Altamira Gold drills 395.5 metres at 0.4 g/t gold at Maria Bonita, Cajueiro District, Brazil
Altamira Gold Corp. [TSXV: ALTA; FSE: T6UP; OTCQB: EQTRF] reported assay results from drill hole MBA032, the first deep drill hole below the Maria Bonita porphyry gold mineral resource, which forms part of the Cajueiro district and where ongoing drilling is directed at enlarging the mineral resource footprint and defining its depth extent.
Highlights: Drill hole MBA032 at Maria Bonita returned 395.5 metres at 0.4 g/t gold from 44.5 metres depth in quartz porphyry intrusive rocks. MBA032 was located 50 metres south of MBA029 which previously intersected 213 metres at 0.8 g/t gold including 146 metres at 1.0 g/t gold and significantly extends the size of the mineralized porphyry system, particularly at depth.
Gold values returned from MBA032 are remarkably continuous with only three 1 metre samples exceeding 2 g/t gold in the pervasively mineralized interval.
The higher grade core to the Maria Bonita gold deposit, which is interpreted to plunge to the south-east will be targeted by drill hole MBA033 and further deep drill holes during this drill campaign.
Mike Bennett, CEO, commented; “The first deep drill hole at Maria Bonita has demonstrated that the quartz porphyry intrusion is mineralized throughout. Results from MBA032 indicate that the mineralized system is considerably larger than previously thought, which has important implications for growing the resource base. The very consistent grade of the quartz porphyry at Maria Bonita, together with indications of a higher-grade core averaging plus 1 g/t gold, and the significant size of the mineralized system, all suggest the possibility of a considerably larger mineralized system than previously envisaged.
“Additional drilling is currently in progress aimed at further defining the down-plunge extension of the higher-grade core to the deposit that sub-crops in the area of the initial drilling and was intersected by drill hole MBA029 which returned 146 metres at 1 g/t Au from 23 metres depth. This zone is interpreted to plunge to the southeast and remains open.”
The Cajueiro district is located approximately 75km NW of the town of Alta Floresta in the state of Mato Grosso in central western Brazil. The project is easily accessible by road, lies on open farmland and has grid power and a local water supply. Cajueiro is the most advanced of the key projects that Altamira controls in the region.
The Cajueiro district consists of two independently estimated gold mineral resources at Cajueiro Central and Maria Bonita, plus a series of additional untested exploration targets within a radius of 8km of Cajueiro Central.
The Cajueiro Central area has a current open pit resource1 of 5.66Mt at 1.02 g/t gold for a total of 185,000 oz in the Indicated Resource category and 12.66Mt at 1.26 g/t gold for a total of 515,000 oz in the Inferred Resource category (estimated using a cut-off grade of 0.25g/t gold and a gold price of US$1,500/oz).
The Maria Bonita open pit resource consists of Indicated Resources of 24.19Mt at 0.46 g/t gold (for a total of 357,800oz) and Inferred Resources of 25.64Mt at 0.44 g/t gold (for a total of 362,400 oz). These resources were calculated using a 0.2 g/t gold cut-off grade and a gold price of US$2,780/oz. These resources include near-surface saprolite Indicated Resources of 2.02Mt at 0.59 g/t gold (38,000oz) and Inferred Resources of 0.68Mt at 0.40 g/t gold (8,700oz).
The Maria Bonita porphyry gold deposit forms part of a district-scale portfolio of prospects that are interpreted as having a similar geological origin. Gold mineralization, which is defined by the source zones of a 15km stretch of former alluvial deposits worked along the Teles Pires river, is related to a pronounced east-west corridor extending over 8km and defined by both an alignment of gold anomalies in soils and rock chips and a set of sub-cropping intrusions of different ages and compositions, implying a long standing and deep-seated crustal structure.
The objective of the current drill program at Maria Bonita is to enlarge the footprint of the known mineral resource by drill testing for potential extensions to the existing resource, including its depth extent, and new satellite targets.
The first drill hole, MBA032, was drilled 100 metres south of MBA029 and was completed to a depth of 546 metres and intersected the same mineralized quartz porphyry intrusive that was intersected in previous drilling. The hole returned 395.5 metres at 0.4 g/t gold. As with previous holes, the mineralization is remarkably consistent with a highest single assay interval of 5.96 g/t gold being returned from MBA032.
There is notably more brecciation in the core from MBA032 compared to MBA029, located to the north on the same section which intersected 146 metres at 1.0 g/t gold from 23 metres depth. This may indicate that MBA032 was drilled closer to the edge of the higher-grade section of the mineralized intrusive body than MB029.
The interpretation of the drill results is ongoing to better guide a second deep drill hole, currently underway, collared 100m to the east of MBA032. This hole is directed at the south-east plunge continuation of the core of the mineral resource.
The company is focused on the exploration and development of gold projects within western central Brazil, strategically advancing five projects spanning over 100,000 hectares within the prolific Juruena Gold Belt-an area that has historically yielded over 6 million ounces of placer gold.
The company’s advanced Cajueiro project contains two gold deposits. The central area comprises NI 43-101 resources of 5.66Mt at 1.02 g/t gold for a total of 185,000 oz in the Indicated Resource category and 12.66Mt at 1.26 g/t gold for a total of 515,000oz in the Inferred Resource category.
In addition, the Maria Bonita gold deposit comprises additional open pit Indicated Resources of 24.19Mt at 0.46 g/t for a total of 357,800 oz, and Inferred Resources of 25.64Mt at 0.44 g/t for a total of 362,400 oz.
Ongoing exploration and fieldwork at Cajueiro indicate the presence of multiple porphyry gold systems, reinforcing its potential for district-scale development. These hard-rock gold sources align with historical alluvial gold production, highlighting the region’s exceptional gold endowment and potential scalability.