# Altus Strategies Plc High Grade Silver Discovery at Daro Project

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/altus-strategies-plc-high-grade-silver-discovery-at-daro-project/412762137
- Published: 2018-11-28T07:10:26+00:00
- Author: Giles Arbor

**Altus Strategies Plc** (LON: ALS & TSX-V: ALTS), the Africa focused exploration
project generator, announced today the discovery of the Simret silver prospect at
its 100% owned 412km2 Daro Cu-Au-Ag Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide project, located
in the Tigray Regional State of northern Ethiopia.

**Highlights:**

· Silver grades include 944 g/t Ag and 540 g/t Ag from rock chip sampling at newly
discovered Simret prospect at the Daro Project, Ethiopia

· Gold and lead also present at Simret with grades including 3.55 g/t Au and 2.72%
Pb

· Potential VMS corridor now extends for 4.9 km

· Geological mapping and trenching underway at Simret

· Numerous priority targets defined at Daro by Sentinel remote sensing study

> **Steven Poulton, Chief Executive of Altus Strategies Plc, commented:**
> “We are delighted to announce the discovery of the Simret prospect. Our exploration
> has returned very high silver grades including 944 g/t Ag, 540 g/t Ag, 277 g/t
> Ag and 191 g/t Ag from rock chip sampling of quartz veins. These veins also returned
> gold grades of 3.55 g/t Au, 2.56 g/t Au and 2.11 g/t Au along with lead grades
> of 2.72% Pb and 2.73% Pb.
> Geological mapping and stream sampling indicate the potential strike length of
> the Simret prospect is approximately 2.8km and 0.5km in width. The prospect is
> located approximately 3km south of our existing Teklil prospect. At Teklil we 
> have mapped copper oxide mineralisation and discontinuous gossanous outcrop for
> over 900m in strike length.
> Coincident with this field programme, we have engaged remote sensing consultancy
> Geosense (Netherlands) to complete a multi-spectral remote sensing analysis of
> the Daro licence using Sentinel satellite data. This work has generated numerous
> iron oxide occurrences across the Daro licence, which may represent key VMS markers.
> Our exploration team are already following up on these further targets.”

**The Simret Prospect**

A programme of exploration at the Simret prospect included the collection of 31 
rock chip samples. Of these, 8 assayed above 10 g/t Ag and 4 assayed above 100 g/
t Ag with grades of 944 g/t Ag, 540 g/t Ag, 277 g/t Ag and 191 g/t Ag. The highest
silver grades were found in quartz veins and these were also found to be coincident
with the highest gold and lead grades, which included 3.55 g/t Au, 2.56 g/t Au, 
2.11 g/t Au and 1.51 g/t Au as well as 2.72% Pb and 2.73% Pb respectively. These
samples also contained anomalous zinc and copper with grades including 0.13% Zn 
and 0.33% Cu. Taken together these results suggest the potential for a VMS system.
Following up on visible copper seen during prospecting the Company has excavated
and sampled a 16.3m long reconnaissance trench. Visible copper oxide has been identified
in the trench and assay results are currently pending.

The Simret prospect was discovered following a licence wide stream sediment sampling
programme covering 320km2 that was undertaken by the Company earlier this year. 
This survey defined an area of anomalous copper, lead and zinc, a geochemical signature
which can be indicative of a VMS system. Follow-up stream sediment sampling on second
and third order streams has refined the anomaly to a priority area of approximately
2.80km by 0.50km. Geological mapping at the Simret prospect has discovered a mafic
volcanic pile and sheeted dyke complex, which together with the Au-Ag-Cu-Pb-Zn bearing
quartz veins and gossanous float samples, further indicates to the Company that 
the observed mineralisation may be VMS derived.

**Sentinel remote sensing programme**

The Company has commissioned a licence wide remote sensing programme utilising data
from the multi spectral Sentinel satellite. A number of VMS deposits in Eritrea 
were visited by the Company’s technical team in October 2018. These deposits are
hosted in the same mafic to ultamafic suite of rocks (the Nakfa Terrain) as found
in the Daro project. The iron oxide signatures of their associated gossans have 
been used as analogues for the remote sensing algorithm, in order to detect similar
mineralisation at Daro.

Initial interpretation of the satellite data has identified a number of iron oxide
features within the Teklil and Simret prospect corridor. These targets will be followed
up by the Company during the current work programme.

The following figures have been prepared and 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: [http://altus-strategies.com/site/assets/files/4510/altus_nr_-_daro_update_28_nov_2018.pdf](http://altus-strategies.com/site/assets/files/4510/altus_nr_-_daro_update_28_nov_2018.pdf)

· Location of the Daro licence on the Arabian-Nubian Shield is shown in Figure 1.

· Map showing Sentinel targets and recent results from the Daro licence is shown
in Figure 2.

· A selection of project photos is shown in Figure 3.

**Daro Project: Location**

The Daro exploration licence is held by Altau Resources Ltd, the Company’s 100% 
owned Ethiopia focused subsidiary. The licence is located in northern Ethiopia, 
95km west of the Company’s Tigray-Afar Cu-Ag project, 100km northwest of the Tigray
state capital of Mekele and 570km north of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Mekele
has a regional airport and year-round access to the licence area is provided by 
a network of maintained surfaced and graded roads.

**Daro Project: Geological setting**

The Daro licence is situated within the Neo-Proterozoic Nakfa Terrane, at a junction
between two major tectonic blocks and comprises a series of metasedimentary and 
metavolcanic rocks, affected by thrusting and intrusion of the Rama granite. A band
of mafic to ultramafic rocks bisects the licence from southwest to northeast, interpreted
to be an ophiolite complex of ancient oceanic crust and seafloor sediments. Historical
data compilation of Daro, undertaken by the French governmental Bureau de Recherches
Géologiques et Minières (“BRGM”), has defined a number of marker lithologies and
structures that are considered prospective for VMS deposits. These include the presence
of bimodal volcanics and associated sediments, mafic and ultramafic lithologies 
which conform to an ophiolitic sequence, as well as the presence of extensive chert
horizons.

The Nakfa Terrane hosts a number of significant VMS base metal and gold deposits
and mines. These include Bisha, a polymetallic mine operated by Nevsun Resources
Ltd (TSX: NSU) 190km north west of Daro, the Harvest and Adyabo projects, being 
advanced by East Africa Metals Inc. (TSX-V:EAM) 35km west of Daro and the Asmara
project being advanced by Sichuan Road & Bridge Mining Investment Corp Ltd 100km
north of Daro.

**Sampling Methodology and analysis**

A total of 31 grab samples were collected as rock chips from outcrop or float from
the programmes described in this release. Of the 31 samples:

Silver: 10 of 31 samples assayed above 1 g/t Ag, ranging from less than 0.5 g/t 
to 944 g/t Ag

Gold: 9 of 31 samples assayed above 0.2 g/t Au, ranging from less than 0.01 g/t 
to 3.55 g/t Au

Lead: 2 of 31 samples assayed above 1% Pb, ranging from trace to 2.73 %Pb

All sample preparation and assay was undertaken by ALS Global at their laboratories
in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Loughrea (Republic of Ireland) respectively. Given
the early stage nature of these programmes, no Quality Assurance and Quality Control
samples have been sent for assay.

Rock samples were crushed with 70% passing -2mm. The less than 2mm fraction was 
pulverized with 85% of the sample passing <75 microns. The fine fraction of each
sample underwent a four-acid digestion with ICP-AES analysis for a suite of 33 elements.
All samples were analysed for their Au content by 50g Fire Assay method. Samples
with more than 1 g/t Au were resubmitted for Fire Assay with a gravimetric finish.

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