15 February 2022 – TheNewswire - Altus Strategies Plc (AIM:ALS), (TSXV:ALTS), (OTC:ALTUF) announces the intersection of a significant gold (“Au”) zone from Reverse Circulation (“RC”) drilling at the Lakanfla Central prospect on the Lakanfla licence (“Lakanfla"). Lakanfla forms part of the Company’s 100% owned, 105 square kilometre (“km2”) Diba & Lakanfla gold project (“Diba & Lakanfla” or the “Project”) in western Mali. Lakanfla is located approximately 5 kilometres (“km”) east of the Company’s Diba licence which hosts numerous gold prospects, including a shallow-dipping, near-surface gold deposit (the “Diba Deposit”).

 

Highlights:

• 3,500m RC programme underway at the 100% owned Lakanfla licence in western Mali 

• Drilling at Lakanfla Central prospect has intersected a significant gold zone including: 

  • 1.23 grams per tonne (g/t”) Au over 127 metres (“”) from 21m, including 2.53 g/t Au over 14m from 46m (not true widths) 

• Assays have been received from first two holes of planned 22 hole programme 

• Lakanfla drilling programme is designed to: 

  • test the strike and down-dip potential of the Lakanfla Central prospect 

  • confirm historical drilling results from other key prospects including (not true widths) 

    • 5.10 g/t Au over 26m from 32m 

    • 4.31 g/t Au over 18m from 34m 

    • 1.02 g/t Au over 60m from 105m 

  • potentially generate a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE”) at Lakanfla 

• trategically 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 the outstanding intersection of 1.23 g/t Au over 127m from 21m, including 2.53 g/t Au over 14m from 46m (not true widths) from RC drilling at the Central Prospect at Lakanfla in Western Mali. The current 3,500m drilling programme at Lakanfla forms part of a wider 10,000m programme across the combined Diba & Lakanfla gold project.

 

“Lakanfla Central is one of at least four key prospects at Lakanfla, with gold mineralisation hosted in a number of sub-vertical breccia zones within a significant porphyritic granite, which has a current strike length of approximately 350m. Lakanfla also hosts a number of widespread zones of intense hard rock artisanal 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. Once completed, the results from the combined drilling programme at Diba & Lakanfla will feed into an updated independent MRE and preliminary economic assessment for the Project. We look forward to updating shareholders as further results are received.”

 

Lakanfla Licence: Drilling Programme

The drilling programme at the Project is being undertaken by Capital Drilling Limited and comprises up to 10,000m of diamond drilling (“DD”) and RC drilling across Diba & Lakanfla. Following completion of drilling at the Diba Deposit and the Diba NW prospect, approximately 1,550m of RC drilling of a planned 3,500m programme has currently been completed on the Lakanfla licence.

 

The drilling at Lakanfla has been designed to test a number of targets which could potentially contribute to a maiden MRE for Lakanfla, including:

 

Lakanfla Central Prospect

• 17 holes for a total of 2,935m are planned 

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

• Drilling to infill the prospect at depth as well as test potential on strike extensions  

• Previous operators reportedly intersected 1.02 g/t Au over 60m from 105m (not true width) 

 

Zone 3 Prospect

• Three holes for a total of 390m are planned 

• The prospect hosts mineralised breccia at surface and artisanal workings 

• Drilling to test strike potential 

• Previous operators reportedly intersected 9.78 g/t Au over 12m from 12m from a Rotary Air Blast (RAB”) hole and 23.4 g/t Au over 3m from 113m (not true widths) 

 

Zone 4 Prospect

• Two holes for a total of 175m are planned (following current trenching programme) 

• The prospect hosts several high-grade gold in soil anomalies  

• Drilling to test strike potential  

• Previous operators reportedly intersected 5.20 g/t Au over 16m from 36m (not true width)  

 

Lakanfla Licence: Initial Drilling Results

Assay results for two drill holes have been received to date from the Lakanfla project from the current programme (see Table 1). The holes were drilled at -60 degrees inclination and range between approximately 130m to 165m in length. The drilling was orientated perpendicular to the interpreted structural orientation of the Lakanfla Central prospect.

 

Table 1: Drill intersections from current programme at Lakanfla Licence

Hole ID	Target	End of Hole (m)	From (m)	To (m)	Intersection (m)	Grade (g/t Au)
22LKRC-001	Lakanfla Central	165.00	4.00	15.00	11.00	0.67
			21.00	148.00	127.00	1.23
Including:			46.00	60.00	14.00	2.53
22LKRC-002	Zone 3	130.00	No Significant intersection

 

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/5436/altus_nr_-_lakanfla-_15_feb_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 the Lakanfla licence is shown in Figure 5. 

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

 

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

 

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Figure 3: Plan of the Lakanfla licence

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Figure 4: Cross section of the Lakanfla Central prospect

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Figure 5: Selection of photos from the Lakanfla licence

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Diba Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate

The Diba licence forms part of the Diba & Lakanfla project 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 licence 

 

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 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 project 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 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

“RAB” means rotary air blast drilling

“RC” means reverse circulation drilling

“t” means a metric tonne

 

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