The company is testing for extensions to shallow oxide mineralisation at the Indomitable and nearby prospects and for high-grade primary mineralisation at the Lord Henry and Lord Nelson open pits.
Since the discovery of gold at the end of the 19th century, the Sandstone Greenstone Belt has produced 1.3 million ounces of gold from numerous underground and open pit mining operations.
Of these, circa 612,000 ounces were produced between 1994 and 2010 from the open-pit mining of shallow oxide ore by Herald Resources Ltd and Troy Resources Ltd (ASX:TRY).
The numerous former open pits, prospects and gold occurrences acquired by Alto include Lady Hamilton, Lord Nelson, Lord Henry, Havilah, Bull Oaks Reef, Vanguard, and Bulchina.
Alto’s current 3,500+ metres reverse circulation drilling program is the first in a series of drill programs focused on building a mineral resources within the extensive 723 square kilometres Sandstone Project.
Since its acquisition in June 2016, Alto has been collating and interpreting a vast body of historical and recently acquired geological and geophysical data.
The company’s share price has increased by more than 500% since the beginning of 2016, last trading at $0.135.
Alto had a cash balance of $2.1 million as at 30 September 2016.