Alto Metals Ltd (ASX:AME) has added a new mining lease to its Sandstone Gold Project, consolidating its control over the strategic Lords Camp region in Western Australia, which boasts an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 400,000 ounces at 1.6 g/t gold.
This development has been keenly anticipated and opens up new possibilities for the company's gold mining pursuits in the region.
Unified mining area
The lease, designated as M57/658, was granted by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS), creating a unified mining area that also includes existing leases ML57/652 and ML57/651.
The new lease is strategically situated between the existing mining leases that cover the Lord Nelson and Lord Henry deposits.
It joins ML57/650 to the west, rounding off a consolidated Lords Camp that enhances the asset value of the Sandstone Gold Project.
The total independent mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Sandstone project stands at 17.6 million tonnes at 1.5 g/t gold for 832,000 optimised ounces.
These figures are constrained within $2,500-per-ounce pit shells, capturing more than 80% of the total unconstrained MRE of 23.5 million tonnes at 1.4 g/t gold for 1.05 million ounces.
Risk mitigation
Securing the new mining lease brings added stability to the Sandstone Gold Project by further mitigating risks associated with the venture. What’s more, the newly granted lease provides flexibility for various future mining scenarios.
Managing director Matthew Bowles said: "We are pleased to announce that our application for a new Mining Lease over the Lords Corridor has been granted.
“Importantly, this further de-risks the Sandstone Gold Project and complements our strategy to maintain optionality for future development scenarios.
“I would like to thank our in-house team on their work to successfully secure this new mining lease and DMIRS for the support of the Sandstone Gold Project in granting the new lease."