC-160			228.00	229.00	1.00	1.47
22KSRC-160			250.00	251.00	1.00	0.65
22KSRC-160			265.00	269.00	4.00	0.70
22KSRC-160			278.00	279.00	1.00	0.96
22KSRC-161	Diba Deposit (outside of MRE)	307.85	162.00	163.00	1.00	1.48
22KSRC-161			178.00	179.00	1.00	0.56
22KSRC-161			181.00	182.00	1.00	0.93
22KSRC-161			190.00	193.00	3.00	3.30
22KSRC-161			197.00	198.00	1.00	0.88
22KSRC-161			229.00	231.00	2.00	0.55
22KSRC-161			243.00	247.00	4.00	0.53
22KSRC-161			250.00	251.00	1.00	0.51
22KSRC-161			256.00	266.00	10.00	1.81
22KSRC-161			274.00	275.00	1.00	0.52
22KSRC-161			290.00	291.00	1.00	2.23
22KSRC-162	Diba Deposit (outside of MRE)	250.00	118.00	122.00	4.00	0.51
22KSRC-162			154.00	155.00	1.00	1.15
22KSRC-162			166.00	169.00	3.00	2.00
22KSRC-162			192.00	193.00	1.00	0.77
22KSRC-162			197.00	198.00	1.00	1.31
22KSRC-162			219.00	220.00	1.00	0.59
22KSRC-162			229.00	230.00	1.00	1.42
22KSRC-163	Diba Deposit (outside of MRE)	100.00	no significant intersections
22KSRC-164	Diba Deposit (outside of MRE)	150.00	12.00	14.00	2.00	0.71
22KSRC-164			21.00	22.00	1.00	0.63
22KSRC-164			42.00	43.00	1.00	0.58
22KSRC-164			66.00	67.00	1.00	0.65
22KSRC-164			98.00	99.00	1.00	0.61
22KSRC-164			103.00	104.00	1.00	0.56
22KSRC-164			126.00	127.00	1.00	0.69
22KSRC-164			140.00	141.00	1.00	0.84
22LKRC-002	Lakanfla Zone 3	130.00	129.00	130.00	1.00	0.58
22LKRC-003	Lakanfla Zone 3	130.00	no significant intersections
22LKRC-004	Lakanfla Zone 3	130.00	no significant intersections
22LKRC-005	Lakanfla Central	123.00	37.00	38.00	1.00	0.93
22LKRC-006	Lakanfla Central	105.00	24.00	25.00	1.00	1.09
22LKRC-006			64.00	65.00	1.00	0.61
22LKRC-007	Lakanfla Central	120.00	18.00	19.00	1.00	0.57
22LKRC-007			28.00	29.00	1.00	0.67
22LKRC-007			76.00	77.00	1.00	0.54
22LKRC-008	Lakanfla Central	150.00	20.00	24.00	4.00	0.52
22LKRC-008			83.00	84.00	1.00	0.68
22LKRC-009	Lakanfla Central	250.00	14.00	16.00	2.00	0.53
22LKRC-009			200.00	201.00	1.00	5.06
22LKRC-009			208.00	228.00	20.00	0.90
22LKRC-009			233.00	248.00	15.00	0.72
22LKRC-010	Lakanfla Central	150.00	3.00	4.00	1.00	0.59
22LKRC-010			12.00	19.00	7.00	2.78
22LKRC-010			45.00	46.00	1.00	1.62
22LKRC-010			52.00	53.00	1.00	0.65
22LKRC-010			66.00	71.00	5.00	0.74
Including:			69.00	71.00	2.00	1.27
22LKRC-010			75.00	76.00	1.00	1.07
22LKRC-010			80.00	85.00	5.00	1.03
22LKRC-010			133.00	134.00	1.00	0.58
22LKRC-011	Lakanfla Central	150.00	17.00	26.00	9.00	0.79
22LKRC-011			33.00	34.00	1.00	0.59
22LKRC-011			39.00	41.00	2.00	0.60
22LKRC-011			48.00	49.00	1.00	0.84
22LKRC-011			73.00	74.00	1.00	1.20
22LKRC-011			77.00	78.00	1.00	0.66
22LKRC-011			90.00	91.00	1.00	6.65
22LKRC-011			111.00	117.00	6.00	0.90
Including:			112.00	114.00	2.00	1.64
22LKRC-012	Lakanfla Central	150.00	45.00	46.00	1.00	4.59
22LKRC-012			61.00	63.00	2.00	0.73
22LKRC-012			67.00	76.00	9.00	2.30
Including:			73.00	75.00	2.00	8.53
22LKRC-012			80.00	81.00	1.00	0.80
22LKRC-012			101.00	102.00	1.00	0.69
22LKRC-012			128.00	129.00	1.00	1.44
22LKRC-013	Lakanfla Central	150.00	no significant intersections
22LKRC-014	Lakanfla Central	150.00	no significant intersections
22LKRC-015	Lakanfla Central	150.00	28.00	32.00	4.00	1.03
22LKRC-015			87.00	88.00	1.00	0.81
22LKRC-015			91.00	92.00	1.00	0.61
22LKRC-015			101.00	103.00	2.00	0.67
22LKRC-015			106.00	107.00	1.00	0.60
22LKRC-015			112.00	113.00	1.00	0.52
22LKRC-016	Lakanfla Central	150.00	91.00	93.00	2.00	0.61
22LKRC-016			137.00	149.00	12.00	2.21
22LKRC-017	Lakanfla Central	150.00	no significant intersections
22LKRC-018	Lakanfla Central	150.00	no significant intersections
22LKRC-019	Lakanfla Zone 4	75.00	12.00	13.00	1.00	0.85
22LKRC-020	Lakanfla Zone 4	100.00	17.00	18.00	1.00	0.60
22LKRC-020			47.00	49.00	2.00	1.65
22LKRC-020			56.00	57.00	1.00	0.53
22LKRC-020			88.00	100.00	12.00	0.82
22LKRC-021	Lakanfla Central	200.00	13.00	23.00	10.00	1.22
22LKRC-021			32.00	38.00	6.00	4.37
Including:			33.00	35.00	2.00	9.18
22LKRC-021			43.00	44.00	1.00	2.94
22LKRC-021			50.00	61.00	11.00	0.85
22LKRC-021			81.00	83.00	2.00	0.72
22LKRC-021			96.00	101.00	5.00	2.39
22LKRC-021			159.00	160.00	1.00	0.68
22LKRC-021			183.00	184.00	1.00	0.91
22LKRC-022	Lakanfla Central	200.00	7.00	8.00	1.00	1.00
22LKRC-022			10.00	11.00	1.00	0.73
22LKRC-022			41.00	107.00	66.00	0.90
22LKRC-022			122.00	123.00	1.00	2.51
22LKRC-022			150.00	151.00	1.00	0.61
22LKRC-022			177.00	179.00	2.00	0.58
22LKRC-023	Lakanfla Central	200.00	10.00	11.00	1.00	0.54
22LKRC-023			23.00	24.00	1.00	0.54
22LKRC-023			30.00	31.00	1.00	0.70
22LKRC-023			35.00	40.00	5.00	0.52
22LKRC-023			44.00	45.00	1.00	0.62
22LKRC-023			46.00	47.00	1.00	0.51
22LKRC-023			50.00	51.00	1.00	0.68
22LKRC-024	Lakanfla Central	200.00	138.00	139.00	1.00	0.73
22LKRC-025	Lakanfla Central	220.00	8.00	25.00	17.00	0.61
22LKRC-025			30.00	32.00	2.00	0.65
22LKRC-025			53.00	54.00	1.00	0.58
22LKRC-025			65.00	66.00	1.00	0.54
22LKRC-025			85.00	111.00	26.00	1.32
22LKRC-025			115.00	137.00	22.00	0.75
22LKRC-025			215.00	216.00	1.00	0.52

 

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 width 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/5446/altus_nr_-_lakanfla_17_march_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 the Lakanfla licence is shown in Figure 3. 

• Cross section of the Lakanfla Central prospect is shown in Figure 4. 

• Selection of photos from Diba Lakanfla is shown in Figure 5. 

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

Click Image To View Full Size

 

Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 2

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

 

Figure 3: Plan of the Lakanfla licence

Click Image To View Full Size

 

Figure 4: Cross section of the Lakanfla Central prospect

Click Image To View Full Size

 

Figure 5: Selection of photos from Diba & Lakanfla

Click Image To View Full Size

 

Diba Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate

The Diba licence forms part of Diba & Lakanfla and 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 and Lakanfla licences 

 

Diba & Lakanfla: Location

The 81km2 Diba licence (Korali Sud) and the 24km2 Lakanfla licence 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 Diba & Lakanfla.

 

Diba & Lakanfla: Geology & Mineralisation

Diba Licence

Mineralisation at the Diba Deposit on the Diba licence 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 the Diba Deposit is typically albite-hematite+/-pyrite, although pyrite content is generally very low (<1%). The weathering profile at the Diba Deposit 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

The Lakanfla licence hosts a significant number of active and historic artisanal gold workings coincident with significant geochemical and gravity anomalies. The workings surround the Kantela granodiorite intrusion and cover an area of approximately 900m x 500m. The gold mineralisation at Lakanfla is typically hosted within breccia zones which cut the granodiorite and surrounding carbonate metasediments. Drilling by the Company has intersected 1.23 g/t Au over 127m (not true widths) at the Lakanfla Central prospect, while historic intersections by previous operators include 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 licence.

 

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 Company or estimates of future performance, may 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

“AC” means air core drilling

“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

“RAB” means rotary air blast drilling

“RC” means reverse circulation drilling

“t” means a metric tonne

 

**END**